Ministry of Transport to cut unprofitable passenger train routes

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The Ministry of Transport and Communications is considering the elimination of a number of unprofitable train services in different parts of the country. Some passenger routes are to be shut down completely.
      The cutbacks are seen as necessary, because the EUR 37 million earmarked by the Transport Ministry for rail services is not enough to pay for all of the unprofitable services of the national rail company VR that are currently being financed from the ministry's budget.
      Final decisions on rail service subsidies are to be made by the government in March.
     
More than ten passenger services face cutbacks, and routes in danger of being shut down completely can be found around the country.
      Nearly half of Finland's rail services are unprofitable, ranging from commuter services in the Helsinki region to long-haul services in Eastern and Northern Finland.
      Especially unprofitable are night trains, many of which are to be cancelled because of a lack of passengers.
     
Finland's rail budget is also being stretched by major acquisitions of new rolling stock and the completion of a new, shorter rail line from Kerava to Lahti, which is set to considerably shorten travel time between Lahti and Helsinki.
      There had been plans to cut back on planned passenger services on the new Helsinki-Lahti route, but Leena Luhtanen (SDP), the Minister of Transport and Communications, said that those services would be the last to be cut.
      On Friday morning Luhtanen emphasised that no decisions had been made on cutbacks in passenger services financed by the ministry. She emphasised that discussions on the matter are still underway with VR.
     
The Ministry of Transport and Communications is preparing a cost-benefit analysis as a basis for decision-making on which services should be cut, and which should be retained.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Minister: Passenger service on Kerava-Lahti direct line will be last to be reduced (18.2.2005)
  Cutbacks threaten to sharply reduce passenger service on new track (17.2.2005)

Links:
  Finnish Rail Administration: Direct line from Kerava to Lahti

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