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Finland's long haul trains to be affected by strike on Thursday

Xinhua, March 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

Nearly all long haul passenger trains will be cancelled in Finland on Thursday as a result of a strike of conductors.

The spontaneous walkout was announced by the conductors following the railroad company VR's decision to dismiss over 200 employers on Wednesday.

The strike will not apply to the commuter services in and around Helsinki and two cross-border services to and from Russia.

The cutbacks of the state-owned railroad company VR will hit the traditional conductor corps heavily. Several bases of train conductors will be closed.

VR has faced increasing competition from bus operators following the liberalization of bus route authorization in 2014. This spring, VR chose to slash down prices to avoid further loss of passengers. It also reduced schedules.

VR has a monopoly in long haul passenger train operations, but the Ministry of Transport is planning to make competition feasible next year.

VR says the strike could affect 50,000 people. No replacement services will be arranged. Endit