Finnish railways deploy
extra trains for Russians who want to flee their own country
By
-
5 March 2022
Allegro train in Helsinki © Otto Karikoski https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12280155
The Finnish
railways will extend the timetable between the Russian city of St. Petersburg
and the Finnish capital Helsinki, as more and more Russians want to leave their
country.
The Finnish
public broadcaster Yle reported on Saturday that thousands have now arrived.
In addition to the twice-daily high-speed trains Allegro, which take 3.5 hours
to travel the approximately 400-kilometre long route from St. Petersburg to
Helsinki, buses are also constantly full on the route.
“We had full
trains from St. Petersburg starting on Sunday,” Topi Simola, senior vice
president of passenger services at Finnish Railways. “They are
leaving for good,” he said. “You can see it on the
luggage they carry.”
According to
Yle, people want to leave the area around St. Petersburg because they fear that
Russia will come under martial law and that the borders will close.
“We are
trying to deploy more trains on several days in the coming weeks,” a railway
spokesman said. “In the direction of St. Petersburg, the
compartments are almost empty.”
The Allegro
Line is a joint venture between Finnish VR Group and Russian Railways, both of
which are state-owned companies. The line was suspended during the pandemic but
resumed operations in December. The Finnish railways were negotiating
with Russian Railways to increase service, eventually aiming to resume the
pre-pandemic timetable of four trips a day.
Finland and
Russia have a joint border of 1,300 kilometres.
Many
Russians also try to escape their country by air from Moscow. THe flights to
Dubai and Yerevan in particular are fully booked and the ticket prices have
increased sharply.
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