VR-Yhtymä (VR Group) is Finland's national railway company. The full name of VR is Valtion Rautatiet, (Finnish for state railways.) On 17 March 1862 the first railway line was opened in Finland from Helsinki to Hämeenlinna.
The present company was founded in 1995 when the state-owned Valtionrautatite, which until now was divided into two parts: VR-Yhtymä became the owner of the rolling stock and Ratahallintokeskus of the infrastructure (eg in the Netherlands NS Travelers and Prorail).
Finnish railways have a track width of 1524 mm as at the time of the construction of the Finnish rail network, Finland was a part of the Russian empire.
Finland had a predominantly agricultural economy in the nineteenth century, which led to the fact that Finland first got late railways: the first railway line was opened in 1862, between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna. A rail link with Saint Petersburg (at Riihimäki branch of the former line) came into existence in 1870. The vastness of the country and the relatively small proportion of the rail in total transport are reflected in the major part of the route that is unusual.
Most long-distance connections are from and to Helsinki. With Saint Petersburg, under the name Allegro, a connection is made with Pendolino train stations, in cooperation with the Russian railways. Helsinki has a suburban network, owned by a separate organization (Pääkaupunkiseudud lähiliikenne), but operated by VR. Pictures Railway companies for rail passenger and / or rail freight in Europe
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