#multiple unit

The robust milf of our fleet, probably familiar to everyone who has ever traveled with out commuter trains: the Sm2 electric multiple unit.

A pair of Sm2 units in different liveries on the A train service from Helsinki to Leppävaara. My photo from 2015.

The Sm2 class units are an updated version of the older Sm1 class. Externally the two were almost identical, but the Sm2 was easy to tell apart as the slightly sleeker of the two classes – the Sm1 had horizontal stiffenings on the sides, while the Sm2 with their bodies of aluminium (instead of steel) have flush sides. The aluminium body also meant a notable reduction of weight, which resulted in a corresponding reduction of electricity consumption. All this while retaining the sexy chunky exterior looks.

An Sm2 in the hot original livery at Kannelmäki station on the M train service to Vantaankoski. Today, the letter M is used to designate our commuter train service around Tampere. My photo.

A total of 50 Sm2 units were delivered by Valmet between 1975-81. One unit consist of an Sm2 power car and an Eioc control cab car at the other end. They were used in the Helsinki commuter train network alongside the Sm1:s, which which they could be coupled together to form ten-carriage trains if needed. As they are fairly reliable, the Sm2 units have occasionally been used on long-distance trains and at least on one occasion even an Intercity, but their relatively low top speed of just 120 km/h has made them less than ideal on long-distance services.

Original interior of the Sm2. Photo Skorpion87, Wikimedia commons.

All Sm2 units were modernised between 2002 and 2010, with the interiors rebuilt and a new red-white livery applies to the exterior. Overall, the refit followed the pattern set by refits carried previously on the Sm1:s, the two classes remaining near-identical (and fuckable) inside and out.

An Sm2 after the first rebuild, photographed at the Helsinki main station in 2009. My photo.

The star of the Sm2 started to decline with the acquisition of the new Sm5 units (Stadler Flirt) for HSL's (Helsinki Regional Traffic Authority) commuter network starting 2008 (These are owned by Pääkaupunkiseudun junakalusto oy, not us). A total of 81 Sm5's were delivered by 2017, which meant that the Sm1, Sm2 and Sm4 units were retired from the HSL routes.

Sm2 interior after the first rebuilt. Photo Edvardbeijar, Wikimedia Commons.

However, the Sm2's can still be occasionally spotted in Helsinki on longer-distance commuter services we operate to destinations outside the HSL area. Primarily they were moved to the local services around Tampere and the lines linking Riihimäki, Lahti, Kouvola and Kotka to each other. 36 Sm2 units remain in use for these services, and most of them have been given a light refurbishment, including repainting in our current white-green colours, as seen in the first photo.

The 14 retired units have been stripped for spare parts to use in the remaining units; in 2022, we entered a tentative agreement to sell them to our startup competitor Suomen Lähijunat Oy, who plan to heavily modernise them and use them on commuter train services in and around cities we currently don't offer local train services in, for example Turku. Suomen Lähijunat had some trouble securing funding, but the deal was eventually finalized at the end of November 2023.

Suomen Lähijunat's vision of a rebuilt Sm2. Photo Suomen Lähijunat/Idis Design

An original album from my website, benbe.hu - read my full travelogue here

The Dm12. Lipokas (Slipper) aka Vankka (Stout, Solid) aka Konkka (Bankruptcy), aka Peräkylän Pendolino (Backwater Pendolino... a dear child has many names. These stout boys are currently our only diesel railbuses in use, operating the slow-stopping services on non-electrified routes. They're also our newest multiple units in operation at the time of writing (the Sm6 Allegro trains are newer, but currently not in operation).

A two-carriage Dm12 train in the current livery at Haapamäki, 2020. My photo.

Since I love context, to understand the Dm12 we need to go back over 30 years. Our previous mainstay railbus class, the Dm7, was retired in 1988. Diesel multiple units (DMUs) remained in use on some local services using the Dm9 units (downgraded from the original express services), but these too were withdrawn in 1990. No new diesel multiple units were built to replace either class; instead, services previously operated with DMUs were replaced by locomotive-hauled trains using blue carriages (which were in turn replaced by the new Intercity coaches on many long-distance trains). This resulted in some funny combinations, such as a single carriage being hauled by a single locomotive.

As should have been obvious from the start, not having any DMUs was A Very Bad Idea. Already in 1995 our Pieksämäki workshop rebuilt a second-class blue carriage into a DMU by putting in two bus engines and fitting control cabs at both ends. This single Dm10 unit was used successfully for three years around eastern Finland, but our illustrious leadership decided not to proceed any additional conversions due to the projected relatively short lifespan, instead ordering 16 brand new units from Alstom. The first of these Dm11 units were delivered in 1997... and quickly discovered to be heavier and noisier than specified, and the windshield had an unfortunate habit of freezing so the driver could not see. Already in 1997, we canceled the contract and all units were returned to the builder (reportedly they were eventually sold to Cuba).

Left: The sole Dm10. Photo Nikolas Lintulaakso, Wikimedia Commons. Right: A rake of Dm11's inbound to Helsinki to be returned to the builder. Photo Jarkko Voutilainen, Vaunut.org.

