Allegro (train)

Allegro
The train at Helsinki Central Station
Overview
Service type	High-speed rail
Status	Ceased operation
Locale	Russia–Finland
Predecessor	Sibelius and Repin
First service	12 December 2010
Last service	27 March 2022
Current operator(s)	Karelian Trains (joint venture between VR and RZD)
Route
Termini	Helsinki Central Station, Helsinki, Finland Finland Station, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Stops	8
Distance travelled	407 km (253 mi)
Average journey time	3 h 27 min
Service frequency	4 rounds daily (from 29 May 2011)
Line(s) used	Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg Kerava–Lahti Helsinki–Riihimäki
On-board services
Class(es)	Business and Economy
Seating arrangements	341 seats
Technical
Rolling stock	Karelian Trains Class Sm6
Track gauge	Russian track: 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Russian gauge Finnish track: 1,524 mm (5 ft)
Operating speed	220 km/h
Track owner(s)	Russian Railways VR Group

Allegro was the brand name of a now defunct high-speed train service, owned by Karelian Trains as a joint venture between the Finnish VR Group and the Russian railway company Russian Railways and operated by Class Sm6 trains, between Helsinki, Finland, and St. Petersburg, Russia from 2010 to 2022.

The train stopped at eight stations, of which six were in Finland and two in Russia. The trip from Helsinki to St. Petersburg took three and a half hours and the maximum speed of the train was 220 kilometres per hour. Because of the sanctions against Russia, the train services were stopped, until the VR Group announced on 14 December 2023 that it would acquire the entire rolling stock of Allegro to itself from Russian Railways after Russian Railways had neglected its duty towards Karelian Trains. The rolling stock of Allegro will be taken into use in domestic long-distance rail traffic in Finland during 2025.^[1]

During its normal service, Allegro was used for about half a million rail journeys per year. The rolling stock consists of four units of seven carriages each, which were manufactured by the Alstom company in Italy.