CZ/SK verze

Finland's rail blockade did not last long. VR has resumed freight services with Russian Railways after three days

Finland's rail blockade did not last long. VR has resumed freight services with Russian Railways after three days
photo: Rami Salle/VR-group/Finland's rail blockade did not last long. VR has resumed freight services with Russian Railways after three days
06 / 04 / 2022

The Finnish railway company VR has completely suspended cooperation with Russia both in passenger and freight transport last week. However the restrictions from the Finnish side didn't last long, March 30th the carrier announced the resumption of cooperation in freight traffic.

‘‘According to the clarification VR has received from the UK authorities, these sanctions do not apply to the VR Group's contracts. VR Transpoint's eastern freight traffic will resume on Wednesday, 30 March‘‘, Finnish Railways said in a statement.

"Since the decision last week, we have continued to discuss with the UK authorities and banks how binding the sanctions are for our company. The specific interpretation of the British authorities and banks is that the sanctions do not apply to our operations. Therefore, we can continue with the important railway export, import and transit traffic while keeping the Finnish export industry running. Sanctions are often imposed on persons and, through that, on consigners or owners of goods, and we will not transport anything that falls under the sanctions. Possible sanctions and additional restrictions are decided by the authorities and we always act according to their instructions,” says Lauri Sipponen, President and CEO of VR Group.

VR Transpoint's services are focused on the export industry's products and raw material transport. VR Transpoint's railway transport volume in 2021 was approximately 37 million tonnes. Freight between Finland and Russia is about a third of the total number of tonnes.

The Allegro service was suspended on Monday, 28 March 2022, until further notice. The freight decision will not impact Allegro's operations.

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