CEO’s Review: Here are some of the things we've achieved #together
Fintraffic’s journey as a company that combines different modes of transport began almost five years ago. With our skilled personnel and partners, we have achieved a lot: We have improved traffic safety and reduced traffic disruptions, by means such as our determined efforts to develop the traffic control services and make more comprehensive use of traffic-related data and situational picture. The efficiency of service production in traffic control has improved significantly and traffic emissions have decreased.
The implementation of our strategy is crystallised in three areas of operation: the development of traffic control, the construction of productised digital ecosystem services and the promotion of uniform operating practices in Fintraffic.
Air navigation services achieved the performance and safety targets set by the authorities and our capacity maintenance and environmental efficiency targets. Due to the global situation, the financial result remained loss-making despite the adjustment measures made. The number of flights in Finnish airspace was about one fifth lower than the pre-pandemic volumes of 2019. Strategic projects were systematically promoted, and the preparation of the remote air traffic control project progressed to the tendering phase. Fintraffic maintained its good competitive position as an international air navigation training provider, and Avia College won the tender for training Georgian air traffic controllers.
During the year, vessel traffic services potentially prevented 13 vessels from running aground. The reliability of our VTS centres was at a good level. In the previous year, we launched the project to develop passing areas and passing prohibition areas. The implementation of the project in collaboration with other operators in the maritime transport sector progressed on schedule. We also introduced a new digital Master’s Guide service for vessel traffic. It provides ships and other stakeholders arriving in Finnish ports with all important instructions for vessel traffic in one place. The service also improves the route planning and situational awareness of vessels arriving in Finland. We developed digital services with our stakeholders and received recognition for our efforts: NEMO won the global Service Design Award 2023. It was also selected as the most Sustainable Digital Act of the Year.
In rail traffic management, we improved the safety level and reliability of rail traffic management services, for example, by increasing the degree of automation and developing preparedness functions. The volume of long-distance train traffic was about 7 per cent lower than in the previous year. The number of commuter trains rose by almost nine per cent, while the number of freight trains fell by about the same percentage. The development and verification phase of the Digirail project was launched at the turn of the year 2022–2023 when Fintraffic and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency signed the alliance agreement on the implementation of the phase.
In road traffic management, we provided nearly 10,000 traffic bulletins about deviations. Traffic in the road network ran relatively smoothly, and large-scale disruptions were avoided. Information flowed between the authorities, such as the police and rescue services, and maintenance contractors. Heavy transport decreased by almost 5%, and passenger car traffic increased slightly by 3%. We were involved in more than 80 different projects to promote the operational and technological development of our services. Our project investments focused especially on improving operational reliability. We carried out lifecycle upgrades in the telecommunications network, road weather stations, and roadside traffic control devices and systems.
The traffic data ecosystem grew, and cooperation and digital services developed
We progressed more strongly from conceptualisation to concrete development in both ecosystem cooperation and digital services. In 2023, around 40 actors joined the traffic data ecosystem, currently involving more than 200 organisations. The working groups took several steps forward. We promoted the implementation of the EU eFTI Regulation related to, among other things, digitalisation of transport data. The regulation encourages the digitalisation of freight transport and logistics by reducing administrative costs, improving the authorities’ control capacities, and increasing the efficiency and sustainability of transport.
In travel information, we promoted the determination and introduction of uniform standards among the actors involved in all mobility services. With regard to the situational picture, we maintained an active dialogue with various actors to improve the availability of road traffic data. During the year, we also made progress in international cooperation. The international European Mobility Dataspace (EMDS) project, collecting urban mobility data, began. The transport data services export cluster led by Fintraffic was launched with 16 actors.
At the end of the year, we published the Fintraffic Mobile app, combining the best functions from the Traffic Situation, Train Departures and Feedback Channel services. Its push messages serve motorists by displaying any road traffic disruptions within a 20 km radius. Everyone using the roads should activate the service!
The information we produce can also be heard on Bauer Media radio channels, where AI voices Aino and Aimo read real-time traffic announcements. It is great to be involved in pioneering development projects.
Outlook for the future
As Finland has joined NATO, our international activities and tasks will increase. Security is important to us, and we invest in preparedness, continuity of operations and the development of information and cyber security in all our operations.
We will continue to build the opportunities for utilising digitalisation and data analytics together with stakeholders who utilise traffic data. Artificial intelligence is an important and topical technology. The potential for using it will increase in many knowledge-intensive fields, which makes it an issue of current interest for us as well. The use of AI requires that we all learn new things. Therefore, we encourage our entire personnel to get acquainted with it and to educate themselves.
Our operations and development would not be possible without our committed employees. As shown by surveys, their satisfaction with their work community has increased over the years, which I am particularly pleased about. In fact, over 80% of our employees feel that their work is truly meaningful.
I would like to thank our customers and partners as well as the operators involved in the data ecosystem work for their excellent cooperation and approach to development. We operate in such a complex world that the transport system could not be developed successfully without us all working on it together with committed personnel and partners. We have already achieved a great deal, but I dare to promise that we will see more great innovations and leaps in development in the coming years as well.
I took up the position of Group CEO with great enthusiasm in June, and during the autumn I got to learn more about the operations. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Pertti Korhonen for his strong contribution to building the company. We are currently well positioned to move forward with our competent personnel and the Finnish transport sector towards and even safer, smoother and more environmentally friendly transport system.
Pia Julin
CEO
