Sibelius (train)

{{italic title}}

{{Infobox rail service

| box_width = 300px

| name = Sibelius

| color =

| logo =

| logo_width =

| image = File:ElectricLoco chs6-010.jpg

| image_width = 300px

| caption = The Sibelius at Saint Petersburg.

| type = Inter-city rail

| status = Discontinued

| locale = Russia{{Snd}} Finland

| predecessor =

| first = May 31, 1992

| last = December 13, 2010

| successor = Allegro

| operator =

| formeroperator = VR Group

| ridership =

| ridership2 =

| website =

| start = Helsinki

| stops = 8

| end = Saint Petersburg

| distance =

| journeytime =

| frequency =

| trainnumber = 035/036

| line_used = Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg railway

| class =

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| catering =

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| baggage =

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| gauge = In Russia: {{Track gauge|1520mm|allk=on}}
In Finland: {{Track gauge|1524mm|lk=on}}

| el = {{25 kV 50 Hz}} (Finland)
3 kV DC (Russia)

| speed =

| owners = VR Group
Russian Railways

| routenumber =

| maintenance =

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}}

The Sibelius was a train run daily by VR between Helsinki, Finland, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The service began on 31 May 1992 in order to ease congestion on the night service train {{Interlanguage link|Repin (train)|lt=Repin|fi|Repin (juna)|ru|Репин (поезд)|italic=yes}} and due to the fall of the Soviet Union, where traffic was increased on the border.

The maximum speed of the train was originally {{convert|140|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}, and it was later raised to {{convert|160|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. Travel times between the two cities were originally over 6 hours, but were dropped to 5 hours and 12 minutes in 2002 and further to 5 hours and 6 minutes in 2006.{{cite journal |last1= Salo |first1= Sakari K |year= 2011 |title= Helsingin–Pietarin liikenteen kehityksestä allegro |journal= Resiina |issue = 173 |pages= 24–36|publisher= Museorautatieyhdistys ry, Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura ry|issn= 0356-0600| language = Finnish}}

This rail service, along with Repin, was discontinued on 12 December 2010 when it was replaced by the new high speed service Allegro. Some of the carriages of the train were supposed to be used on regular traffic between Helsinki and Joensuu on IC 5/12 starting on 31 October 2011,{{cite web | url = http://vaunut.org/keskustelut/index.php/topic,3845.msg23831.html#msg23831 | title = Vs: Pikajuna Karjalan radalle? | first = Lari | last = Nylund | publisher = Vaunut.org | language = Finnish | date = 28 September 2011 | accessdate = 30 September 2011 }} but their introduction was delayed until 10 January 2012 due to pending homologation from the Finnish Transport Safety Agency (TraFi).{{cite web | url = http://www.vr.fi/fi/index/aikataulut/liikennetilanne/liikennetiedotteet.html.stx | title = Liikennetiedotteet | publisher = VR Group | quote = InterCity (IC 5) klo 12.52 Helsinki-Joensuu sekä InterCity (IC 12) klo 18.17 Joensuu-Helsinki ajetaan poikkeuksellisesti pikajunavaunustolla 9.1.2012 saakka. | language = Finnish | date = 9 December 2011 | accessdate = 11 December 2011 }}{{cite web | url = http://vaunut.org/keskustelut/index.php/topic,3845.msg26774.html#msg26774 | title = Vs: Pikajuna Karjalan radalle? | first = Lari | last = Nylund | publisher = Vaunut.org | language = Finnish | date = 5 January 2012 | accessdate = 14 January 2012 }} For instance, the bogies of the carriages had to be changed.{{cite journal | title = Tasoristeys | first = Markku | last = Nummelin | journal = Resiina | page = 60 | issue = 176 | year = 2011 | language = Finnish | publisher = Museorautatieyhdistys ry, Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura ry | issn= 0356-0600 }}

File:Sibelius train.jpg|Sibelius train carriages

File:Sibelius juna sisalta.png|inside the train

File:Repin train Helsinki.jpg|Russian {{ill|Repin (train)|lt=Repin|fi|Repin (juna)|ru|Репин (поезд)|italic=yes}} train carriages

File:RussianConductor.jpg|Russian conductor of the "Repin" train. From Helsinki railway station in 2002

File:Helsinki Central station 2016 06.jpg|{{ill|Tolstoi (train)|lt=Tolstoi train|fi|Tolstoi (juna)|ru|Лев Толстой (поезд)|italic=yes}} which operates between Helsinki and Moscow