The state railway company VR has announced that it will suspend all traffic connections to and from Russia.
A high-speed Allegro connection runs twice a day between St. Petersburg and Helsinki.
VR told Kauppalehti on Thursday that it is ready to stop Allegro traffic if the government deems the operation unnecessary.
Helsingin Sanomat said on Friday that the Minister for Europe and Corporate Governance Tytti Tuppurainen (SDP), told VR on Thursday that Allegro train traffic to Russia is no longer appropriate.
VR’s director of passenger traffic, Topi Simola, said that the government ‘s official instructions had kept Allegron running for the time being to secure the return of Finns to Finland. When flights to Russia were suspended, Allegro was one of the last remaining connections.
The board’s decision means that Allegro’s operations are no longer appropriate, Simola said.
During the past month, Allegro services have also been widely used by Russians leaving the country.
The last train on the line will run next Monday. Only the morning shift is run on Sunday as the afternoon train has been canceled.
In Finland, a sleeping train was previously transported from Helsinki to Moscow, but it was suspended along with Allegro services during the pandemic. VR resumed operations at the end of 2021, with a reduced schedule. Since then, only fully vaccinated Finnish and Russian citizens have been allowed to use the train.
Source: The Nordic Page