Competitive tendering of passenger rail transport in Finland

The Finnish government and authorities are strongly committed to promoting effective competition and market access in our rail transport sector towards the 2030s.

Fostering a competition-neutral and attractive business environment by

Tendering contracts

We will be awarding the next contracts by tenders, in line with the Regulation 1370/2007

Arranging the availability of rolling stock and depots

We are arranging the availability of rolling stock and depots in an impartial manner

Investing in infrastructure

We will invest in the Finnish railway infrastructure

Where are we now?

Current public services are organised by Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) and the Ministry of Transport and Communications in a market with nearly 250 million passengers and over 5 billion passenger-kilometres per year.

The public transport authority of the Helsinki region, HSL, has tendered its train services, and the current ten-year contract (including a three-year option) for the operation and maintenance of the trains started in 2021. The preparations for the next round of tenders will begin in the coming years.

On the national level, the state incumbent operator VR is responsible for passenger rail services via a 9-year purchase (PSO) contract with the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The contract with VR to operate these routes ends in 2030. Traffic following this period is intended to be procured through competitive tendering of several contract packages. The scope of the contracts will likely include the operation and maintenance of the trains. The details have not yet been decided, but we are now engaging with the market to ensure the model is feasible and fair for new operators. The trains will be provided by a public rolling stock company that will be set up before the procurement by tender.

What happens next?

We are continuing developing our proposals. This will include:

 

  • Engaging in structured market dialogue with interested operators, maintainers, suppliers and advisors
  • Finalise key policy decisions and implementing necessary sector reform and structure
  • Agree procurement approach and timescales

Different kinds of passenger rail services

Who is responsible for the tendering?

Arranging the railway infrastructure, traffic control, depots and the rolling stock will be organised impartially, separately from the operator.

 

Helsinki Region Transport HSL is responsible for tendering passenger rail services in the Helsinki region. In the future, HSL may also tender urban rail transport such as the metro, light rail and trams.

 

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible for the legislation and national transport policy. The Ministry is currently also responsible for tendering at the national level. 

 

 

Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom is responsible for coordinating public transport on the national level. The agency also takes part in the preparations of competitive tendering in the future.

We are looking forward to getting in touch with you - please don't hesitate to contact us

Presentation on the tendering of passenger rail transport

More information about the current and future state of competitive tendering of passenger rail services in Finland can be found in the presentation below!

Download the presentation (pdf)