A passenger gave birth on Tuesday evening on board an Intercity train operated by the Finnish rail operator VR, on the Helsinki–Vaasa route. The company says it is not aware of any other baby ever having been born on one of its trains, and the journey continued without any significant delays.
A truly unusual event took place on board the IC49 Helsinki–Vaasa train, operated by the state-owned railway company VR, after a passenger gave birth during the journey.
The birth took place on Tuesday evening, and the train crew stepped in and contacted the emergency services.
“VR warmly congratulates the family on this special moment,” said Tiina Nummenmaa, communications manager at the Finnish operator, who described the event as “exceptional and joyful”.
Another passenger is reported to have assisted with the birth
According to the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, at least one other passenger is reported to have assisted the mother during the birth. However, VR has not confirmed this information and has not provided details about the circumstances in which the baby was born.
The train crew alerted the emergency services, and an ambulance was dispatched to Seinäjoki station, where the mother and her newborn got off the train to be taken into the care of the medical team.
A VR spokesperson stated that the company’s staff are trained to deal with unusual medical situations and to liaise with emergency control centres and medical staff.
In this instance, the train crew reportedly handled the situation calmly and professionally.
VR is not aware of any previous births having taken place on one of its trains.
The Finnish railway company says that it has no record of another similar case in recent years.
Tiina Nummenmaa stated that VR was unable to determine with certainty whether, throughout its entire history, there had ever been a birth on board a train, but the company is not aware of any precedent.
The incident did not cause any significant disruption to services. After the mother and baby were taken off at Seinäjoki, the IC49 train continued its journey to Vaasa without any significant delay.
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