The Sibelius was a train run daily by VR between Helsinki, Finland, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The service began on 31 May 1992 in order to ease congestion on the night service train Repin [fi; ru] and due to the fall of the Soviet Union, where traffic was increased on the border.

Sibelius
The Sibelius at Saint Petersburg.
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleRussia – Finland
First serviceMay 31, 1992
Last serviceDecember 13, 2010
SuccessorAllegro
Former operator(s)VR Group
Route
TerminiHelsinki
Saint Petersburg
Stops8
Train number(s)035/036
Line(s) usedRiihimäki–Saint Petersburg railway
Technical
Track gaugeIn Russia: 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in) Russian gauge
In Finland: 1,524 mm (5 ft)
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC (Finland)
3 kV DC (Russia)
Track owner(s)VR Group
Russian Railways

The maximum speed of the train was originally 140 km/h (87 mph), and it was later raised to 160 km/h (99 mph). Travel times between the two cities were originally over 6 hours, but were dropped to 5 hours and 12 minutes in 2002 and further to 5 hours and 6 minutes in 2006.[1]

This rail service, along with Repin, was discontinued on 12 December 2010 when it was replaced by the new high speed service Allegro.[1] Some of the carriages of the train were supposed to be used on regular traffic between Helsinki and Joensuu on IC 5/12 starting on 31 October 2011,[2] but their introduction was delayed until 10 January 2012 due to pending homologation from the Finnish Transport Safety Agency (TraFi).[3][4] For instance, the bogies of the carriages had to be changed.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Salo, Sakari K (2011). "Helsingin–Pietarin liikenteen kehityksestä allegro". Resiina (in Finnish) (173). Museorautatieyhdistys ry, Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura ry: 24–36. ISSN 0356-0600.
  2. ^ Nylund, Lari (28 September 2011). "Vs: Pikajuna Karjalan radalle?" (in Finnish). Vaunut.org. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Liikennetiedotteet" (in Finnish). VR Group. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011. InterCity (IC 5) klo 12.52 Helsinki-Joensuu sekä InterCity (IC 12) klo 18.17 Joensuu-Helsinki ajetaan poikkeuksellisesti pikajunavaunustolla 9.1.2012 saakka.
  4. ^ Nylund, Lari (5 January 2012). "Vs: Pikajuna Karjalan radalle?" (in Finnish). Vaunut.org. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  5. ^ Nummelin, Markku (2011). "Tasoristeys". Resiina (in Finnish) (176). Museorautatieyhdistys ry, Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura ry: 60. ISSN 0356-0600.
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