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Allegro (train)

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Allegro
The train at Helsinki Central Station
Overview
Service typeHigh-speed rail
StatusCeased operation
LocaleRussia–Finland
PredecessorSibelius and Repin
First service12 December 2010
Last service27 March 2022
Current operator(s)Karelian Trains (joint venture between VR and RZD)
Route
TerminiHelsinki Central Station, Helsinki, Finland
Finland Station, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Stops8
Distance travelled407 km (253 mi)
Average journey time3 h 27 min
Service frequency4 rounds daily (from 29 May 2011)
Line(s) usedRiihimäki–Saint Petersburg
Kerava–Lahti
Helsinki–Riihimäki
On-board services
Class(es)Business and Economy
Seating arrangements341 seats
Technical
Rolling stockKarelian Trains Class Sm6
Track gaugeRussian track:
1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Russian gauge
Finnish track:
1,524 mm (5 ft)
Operating speed220 km/h
Track owner(s)Russian Railways
VR Group

Allegro was the brand name of a now defunct high-speed train service, owned by Karelian Trains as a joint venture between the Finnish VR Group and the Russian railway company Russian Railways and operated by Class Sm6 trains, between Helsinki, Finland, and St. Petersburg, Russia from 2010 to 2022.

The train stopped at eight stations, of which six were in Finland and two in Russia. The trip from Helsinki to St. Petersburg took three and a half hours and the maximum speed of the train was 220 kilometres per hour. Because of the sanctions against Russia, the train services were stopped, until the VR Group announced on 14 December 2023 that it would acquire the entire rolling stock of Allegro to itself from Russian Railways after Russian Railways had neglected its duty towards Karelian Trains. The rolling stock of Allegro will be taken into use in domestic long-distance rail traffic in Finland during 2025.[1]

During its normal service, Allegro was used for about half a million rail journeys per year. The rolling stock consists of four units of seven carriages each, which were manufactured by the Alstom company in Italy.

Traffic

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A Russian ticket for the Allegro train from St. Petersburg to Helsinki.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent international sanctions against Russia, services on the Allegro trains were stopped for the time being. The last services so far were on 27 March 2022. According to the state of Finland, traffic on the Allegro trains no longer served a purpose.[2] Allegro was the last direct rail connection between Russia and the European Union.[3]

The Allegro service operated between the Helsinki Central railway station in Finland and the Finland Station in St. Petersburg in Russia.[4] The trains stopped at Pasila, Tikkurila, Lahti, Kouvola, Vainikkala and Vyborg.[5] The trains skipped Pasila railway station from 2016 to 2020, shortening the travel time by 9 minutes.[6][7] In 2018 the travel time was 3 hours and 27 minutes.[8] The final intent was to cut the travel time down to three hours.[9] Border inspections on the Allegro were performed while the train was on the move, as its passengers remained seated. Passengers also had the possibility for currency exchange on board the train.[10] The Allegro had 342 seats and two seats for disabled people.[11]

History

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The service started on 12 December 2010.[12][13] The aim was to reduce travel time between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg: before Allegro, the journey time was 5½ hours; it became 3 hours and 27 minutes[14] over a journey of 407 km (253 mi) and there were plans to bring it down to 3 hours.[15] The name Allegro is a musical term for a quick tempo, thereby suggesting "high speed". On board the inaugural service were Finnish president Tarja Halonen and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.[16]

The service was suspended between 18 March 2020 and 11 December 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] Service resumed with restrictions on 12 December 2021.[18]

During the 2022 Russian financial crisis, in the aftermath of international sanctions placed on Russian companies following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Allegro train became a primary means for people to leave Russia.[19] As European airspace had been closed to Russian planes, and Russian airspace was closed to European planes, the train was the only passenger connection between Russia and the European Union. EU authorities asked VR to keep this train running so that those wishing to leave Russia could do so (though as part of COVID-19 restrictions, only Finnish and Russian citizens were allowed to use the train, and it ran only twice a day at half-capacity, of 327 passengers; but operators worked to lift those restrictions in order to allow the evacuation of other nationals).[20] The service was suspended on 27 March 2022 due to the aforementioned sanctions.[21]

In December 2023, it was announced that VR Group had assumed the financial obligations of the joint stock company that used to run Allegro since it could no longer meet them itself. VR Group plans to reuse the rolling stock in domestic operations.[22]

Route

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Allegro connected the following stations:[23]

The trains also stopped previously in Pasila like every other passenger train from and to Helsinki, but this stop was discontinued between 27 March 2016 and 11 December 2021, when the stop in Pasila was revived.[24]

Vainikkala (on the Finnish side of the border) and Vyborg are special stations: on trains bound for Finland, passengers are not allowed to leave the train at Vyborg, as the train only stops to pick up passengers; and on trains bound for Russia, passengers are not allowed to leave the train at Vainikkala, for the same reason.[citation needed]

Border controls

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On board the train, each passenger was visited by Finnish Border Guard and customs officers, as well as their Russian counterparts. Finnish border control took place while the train was travelling between Kouvola and Vainikkala, while Russian border control took place while the train was travelling between Vyborg and St Petersburg. If boarding/exiting at Vainikkala or Vyborg, the checks took place inside these stations.

