VR commuter rail

VR commuter rail VR:n lähiliikenne VR:s närtrafik
A Class Sm4 unit at Tampere station in July 2016 after working a Main Line regional service.
Overview
Area served	Regions of Uusimaa Kanta-Häme Kymenlaakso Pirkanmaa Päijät-Häme Finland
Transit type	Commuter rail
Number of lines	8
Number of stations	36
Website	https://www.vr.fi/en/railway-stations-and-routes/commuter-traffic
Operation
Began operation	28 May 1972
Operator(s)	VR
Character	Above ground
Number of vehicles	50 Sm2 + 20 Sm4 + 16 Eil + 4 Eilf
Train length	2-8 cars
Technical
System length	112 km (70 mi)
Track gauge	1,524 mm (60.0 in)
Electrification	25 kV / 50 Hz
Top speed	160 km/h

VR commuter rail (Finnish: VR:n lähiliikenne, Swedish: VR:s närtrafik) is a Finnish commuter rail system operated by VR – the national railway operator of Finland – under a public service obligation agreement with the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland.^[1] The operations are planned in trilateral co-operation between the ministry, the operator and various regional transport authorities.^[2]

VR commuter rail consists of seven alphabetically identified services on six different railway lines. Four of these services terminate at Helsinki where the system is integrated with the Helsinki commuter rail system managed by the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority, whose the operations are currently also contracted out to VR. The system serves five regions of southern Finland which in total account for approximately half of the entire population of the country. Major cities and towns served include Tampere, Hämeenlinna, Lahti, Kouvola and Kotka.