Snowy railroad view from Sotkamo, Finland.
Effective winter maintenance of the railways relies on close cooperation between the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, maintenance contractors, traffic control, railway operators, and meteorologists at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The aim is to keep train services running as smoothly as possible throughout the winter season.
On the railways, preparations for winter are made proactively and in a planned manner. The practical maintenance work is carried out by contractors selected through competitive bidding. Each contractor is responsible for meeting the agreed service level using the methods and resources they choose.
“The most crucial factor in ensuring a successful winter season is the nationwide and regional cooperation between different parties. This is secured by drawing up preparedness plans for the various challenges winter can bring,” says Teemu Poussu, Head of the Railway Maintenance Unit at the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute’s comprehensive service package supports railway maintenance.
Weather services provided by the Finnish Meteorological Institute play a major role in preparing for winter maintenance. The service package includes, among other things, advance alerts issued by the meteorologists on duty such as warnings about strong winds, heavy snowfall, severe frost, and rapid temperature fluctuations. Seasonal forecasts are also used for longer-term planning, for example a three-month average snow-depth forecast for the winter season.
In addition, the Finnish Meteorological Institute provides bulletins on hazardous weather conditions, holds briefing sessions, and prepares post-event reports when needed after challenging weather situations. The information is directed to the appropriate maintenance areas. There are 12 of these across Finland’s railway network. Messages, alerts, and bulletins are sent out almost daily to support maintenance planning and decision-making.
Cooperation and information exchange are close, and alongside extensive digital data, maintenance crews and traffic control also benefit from the expertise of professional meteorologists. In this comprehensive service package, information flows quickly, and maintenance personnel can speak directly with a weather expert, ensuring that weather information doesn’t rely on personal interpretation. We also continually work together to consider how we can improve—whether through fine-tuning or by introducing entirely new elements,” says Minna Haikonen, Account Manager at the Finnish Meteorological Institute
One of the latest areas of development in the service package is a machine learning based rail temperature forecast, which can be used year-round. In the future, machine learning may even make it possible to predict the likelihood of specific maintenance actions, for example, the need to clear snow from switches on the railway network.
If weather forecasts indicate particularly demanding conditions, work on the rail network can be postponed or train services reduced through a joint decision among the various parties. Reduced traffic provides better opportunities for winter maintenance and lowers the risk of disruptions on the network.
Prepared for the Unexpected
A joint winter preparedness group for the railway sector has been in operation since 2019. The group coordinates winter preparations across all parties, including the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, Fintraffic Rail, and railway operators. It monitors the situation throughout the winter and identifies areas for development.
For example, snow removal is planned collaboratively with traffic control, the agency, and the maintenance contractors. The goal of these plans is to ensure train traffic runs as smoothly as possible. When maintaining platform areas, the timing of work also takes passenger schedules into account.
“Even with good plans, surprises can still occur. That is why each maintenance area has around-the-clock standby crews for repairs during the winter season,” says Poussu
Winter Maintenance Improves Year by Year
Railway winter maintenance is continuously being improved. For example, collaboration between track maintenance and ongoing winter construction projects has been strengthened in recent years. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency’s clearing service also helps speed up recovery from disruptions, such as when trees fall onto the tracks during storms. Risk trees are removed along the railway throughout the year to prevent both falling hazards and problems caused by crown snow-loads.
“Switch heaters have been installed on the most critical switches for train traffic to melt snow and ice. All switch heaters are also checked before the winter season begins. In addition, snow brushes have been installed on about a hundred switches, and more are added whenever possible,” says Poussu.
Read the article in Finnish on the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s website.
For more information please contact:
Minna Haikonen, Finnish Meteorological Institute, firstname.lastname@fmi.fi
Teemu Poussu, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, firstname.lastname@vayla.fi
