Allegro trainsets to return to service as Pendolino Plus

FINLAND: National operator VR is to return to traffic four Alstom Sm6 trainsets that were used on the Helsinki – St Petersburg Allegro service until it ceased operating following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The seven-car dual-voltage trainsets were operated by the Karelian Trains 50:50 joint venture between VR and Russian Railways from 2010 until services stopped in late March 2022.

VR said Russian Railways subsequently broke the joint venture agreement by failing to maintain the trains and provide contracted financing. Negotiations to resolve the situation failed, and as a result VR solely redeemed the joint venture’s loans and on December 2023 took possession of the trainsets which were all stored in Finland.

VR has now confirmed plans to use them on services from Helsinki to Turku and Oulu from late 2025. They will be branded Pendolino Plus and carry VR’s green and white livery, applied by VR FleetCare.

They will partly replace current IC and Pendolino trains, and also enable the operation of a new early morning service from Oulu to Helsinki targeted at business passengers.

They will have an extra ticket category Ekstra Plus, with passengers able to order a meal in advance to be delivered to their seat, which VR said has often been requested in customer surveys.

‘The popularity of train travel has been growing for several years and we believe it will continue to increase’, said Piia Tyynilä, Director of Long-Distance Transport at VR. ‘With Pendolino Plus trains, we can better meet the growing demand. With the Pendolino and IC trains that will be released from the Oulu and Turku routes, we will supplement the timetable on other routes.’

Ukrainian operator Ukrzaliznytsia had previously suggested that it could take over the Sm6 trainsets, but VR said they are valuable assets which would provide an opportunity to improve its services. The Finnish operator noted that it had given Ukrainians free travel, provided humanitarian aid and sent 200 stoves in winter 2023….