Significant changes underway Finland-Russia rail transport – NR Rail set to offernew services to Finnish industry

PRESS RELEASE: 22 September 2016

The new agreement on international railway transport concluded between Finland and Russia is due to be ratified in the near future. In practice, the bi-lateral agreement sees the deregulation of rail transport between Finland and Russia in the Finnish rail network. Previously, this was subject to a Finnish State Railways (VR) monopoly. The change will be significant, as the total value of the railway logistics market in Finland is valued at EUR 450 million, with rail transport connecting Finland and Russia accounting for around a third of this.

The new agreement coincides with the launch of Nurminen Logistics Group’s strategic collaboration with the Russian Rustranscom. This will see the creation of a jointly owned company, NR Rail, a subsidiary of the Nurminen Logistics Group, that will offer new alternatives for import and export traffic between Finland and Russia.

NR Rail is due to invest in modern locomotives and enhanced cost-effectiveness. The amount and the schedule of investment in locomotives will depend on the development of customer volumes. The company’s new service concept will be the first of its kind in Finland. In future, Nurminen Logistics will be able to offer its own locomotives as part of a comprehensive service offering comprising wagons, terminals, railway yards and forwarding services at border crossings in Imatra, Niirala and Vainikkala. Nurminen Logistics’ Russian partner offers not only access to considerable resources but also new opportunities on markets in the east, including China and CIS nations.

“Nurminen Logistics and Rustranscom are established industry operators, with both companies offering significant experience and expertise in their field. With the creation of NR Rail, we will be able to enhance our operations on the eastern border. This offers a wealth of new opportunities for Finland’s logistics industry. NR Rail is set to be a big player in this sector,” Olli Pohjanvirta, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Nurminen Rail, commented.

“I am excited at the prospect of this new venture between our two companies. This will allow us to expand Nurminen Logistics’ entire service offering. What’s more, we will be able to offer an even longer value chain. The aim is to start the locomotive business in the second half of 2017. What we are setting out to do is to maintain our commitment to developing cost-effective and transparent logistics services to benefit Finnish import and export industries,” Marko Tuunainen, President and CEO at Nurminen Logistics, said.

For more information, please contact:

NR Rail
Olli Pohjanvirta
Chairman of the Board of Directors
+358 (0)40 900 6977

Nurminen Logistics Plc
Marko Tuunainen
President and CEO
+358 (0)40 181 0554

Nurminen Logistics is a listed company established in 1886 that offers logistics services. The company provides high-quality forwarding, cargo handling and value added services as well as railway transports and related to it project transport services to its customers. The main market areas of Nurminen Logistics are Finland, Russia and its neighbouring countries.

Rustranscom is a railway carrier company offering a wide range of services, the market leader in railway transportation of agricultural and forestry goods. There are more than 44 000 units of rolling stock in the Company’s fleet, including hoppers, timber flatcars, container flatcars, tank cars for foodstuff and gondolas. Rustranscom is one of the TOP-5 privately owned freight rail operators in Russia in terms of rolling stock owned.