[SE/FI] Swedish trains in Finland for maintenance

[MoominAndChips]

I've been seeing SJ trains in the maintenance shed at Oulu lately. Seems it's been happening since January.

https://yle.fi/a/74-20072065 (Article in Finnish)

Obviously, gauge is an issue. They apparently brought them by road in the past, but now fit skates, as can be seen in the video. It all seems like quite a faff; are VR able to do it so much more cheaply that it's worth that hassle, or is there some other factor at play? The article talks about "modernisation" of these units, so it does sound like quite heavy maintenance.

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

Article from April 2023:

VR FleetCare and SJ AB sign modernisation agreement

VR FleetCare and Swedish operator SJ AB have signed an agreement worth over €35 million to modernise the X40 train fleet.

www.globalrailwayreview.com

VR FleetCare and SJ AB, the Swedish railway operator, have signed an agreement to modernise the X40 train fleet, with the aim of extending fleet’s life cycle and improving the travel comfort of customers. The agreement now signed, includes a comprehensive modernisation of the X40 fleet’s 27 electric trains and an update of the passenger information system. The agreement is worth over €35 million.

“The agreement on rolling stock modernisation with SJ is a great opening for us in the Swedish rail fleet maintenance market,” Otso Ikonen, CEO of VR FleetCare, said. “The project we won also demonstrates our capabilities and the success of our international growth strategy.”

The planning and implementation of project will begin immediately and the last of the overhauled X40 series cars will be delivered to the customer in 2027. The work will be carried out in Finland at VR FleetCare’s Oulu depot’s project centre and at the Pieksämäki workshop.

 

[AndrewE]

I've been seeing SJ trains in the maintenance shed at Oulu lately. Seems it's been happening since January.

https://yle.fi/a/74-20072065 (Article in Finnish)

Obviously, gauge is an issue. They apparently brought them by road in the past, but now fit skates, as can be seen in the video. It all seems like quite a faff; are VR able to do it so much more cheaply that it's worth that hassle, or is there some other factor at play? The article talks about "modernisation" of these units, so it does sound like quite heavy maintenance.

Skates? They look more like an accomodation bogie for each wheelset!

 

[JonasB]

Of course it would be better if Finland used standard gauge, but it's not too much hassle to transport vehicles on the wrong gauge. Only SJ knows the answer but obviously VR's offer was the best. Maybe they were cheaper, maybe they had more free capacity. Or maybe it was something else.

 

[Struner]

Of course it would be better if Finland used standard gauge, […]

better for whom, I wonder?

 

[JonasB]

better for whom, I wonder?

For crossborder traffic between Sweden and Finland.

 

[rf_ioliver]

Of course it would be better if Finland used standard gauge, but it's not too much hassle to transport vehicles on the wrong gauge. Only SJ knows the answer but obviously VR's offer was the best. Maybe they were cheaper, maybe they had more free capacity. Or maybe it was something else.

Over 9000km of track to convert ... easy. Once that's done we can re-gauge the Iberian Peninsular.

Why would it be better for Finland? The only standard gauge cross-broder connection is at Haparanda - it sees very little traffic. The big flows were (and still are, though not as much as before) to Russia. Not sure if there's any rail traffic by ship anymore.

 

[Struner]

For crossborder traffic between Sweden and Finland

how much traffic is there now? & why would it increase?

 

[rf_ioliver]

how much traffic is there now? & why would it increase?

Currently there are two sets of services twice per week at Tornio. This is basically to and from Röyttä and factory there. Nothing seems to be going over the bridge to Sweden at least until February.

The Oulu-Haparanda services are booked (not necessarily running) into the timetable for next year. I don't see any freight paths at the moment.

You can look at what goes trough Tornio at leas here: https://juliadata.fi/timetables?s=tornio&d=21.12.2024

 

[jamesontheroad]

To return to the original question, VR FleetCare have secured several jobs from SJ in Sweden (renovating regional double deckers) and Vy in Norway (renovating and adapting second hand couchette carriages for additional capacity). Finland’s labour costs are generally lower than those in Sweden or Norway, and the exchange rate between SEK, NOK and Euro in Finland can also be advantageous.

 

[JonasB]

Over 9000km of track to convert ... easy. Once that's done we can re-gauge the Iberian Peninsular.

Why would it be better for Finland? The only standard gauge cross-broder connection is at Haparanda - it sees very little traffic. The big flows were (and still are, though not as much as before) to Russia. Not sure if there's any rail traffic by ship anymore.

It would be better for sending Swedish trains for maintenance in Finland, which is what this thread is about. If you want to discuss finnish gauge in general you should probably start a new thread.

how much traffic is there now? & why would it increase?

It's not a lot at the moment, but having the same gauge would make it easier.