Agreement between Finland and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics concerning trackage rights on the USSR railways for goods trains of the Finnish railwaysThe Ministry of Transport and Public Works of Finland, on the one hand, and the Ministry of Transport of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, on the other hand, have through their plenipotentiaries, agreed as follows: Article 1 The USSR railways shall allow through goods trains of the Finnish railways to use its trackage along the route USSR State frontier-Syväoro-Vartsilä-USSR State frontier. Article 2 Through goods trains of the Finnish railways shall be made up in accordance with the technical regulations of the Finnish railways and, when using the trackage of the USSR railways, shall be operated with locomotives and crews of the Finnish railways. Article 3 The movement of through Finnish goods trains along the said trackage shall be governed by the operating and signalling regulations of the USSR railways. The frequency of such trains shall not exceed three pairs of trains every twentyfour hours. The maximum weight of each train shall be fixed at 1,200 tons and the length of the train at 100 axles (exclusive of the locomotive). The time-table for such trains shall be agreed upon by the administrations of the October and the Kirov railways with the administration of the Finnish railways through a mixed Soviet-Finnish frontier railway commission. Five hours before the beginning of each twenty-four dispatching period (6 p. m. Moscow time), the station-masters at Niirala and Parikkala shall inform, respectively, the station-masters at Värtsilä and Syväoro of the numbers of the trains of the Finnish railways that are to be dispatched during the following twentyfour-hour period. Article 4 The Finnish railways shall provide their locomotives with fuel and lubricants for the whole journey. Stations where the fireboxes of locomotives of through Finnish trains may be cleaned and the water supply of such locomotives replenished shall be designated in the agreed time-table. The USSR railways shall provide the locomotives of through Finnish trains with water free of charge. Article 5 Neither the freight nor the rolling stock of through Finnish trains shall be transferred at frontier stations. The rolling stock and freight shall be inspected by officials of the USSR railways for the sole purpose of ensuring the safe passage of those trains. Wagons the condition of which does not satisfy the technical requirements set forth in annex No. 6 to the Soviet-Finnish Frontier Railway Agreement shall be removed from through Finnish trains and returned to the frontier station of the Finnish railways by the locomotives of the party which services transfer trains on that section of track. Both loaded and empty wagons shall be sealed, and hatches shall bu closed. The freight carried by through Finnish trains shall not be subject to customs or other inspection nor to customs duties or to transit or other charges. Article 6 The transfer of the rolling stock of through Finnish trains and its passage along the route USSR State frontier-Syväoro-Värtsilä-USSR State frontier shall be recorded in wagon lists drawn up in six copies by the frontier stations of the Finnish railways. These wagon lists shall be stamped in the upper right-hand corner with the words (in Russian) "Through Finnish train". Five copies of the wagon list shall be given to the conductor of the through Finnish train, who shall in turn give two copies each to the frontier stations of entry and exit of the USSR railways. Article 7 Train crews of the Finnish railways shall be subject to the provisions of the Soviet-Finnish Frontier Railway Agreement (annex No. 2 thereto) with regard to the crossing of the frontier and their presence on the trackage of the USSR railways. A list of the members of a train crew of the Finnish railways shall be drawn up in five copies for each journey. Four copies shall be given to the conductor of the through Finnish train, who shall in turn give one copy each to the entry and exit frontier control organs of Finland and the USSR. The Finnish railways shall be responsible for the actions of the crews of the through trains in the course of the journey on the trackage of the USSR railways. Article 8 The external security of through Finnish trains during their passage along the USSR railways shall be ensured by the USSR railways. The crews of the through Finnish trains shall be responsible for the safety of the freight carried in the trains and for the mechanical condition of the wagons. If any unauthorized person boards a Finnish train during its passage along the USSR railways, the crew of the train shall be responsible to the railway administration of the USSR for the illegal carriage of such person. Article 9 In order to ensure that signals are properly interpreted and the operating rules are observed along the route USSR State frontier-Syväoro-Värtsilä-USSR State frontier, the USSR railways shall appoint a pilot engine-driver to accompany each through train of the Finnish railways who shall be responsible for interpreting signals and observing the operating rules. Each Finnish engine crew shall include one person having a knowledge of the Russian language. Article 10 Minor repairs to locomotives or wagons not requiring uncoupling, the lubrication of journal-boxes and the correction of deficiencies in the freight on a through Finnish train operating on the trackage of the USSR railways shall be carried out by the crew of that train. If wagons cannot be repaired without being uncoupled from the train or if deficiencies in the freight cannot be corrected by the crew of the through Finnish train, the necessary action shall be taken by and at the expense of the USSR railways on the basis of a requisition in writing from the conductor of the through Finnish train. A record in the form prescribed by article 59 of the Soviet-Finnish Frontier Railway Agreement shall be kept of the repairs to wagons carried out by the USSR railways. Article 11 If mechanical defects or the condition of the freight necessitates the uncoupling of a wagon, the conductor of the through Finnish train shall deliver the wagon to an officiai of the USSR railways and shall enter the transfer in a record drawn up in triplicate in the Finnish and Russian languages. Two copies of the record shall be given to the representatives of the USSR railways and the third copy shall be retained by the conductor. The record shall be signed by the conductor of the through Finnish train and by the station-master of that station of the USSR railways where the wagon was left. The condition of the wagon and the freight shall be stated in the record. On completion of the repairs, the wagon shall be attached to the next through Finnish train proceeding in the same direction. Article 12 Such matters as medical assistance, the right of the crews of through Finnish trains to use telephone and telegraph facilities, the procedure to be followed in case of accidents to trains and so on shall be governed by the conditions set forth in the Soviet-Finnish Frontier Railway Agreement. Article 13 The Finnish railways shall pay the USSR railways: The accounting of the aforesaid charges shall be carried out in the manner provided in the regulations concerning accounts, book keeping and the adjustment of balances in connexion with Finnish-Soviet direct railway communications. Article 14 This Agreement shall come into force on 1 December 1956 and shall remain in force until it is terminated by one of the Parties, subject to six months' written notice to the other Party. Article 15 This Agreement was drawn up and signed at Moscow on 14 September 1956 in two copies in the Finnish and Russian languages, both texts being equally authentic.
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