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New takeover from VR FleetCare – the maintenance of e-buses begins

11. October 2021 News and press releases

VR FleetCare, which normally works on the maintenance of rolling stock, will start servicing e-buses in Tampere, Finland. The framework agreement has been concluded with the bus operator Pohjolan Liikenne and is valid until further notice as of June 2022. The agreement covers the maintenance of a total of 25–30 Yutong fully electric buses in accordance with the maintenance programme. Maintenance work will be carried out at VR FleetCare’s Tampere freight wagon depot.

“Electronic traffic is growing strongly and will play a decisive role in tackling climate change. At VR FleetCare, we find it important as a maintenance supplier to be involved in enabling even more environmentally friendly urban transport."

Our new takeover is also very interesting from a business point of view, and it offers many opportunities for the maintenance of electric equipment,” says Peter Guldbrand, Vice President, Sales, VR FleetCare. We are also happy to be able to improve the skills of our employees and provide more work.

Taking over the maintenance of the new rubber-tired fleet requires investments in the premises of the freight wagon depot as well as in the orientation of the mechanics. The current wagon depot facilities are well suited for the maintenance of e-buses. Only small investments need to be made in the premises in order to make the infrastructure safe and efficient to work on. Our employees will also receive comprehensive training in e-buses in the first half of 2022.

“We have experience of a wide range of rolling stock. In fact, trains are a lot more complicated in terms of technology than e-buses, so after the training and orientation, our mechanics will be ready to take over the new equipment. We have a comprehensive network of locations and the corresponding capability to carry out maintenance operations on e-buses also elsewhere as the traffic of e-buses expands in Finland,” says Guldbrand.

Pohjolan Liikenne has been using e-buses since 2019. This agreement, concluded until 2030, is the first one which Nysse, Tampere regional transport, required to be operated with zero or low-emission vehicles. Now, Pohjolan Liikenne has 85 e-buses in operation in the capital region, and the number is constantly growing.

“For us, VR Fleetcare was a natural choice as a partner. The maintenance work of buses in Tampere can be carried out in our future depot and with the help of experienced professionals. We are happy to be able to work with VR FleetCare and enable the expansion of maintenance expertise in a new sector,” says Heikki Alanko, Managing Director of Pohjolan Liikenne.