Vehicles

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Main article: VR Class Sm6

The Allegro service was operated using Class Sm6 electric multiple unit trainsets built by Alstom, with a top speed of 220 km/h (140 mph). VR has announced that they have seized full control of the trains and would begin using them in domestic services during 2025.[25]

The Sm6 appeared externally similar to VR's earlier Sm3 Pendolino series, but was based on the fourth generation[26] 'Pendolino Nuovo' or 'New Pendolino' designs and its construction differed from the Sm3 in many ways.[27]

On board services

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  • Food: there is a restaurant coach, which serves food during the whole journey, except during customs inspection.
  • Currency exchange: there is an agent walking constantly back and forth on the train offering currency exchange services.
  • Children's area: there is an area where small children can play.
  • Restaurant coach (before refurbishment)
    Restaurant coach (before refurbishment)
  • Children's area (before refurbishment)
    Children's area (before refurbishment)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Allegro-junat käyttöön VR:n kotimaan kaukoliikenteeseen vuodesta 2025, VR Group 14 December 2023. Accessed on 14 December 2023.
  2. ^ Rinne, Tittamari; Pitkäranta, Pilvi: Helsingin ja Pietarin välisen Allegro-junan liikennöinti keskeytetään maanantaina – Tuppurainen: ”Surullinen kuva tästä ajasta”, Yleisradio 25 March 2022. Accessed on 27 March 2022.
  3. ^ Nilsen, Thomas: End comes to last Russia-Europe rail link, The Barents Observer 25 March 2022. Accessed on 27 March 2022.
  4. ^ Aikataulut, VR Group 29 May 2011. Accessed on 27 March 2022.
  5. ^ Allegro-junalla Pietariin, VR Group. Accessed on 27 March 2022.
  6. ^ Nyt tarkkana: Juna-aikatauluihin tulossa suuria muutoksia, MTV3 26 March 2016. Accessed on 27 March 2022.
  7. ^ Tasoristeys 1/2020, Resiina magazine. Accessed on 27 March 2022.
  8. ^ Paananen, Arja: Nahkapenkit, uudet värit, ravintolaan sohvaryhmiä: Allegro-junat mukavuusremonttiin – ensimmäinen valmistuu MM-kisaturisteille, Ilta-Sanomat 19 April 2018. Accessed on 27 March 2022.
  9. ^ Helsinki-Saint-Petersburg Allegro, high speed Pendolino train, presented at Finland station in Saint-Petersburg, Alstom 8 October 2010. Accessed on 27 March 2022.
  10. ^ Stolp, Jula: Allegro matkamuistoissamme mukana jo kymmenen vuotta. Accessed on 27 March 2022.
  11. ^ "2000-luvun tekniikalla kohti Pietaria" [Towards St. Petersburg with 21st century technology] (PDF). Rautatietekniikka (in Finnish). 22 (2). Rautatiealan Teknisten Liitto RTL ry: 10–12. 2010. ISSN 1237-1513. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011.
  12. ^ "Allegro launch cuts Helsinki – St Petersburg journey times". Railway Gazette International. London. 13 December 2010.
  13. ^ "Allegro". VR. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  14. ^ "Timetables". VR Group. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  15. ^ "News". Karelian Trains. Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  16. ^ "Putin joins Halonen on first run of high-speed Allegro train from Helsinki to St. Petersburg". Helsingin Sanomat International edition. Helsinki. December 2010. Archived from the original on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  17. ^ "Resiina - Artikkeli".
  18. ^ "Few passengers as rail service between Finland and Russia resumes". 12 December 2021.
  19. ^ Anderson, Christina (2 March 2022). "High-speed trains departing Russia for Finland are packed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  20. ^ Vanttinen, Pekka (3 March 2022). "St Petersburg-Helsinki train only direct link to Russia". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  21. ^ "VR suspends train travel between Finland and Russia". Yle.fi. 25 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Allegro trains to be deployed in VR's domestic long-distance traffic from 2025". vrgroup.fi. 14 December 2023.
  23. ^ Timetables – VR Archived June 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "Allegro - VR".
  25. ^ "Allegro trains to be deployed in VR's domestic long-distance traffic from 2025". VR Group. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  26. ^ Salo, Sakari K (2011). "Helsingin–Pietarin liikenteen kehityksestä allegro". Resiina (in Finnish) (1). Museorautatieyhdistys ry, Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura ry: 24–36. ISSN 0356-0600.
  27. ^ "Allegro high speed Pendolino train presented at Finland station in Saint Petersburg". Alstom. 7 October 2010. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
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