Hard frosts disrupt train traffic

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The problems caused by the current bitterly cold weather conditions have again delayed train services across Finland.
      According to the national rail operator VR, two long-distance trains from the northern cities of Lapland to Helsinki were more than one hour behind the schedule in the morning.
      In addition, the night sleeper train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi was around one hour late, because the locomotive broke down near Seinäjoki in Ostrobothnia.
     
In the Greater Helsinki area, several departures of commuter trains have been cancelled because of the freezing cold temperatures. Moreover, several local trains have been at least ten minutes behind schedule.
      A total of four departures have been cancelled between Helsinki and Riihimäki, as well as between Helsinki and Kerava.
     
Already on Wednesday, the train traffic was hit by the severe frost, as temperatures dipped below -20°C across the country. In the morning, half of the M-trains from Helsinki to Vantaankoski were cancelled, while the E services to Espoo were cancelled entirely.
      Also some long-distance services were cancelled, and for example, the night train from Rovaniemi to Helsinki was two hours late, reported Jorma Laaksonen from VR.
      However, the bus traffic has been operating fairly well. In the morning, only four departures of Helsingin Bussiliikenne, the local bus operator owned by the City of Helsinki, had to be cancelled.
     
The present cold spell should abate by the weekend, when daytime temperatures in the south are expected to be around minus 5 to minus 15°C.
      As well as disrupting transport, the current cold snap has forced up energy production and consumption. Consumption of electricity on Wednesday evening peaked at 14,766 MW, but there were no outages as domestic generating capacity also hit a new record at 12,523 MW. The remaining electricity was bought in from Russia, Sweden, and Estonia.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Bitter-cold weather raises electricity consumption to record levels (7.2.2007)

Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute

Helsingin Sanomat