Finland and Russia have signed an Agreement on international railway transport.
The Agreement was signed by Mr Harri Pursiainen, Permanent Secretary of the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, and Mr Sergey Aristov, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, on 28 April 2015 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The new Agreement clarifies the rules of railway transport and improves its efficiency. In accordance with the Agreement all railway operators located in Finland or elsewhere in the European Economic Area may operate in the Finnish rail network in transport between Finland and Russia.
The Agreement does not open up Russia's internal railway markets to operators within the EU nor Finland's markets to Russian railway operators.
The intention is that the Agreement will be submitted to Parliament in autumn 2015 and it would enter into force in 2016 the earliest. The new Agreement replaces the agreement and its annexes of 1997 concerning rail transport connecting Finland and Russia.
Inquiries:
Mikael Nyberg, Director of Unit, +358 40 837 8794
Silja Ruokola, Senior Government Adviser, +358 40 580 0894
