Interaction in many directions
VR Group has a wide range of diverse stakeholders, since many different parties are interested in the Group’s operations because of the important role it plays in society.
Regular interaction with various stakeholders is important so that VR Group can respond to the expectations of different stakeholders and, on the other hand, can improve the conditions for its own business operations.
VR Group’s stakeholders can be divided roughly into three groups: government bodies, those with a business relationship, and organisations and others interested in VR’s business operations. The Group has Finnish and international stakeholders.
Strictly regulated
VR Group’s government stakeholders are the Finnish State as owner, national and international decision-makers, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and various authorities, with the Finnish Transport Agency and the Finnish Transport Safety Agency being the most important of these for the Group’s operations.
The entire railway sector – and through this a significant part of the operations of VR Group – is strictly regulated at EU and national level. Regulation is dynamic and is continuously changing the business environment in which VR Group operates.
The European Union's fourth railway package was discussed extensively in 2013. The discussions in EU institutions on the railway package are still continuing. Implementing the directive amending the EU's first railway package will result in changes in national legislation by extending the powers of the regulatory body monitoring the railway market, specifying the service obligations of railway undertakings and reforming track access charges.
Stakeholders in VR Group’s business operations are personnel, customers and business partners, such as subcontractors. VR Group also has personnel, customers and partners outside Finland.
Many of the parties involved in VR’s business environment have more than one role. For example the Finnish Transport Agency is a government authority but is also a customer of VR Track with its infrastructure engineering operations.
Organisations
VR Group participates in the activities of many organisations that play an important role in its business environment. It works most closely with personnel organisations. VR personnel belong to the Finnish Locomotivemen’s Union, Rautatievirkamiesliitto (Union of Railway Officials), Akava, the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, and Rautatiealan Teknisten liitto (Union of Railway Technical Personnel).
In Finland, VR Group is a member of the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK, the Association of Service Sector Employers Palta, the Association for Finnish Work, and the Finnish Association of Purchasing and Logistics (LOGY). The Group also belongs to the Finnish Business & Society’s (FiBS) network for responsible business.
VR Track is a business member of Infra ry. It also belongs to the Electrical Contractors’ Association of Finland STUL, the Finnish Geotechnical Society, the Advisory Committee for the Civil Engineering Sector MANK, Talonrakennusteollisuus (Finnish Building Construction Association), and Promaint (Finnish Maintenance Association).
Pohjolan Liikenne is a member of the Finnish Bus and Coach Association and VR Transpoint of Finnish Transport and Logistics (SKAL). Avecra is a member of The Finnish Tourism and Restaurant Industries Federation (MaRa), while Corenet is a member of the Finnish Federation for Communications and Teleinformatics, FiCom.
Key international organisations in the rail sector are the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the International Union of Railways (UIC). CER represents the interests of the railway sector within the EU while UIC acts globally as the sector’s cooperation organization and at a European level as the cooperation forum on technical issues. The International Rail Transport Committee CIT helps in the practical implementation of the COTIF agreement in international rail services.
VR Group is an observer in the Organisation for Railway Cooperation (OSJD), which promotes cooperation between railways in Eastern European countries, CIS countries, China and some other Asian countries. The Group is an affiliated member in the Council for Rail Transport of the CIS States, which coordinates rail services and cooperation between Russia, other CIS countries and the Baltic countries.
VR Group is also a member of the Coordinating Council for Trans-Siberian Transportation, which develops and coordinates transportation on the Trans-Siberian railway. VR Group is involved in the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), a global advocate for public transport and sustainable mobility and the promoter of innovations and cooperation in the public transport sector.
