VR FleetCare and UPM Metsä have signed an agreement for the delivery of more than 150 Snps timber wagons manufactured in Finland. The first new wagons are planned to enter service by the end of 2026, with the full series completed in 2028. The contract includes long-term maintenance.
The order is the first timber wagon contract from a customer outside VR Group for VR FleetCare. UPM will replace foreign wagon capacity in its Finnish wood logistics with the domestically produced Snps wagons. The wagons are designed to meet EU standards for timber transport and having maintenance in the same package links production and lifecycle support to one supplier, including planned overhauls and possible modifications during operation.
According to the transport plan, approximately one third of UPM Metsä’s roundwood rail flows will be moved with the new wagons once they are in full use. The new fleet will gradually take over the work currently done by foreign wagons that UPM has employed in Finland since 2023. UPM connects the investment with its domestic logistics strategy, employment in Finland and the competitiveness of its wood supply chain.
For Pieksämäki, the order adds workload to the workshop alongside an already announced heavy-freight wagon contract. VR FleetCare has a long history in wagon manufacturing, with almost 50,000 wagons produced for Finnish industry over time. At Pieksämäki, production follows safety and sustainability principles, with facilities and skills covering the entire wagon manufacturing process.
Previous timber wagons from VR FleetCare have been tailored to provide suitable payloads for different timber dimensions and to handle Finnish operating conditions. In addition to timber wagons, the Pieksämäki workshop also builds heavy-freight wagons and tank wagons. Its output is around 300 freight wagons per year, and the production volume can be increased according to customer demand.