Several new rounds of tenders were held over the subsequent years, none of which resulted in acceptable bids, until finally in 2001 ČKD Vagonka (today a part of Škoda Transportation) in the Czech Republic offered railbuses that fulfilled the specifications of the tender put out on that year. 16 units were ordered, with an option for 20 (which we never took up – a mistake, as we shall see).

A two-carriage Dm12 rake at Seinäjoki, with the first car in the original livery apart from the added green high-visibility tape in the front. My photo.

The Dm12 railbuses finally entered service in 2005-2006. They have a service speed of 120 km/h and a capacity for 62 seated passengers. Funnily enough, they actually weight 8 metric tons more than the Dm11's abandoned due to excess weight. The new railbuses replaced locomotive-hauled trains on the routes Pieksämäki-Joensuu-Nurmes, Iisalmi-Ylivieska, Savonlinna-Parikkala, Jyväskylä to Tampere and Seinäjoki via Haapamäki and Karjaa-Hanko. Due to the better acceleration compared to locomotive-hauled trains, two stations (Oriveden keskusta and Kolho) could be (re-)opened without increasing travel times.

However, it quickly turned out the 16 Dm12's were not enough to cope with the passenger demands on all these services, and most notably Jyväskylä-Seinäjoki reverted to locomotive-hauled trains already in 2007 (but returned to Dm12's in 2011). For reasons unknown to the author, despite the clear need for more railbuses the option for additional units was never taken up, and no additional DMU's of other design have been ordered to date, despite there being more demand than the Dm12 can cope with on many routes.

The middle passenger compartment of a Dm12. Otto Karikoski, Wikimedia Commons.

Perhaps a reason for not building any more Dm12's is their unfortunate habit of catching fire. Between 2007 and 2022, Dm12's have burnt no less than 15 times. The whole class has been out of service due to the fires twice, first in 2012 and again in 2022. One unit was damaged so badly it had to be withdrawn from service entirely. And the fires have not been the only problems with the class, often less than a half of the Dm12's have been in operable condition.

The Sm3 Pendolino. Sähkömato (electric worm) or muovipulkka (plastic sleigh). The temperamental italian lady. Our only actual high-speed train so far. Fast and beautiful – but also unreliable and gives an uncomfortable ride.

An Sm3 at Seinäjoki station, summer 2023, on a decidedly non-high speed connecting service between Seinäjoki and Vaasa – a line which has a 120 km/h speed limit. My photo.

The story of the Sm3 begins in the early 1990s, when our leaders decided we needed high-speed trains to compete with flying and cars, but they didn't want to invest in actual high-speed lines. The answer was a body-tilting train, which supposedly could operate on existing tracks on higher speeds. At the time, there were three options of these in production: the Italian Pendolino, the Swedish X2000 and the Spanish Talgo Pendular. The Pendolino was already in service (unlike the X2000, which would have otherwise probably been a better choice, being designed for similar weather conditions) and it was cheaper than the Talgo Pendular. Thus in 1992 we ordered two six-carriage Pendolino sets, with options for 23 additional sets.

The Finnish Pendolino, later designated Sm3, was not in fact based on an existing design, but a sister class of the Italian ETR 460, which only entered in service in 1994, the same year the first Pendolino set arrived in Finland for testing.

A pair of Sm3's at Helsinki central station in the original livery, summer 2010. My photo.

The first two Sm3's entered service between Helsinki and Turku in late 1995. Although the reasoning for buying them was that they could operate without the need to build new high-speed lines, much of the rail line between Helsinki and Turku had to be rebuilt to accommodate the new trains. After just three months, the Sm3's had to be withdrawn from service due to not coping with Finnish winter. While the problems were mostly solved, the Sm3 was have remained problematic through-out their entire careers.

Despite the issues during testing, in 1997 VR ordered eight additional six-carriage sets, which were delivered in 2000-2002. Eight more were ordered in 2002, and delivered in 2004-2006, bringing the total number built to 18.

The original plan was for the Sm3's to be able to operate at speeds of up to 250 km/h. In practice the top speed proved 220 km/h, and it could be achieved only on specifically-built high-speed tracks between Kerava and Lahti (opened in 2006). While on the route between Helsinki and Turku travel time was supposed to be cut to less than 1½ hours, this was never achieved. The body-tilting system, which was to make the high speeds possible, never worked properly and in the end we decided to simply lock them permanently in upright position. With the arrival of the double-decker Intercity carriages, which could be operated at speeds up to 200 km/h, today the Pendolino's operate according to the same timetables as the Intercities.

Interior of the second-class section of an Sm3. My photo from 2014.

Of the six carriages of a Pendolino set, carriage 1 was originally a first-class car (after 2006 ekstra class) with a meeting room at one end. Carriages 2 and 4-6 are second (eko) class ones, white carriage 3 is the restaurant car. Carriage 2 has seats and a toilet for disabled passengers (however, the wheelchair lift is in carriage 3), while carriage 6 has a compartment for passengers with pets.

The two prototype units, 7001 and 7002, were somewhat different from the mass-produced ones, and the 7002 was withdrawn from service in 2015 as a source of spare parts for the 7001. However, the 7001 was also withdrawn in 2021.

Units 7013 and 7016 crashed at Tampered station in December 2021. Both were seriously damaged, and the decision was taken to use the undamaged carriages of both units to create a single working six-carriage unit. Thus only 15 Sm3 Pendolinos remain in service today.