Brief thaw could get Finnish rail operations out of a fix

VR is set to struggle with frost and snow indefinitely

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While trudging through deep snow, the Finnish state-owned rail operator VR has currently only one wish: a thaw, even a short one.
      ”The situation would improve immediately, if we could have at least one day of warmer weather that would thaw some snow. The next frosty day would then make an icy cover on the snow, and the winds would no longer blow snow into rail switches. We have not had any thaw since December 29th”, says Antti Jaatinen, the head of passenger traffic at VR.
     
Train traffic is likely to suffer from the current frosty and snowy conditions at least for several days, as no thaw has been predicted for the near future.
     ”Even if no new snowfall occurred, the situation would not improve, if the sharp winds continue, blowing snow from one place to another”, Jaatinen adds.
     
VR intends to cancel several commuter and long-distance services even today - Monday, as it did on Sunday. What kind of week can train passengers expect?
      ”Quite challenging. One has to be prepared for delays in train services at least in the next few days”, Jaatinen notes.
      Mauno Haapala, the traffic manager of VR, reported on Sunday evening that at least until Tuesday, some commuter trains in the Greater Helsinki area will be cancelled during rush hours.
      Further delays are also expected in long-distance services. ”There is no point trying to draw up any accurate timetable based on train services in the next few days”, Haapala notes.
     
Is VR really doing its best now to improve the situation?
      “Do you doubt it”, Antti Jaatinen asks, saying that he himself has also been on the phone around-the-clock, seeing to the necessary arrangements.
      “I have heard that for example employees of some subcontractors of the Finnish Transport Agency have been working with brooms and shovels for some 12 to 16 hours every day, nearly burning themselves out. Likewise, many supervisors have been doing long hours overseeing the work”, Jaatinen notes.
     ”Our only interest is to get traffic running as well as possible. If train traffic does not operate, we have no customers, which means that we have no prerequisites of operation. Our reputation is also at stake”, Jaatinen concludes.
     
The roots of the problem lie at the Ilmala depot in Helsinki. The empty long-distance trains standing in the railway yard could not be moved to the Central Railway Station on Sunday, as all 300 rail switches were covered in snow.
      Some of the rails and switches were buried completely, and had to be cleared of snow one by one with shovels and brooms. Gusty winds also carried more snow to Ilmala in the course of the day.
      The first trains which were to be transferred from Ilmala to the Central Railway Station got stuck in snowdrifts.
      ”The initial velocity of trains is so low that they could not get through the snowdrifts, as the snow was as dense as porridge”, traffic manager Haapala commented at the Ilmala depot on Sunday.
     
Around twenty employees had been sent to brush the switches in Ilmala. Trains were pulled out of Ilmala and run to the Central Railway Station as soon as the switches were operable.
      ”If we wanted train traffic to operate fully in this kind of weather, we would need hundreds of people to clear snow in the Greater Helsinki area alone”, Haapala concluded.
      On top of everything else, a system that is supposed to guide the information boards and public announcements at stations and stops also broke and could not be fixed for many hours.
      According to the Finnish Transport Agency, a new more practical system was ordered already some years ago. It is expected to be functional next autumn.
     
At the weekend, train traffic was badly disrupted by a blizzard that swept over Southern Finland. The trains were delayed for many hours, having knock-on effects across the country.
      Making the situation worse was the fact that most trains heading north were fully booked, thanks to the skiing holiday in Southern Finland this week. Delays as long as up to six hours forced some passengers to spend their night at Helsinki’s Central Railway Station.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  The Finnish Meteorological Institute
  Deep winter conditions grip Helsinki and the entire south of Finland (8.1.2010)

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