Finland's dominant train company, VR, said on Tuesday that 85.6 percent of its long-distance trains reached their destinations on time, while the punctuality rate for commuter trains rose to 93.2 percent. A year earlier, the corresponding figures were 70.7 and 89 percent.
The company considers any long-haul train that arrives within five minutes of its scheduled arrival to be “on time”, while it uses a three-minute margin for local trains.
“The net result reflects the investments we have made in improving punctuality,” said CEO Mikael Aro in a statement, adding that “the new ticket system for passenger services and the changes in the production structure for logistics place the Group in a stronger position to respond to competition.”
Winter takes a toll
Between January and June, the VR Group lost 14.6 million euros, whereas during the same period of 2011 it was just 3.5 million in the red. The winter months of January through March were heavily loss-making, as the group actually made a profit between April and June.
However this second-quarter profit was just over four million euros, down from nearly seven million in the spring of 2011. The firm blames its losses on growing personnel and rolling stock costs.
The state-owned company VR Group was established in 1995, five years after the Finnish State Railways became a public enterprise. This year VR is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its first rail service between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna in 1862.
