MSc Traction powering long-distance coaches on Finland Railways

MSc’s converters are a critical part of the operation of the long-distance coaches built by Škoda Group, the leading rolling stock manufacturer in Northern Europe. The converters convert the voltage from the overhead line for various appliances on the trains, e.g., lights, doors, air conditioning and heating.

Škoda Group ordered the first converters for Finland Railways’ trains from MSc already in 1997. MSc has since delivered thousands of converters to Škoda Group’s long-distance double-decker coaches, restaurant cars, car-carrier wagons and sleeper coaches. The converters are required to be fully operational for 18 hours daily, year round, in weather conditions ranging from -40 to +35 degrees Celsius. The history data, e.g. MTBF data, has shown that MSc’s converters meet the highly demanding requirements for reliability and availability. At the present date, the average age of the converters in operation is 15 years.

“This project continues our longstanding partnership with MSc Traction that was started in the 1990s. Thanks to the high quality and reliability of this Finnish company, we can ensure the safe operation of our rolling stock products. We are excited to continue delivering exceptional results together," says Ville Määttä, project manager from Škoda Group Region North.

MSc Traction is currently working on converters for Škoda Group’s new batch of sleeper coaches and car-carrier wagons. The delivery is expected to be completed in Q2 of 2025.