VR FleetCare has invested EUR 10 million in improving the Oulu depot and project centre and a new paint shop. Operations have started with a modernisation project for a Swedish customer’s rolling stock and a facelift for VR’s Sm6 fleet, known as Allegro trains. The paint shop’s surface treatment line will bring new expertise and jobs to Oulu.
The new paint shop responds to the growing need for surface treatment of rolling stock, which has increased with VR FleetCare’s international projects. The paint shop is mainly used for the surface treatment of rolling stock, but the modern facilities and technology can also be used for other large and demanding components.
Oulu is home to VR FleetCare’s newest and most modern depot and project centre. The hall is used flexibly for international fleet projects and maintenance work. The two painting chambers have a combined length of 64 metres, a width of 7 metres and a height of almost 8 metres. It is one of the largest industrial painting chambers in Finland.
“With international rolling stock projects and new wagon production, we need more capacity alongside the Pieksämäki machine workshop. The project centre in Oulu is logistically well located, and the most modern rolling stock surface treatment line in Finland, now in operation, will be able to serve customers for both rolling stock projects and subcontract painting,” Otso Ikonen, Senior Vice President of Maintenance, at VR said.
At the Oulu depot, VR FleetCare introduced new technology for painting activities which includes technology for intelligent temperature, humidity and air exchange control, to ensure high-quality standards in surface treatment. “The new line will also bring new expertise and jobs to Oulu,” Otso Ikonen noted.
The construction of the paint shop took about a year and involved many local contractors. The Oulu depot was completed in 2014, and its washing hall was commissioned in 2016.
“The recent investments in the Oulu depot create excellent conditions for carrying out fleet projects in a cost-effective and high-quality manner. Painting activities have started at a fast pace in Oulu – we are currently painting the Sm6 train known as Allegro,” says Ikonen.
Allegro trains are being updated in Oulu to reflect VR’s new appearance. VR will take the trains into service in Finland during 2025.
The Allegro trains have been owned by a joint venture between VR and Russian Railways. The Russian owner has repeatedly neglected its financial obligations towards the joint venture. VR has redeemed the joint venture’s loans and through the right of pledge taken possession of the trains on December 14th 2023. The trains are expected to be put into service in domestic long-distance traffic in Finland around the year 2025.
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