Oy Karelian Trains Ltd is a joint venture agreed on 23 November 2006 between Russian Railways (RZhD) and VR Group (Finnish Railways) to facilitate the operation of international express passenger rail services between Helsinki, Finland, and Saint Petersburg, Russia. Karelian Trains is registered in Helsinki; VR and RZhD both own 50% of the shares. The services are branded as Allegro. During the first year of operation the service has had 280,000 passengers, far more than expected.