Two VR Pendolino trains collided at Tampere railway station around midday on Sunday. VR communications managerJanna Viisterä said that there were no passengers aboard at the time of the collision.

"The collision did not cause any injuries," she told Yle.

According to Viisterä, the collision occurred when the trains were being moved around in the rail yard.

Reader photos published by Tampere newspaperAamulehti showed two locomotives crushed together nose-to-nose, with clearly significant damage to at least one of them.

Viisterä predicted that the impact on rail traffic would be minor.

The morning train connection from Tampere to Turku was cancelled, as was a Turku-Tampere trip scheduled to depart at 3:10pm.

One Pendolino may be replaced with slower InterCity (IC) equipment.

Changes may be made to the Tampere-Helsinki trip departing 5:04pm, but according to Viisterä said this had not yet been confirmed.

Reliability issues

VR has operated Italian-designed Pendolino 'tilting trains' since 1995. In Finland, they operate at a maximum speed of 220 km/h.

VR's Pendolino have suffered from reliability issues, particularly in cold weather.

Earlier on Sunday, before the Tampere mishap,VR announced that the Pendolino from Helsinki to Lappeenranta at 1:56pm was cancelled due to a technical problem, as was the return from Lappeenranta to the capital at 4:22pm.