FINLAND’s VR Group has confirmed that it will purchase MTR Nordic’s Swedish subsidiary MTR Express (MTRX), which operates long-distance open-access services between Stockholm and Gothenburg in competition with national operator SJ.
MTRX operates 18 services per day using six Stadler Flirt X74 EMUs and has a 30% market share on the route. It began operating in 2015 and now employs 120 people, reporting revenue of SKr 350m ($US 33.5m) in 2022. The business is described as profitable.
The transaction requires approval from the Swedish competition authority, which is expected at the end of May. The cost of the deal was not disclosed.
VR CEO, Ms Elisa Markula, says the transaction strengthens “the competitiveness of our existing business in Sweden and Finland” and describes the Swedish long-distance market, which is around two-times the size of Finland’s, as “very attractive.”
VR confirmed to IRJ that MTRX will be integrated into its long-distance operations and that it will establish common ways of working. It will also continue to improve passenger experience by introducing further digital services. VR adds that the agreement includes the transfer of ownership of the fleet of EMUs while the fleet maintenance contract with Stadler, which runs until 2033 under revised terms announced in October, will continue under the new owner.
“MTRX is an independent entity with high levels of customer experience and employee satisfaction,” Markula says. “The company operates as a challenger in a competitive market and has also been lauded for its innovation capabilities – I trust that together we can create even better services for Nordic train passengers.”
VR entered the Swedish market in July 2022 through the acquisition of Arriva Sweden, while its VR City Traffic Sweden subsidiary is an active participant in the country’s regional public transport operations tenders. VR says the acquisition of MTRX supports its strategy to achieve profitable growth and is another step in its plan to evolve the business as it prepares for the start of competition in the Finnish market.
Sweden’s most punctual operator
MTRX has been Sweden’s leading operator for passenger satisfaction in surveys conducted by the independent Swedish Quality Index in each of the past seven years. The operator has introduced several innovations for passengers, including paperless ticketing and automatic delay compensation. It is also recognised as the most punctual operator on the Stockholm – Gothenburg route.
“The sale is a commercial decision in line with our overall business goals, with the aim of continuing the positive development of MTRX,” says MTR Nordic CEO, Ms Caroline Åstrand. “We will now prepare for a smooth transition with the passengers’ best interests as the highest priority.”
The sale is the latest development in MTR Nordic’s apparent retreat from the Swedish market.
Stockholm Local Transport (SL) signed an emergency contract with SJ in November to replace MTR as the operator of Pendeltåg commuter services in Stockholm from March 3 2024 for two years with two optional one-year extensions.
The emergency award followed SL’s announcement in May 2023 that it would not exercise a four-year option to extend MTR’s 10-year contract, which commenced in December 2016, citing “serious problems.” MTR says that commuter services have suffered from a continuing shortage of drivers as well as fleet maintenance problems, which led to severe disruption for passengers. The business has been operating at a loss.
MTR will also cease operating the Stockholm metro network in May 2025 after a consortium of Go-Ahead and Singapore-based transport company ComfortDelGro secured an 11-year contract last month.
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