The matter in summary: The Danish train company DSB is experiencing increased demand for international travel and is considering a new direct route between Oslo and Copenhagen. DSB plans a commercial route to Oslo, without government support, and envisages stops in Halden, Fredrikstad and Moss. A survey shows that almost one in four wants to travel by train to or abroad in the future, and that people will choose the train if the price is lower and the changes are fewer. The route requires permits and the allocation of space on the tracks in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and there is a limited opportunity to run several new departures through Østfold. The Storting has a strong desire to help trains abroad, and has asked the government to secure day trains to Copenhagen by 2026 at the latest. Vy, which currently runs to Gothenburg, is also interested in a route between Oslo and Copenhagen. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It’s unbelievable that it’s not working already, says Felix Elnan. He lives in Oslo and often goes to the Danish capital where he previously studied. But it has been 20 years since the direct route between Oslo and Copenhagen was closed. The train route was not profitable. Felix Elnan, who lives in Oslo, often takes the train to Copenhagen and on to Europe. Photo: Henriette Andrea Aurbakken If you are going to take a train to Copenhagen today, you have to change in Gothenburg. The waiting time there is at least 55 minutes. Elnan takes the train, because he is trying to stop flying. He says trains provide a great experience of the journey. – You get to see a lot of beautiful things along the way, everything from agriculture in Østfold to the Øresund Bridge. The video shows a bit of what you can see as a traveler on the Østfold Railway. Photo: Helene Hillestad/news But most people choose to fly, shows a report from the Norwegian Railway Directorate. Other options are bus, ferry or car. news has spoken to people who travel between Oslo and Copenhagen several times a year, and asked how they get there: Helene Sødergren Dreijer (32) always flies when she goes to visit her family in Norway. She likes the idea of a direct train and is ready to change her choice of travel method when trains match the flight prices. Lars Eirik Arnecke Hovland lives in Oslo. He makes 12-15 trips to Copenhagen a year. Usually chooses to fly, but has also traveled by bus and train. Cecilie Endrerud (44) chooses a boat when she and her son go to visit family in Norway. Theodor Rene Carlsen (27) from Kløfta works in Copenhagen. Travel by plane to and from Norway. Each trip costs him around NOK 2,000. James Cleven (28) from Lillehammer lives in Copenhagen. Varies between traveling by car, bus, boat, plane and train to Norway. But believes that traveling by train gives him the best conscience. Ellen Marie Albinus Lande lives in Tølløse on Zealand. She works in Oslo every two weeks and travels by train. Commercial route to Oslo DSB, the state-owned Danish railway company, is now planning a new offer; A commercial route to Oslo. That is, without money in support from the state. – The demand for train travel abroad is increasing. DSB has an ambition to open new routes from Denmark into Europe. This will happen in tandem with the delivery of brand new EuroCity trains, writes customer manager Charlotte Kjærulff at DSB in an e-mail to news. Charlotte Kjærulff is customer manager at Danish DSB. Photo: Klaus Holsting It is these brand new trainsets that DSB plans to run to Norway. Every day, all year round. DSB plans ten stops from Copenhagen to Oslo. In Norway, they envision stops in Halden, Fredrikstad and Moss. Now the Danes are checking what they can expect from the number of passengers and turnover. A survey Opinion carried out for the Norwegian Railway Directorate in 2021 showed that almost one in four wants to travel by train to or abroad in the future. It also shows that people will choose trains if the price of train journeys is lower and there are fewer changes. Lars Eirik Arnecke Hovland visits Copenhagen up to twelve times a year. Photo: Prviat Lars Eirik Arnecke Hovland travels to Copenhagen ten to twelve times a year by plane. If there is an end to changing trains in Sweden, he will strongly consider traveling by train instead. – Then I could work all the way, and had a much easier and more pleasant journey than by plane. Competition in the Ruten track requires permits and allocation of space on the rails in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. In Norway, it is Bane Nor that once a year decides who gets to drive when on Norwegian rails. Changes to the routes take place on one and the same day in December. – Bane Nor cannot say anything yet about what the capacity will look like for the timetable starting in December 2025, writes acting communications manager for traffic Karoline Vårdal at Bane Nor to news. A direct route between Oslo and Copenhagen will have a fast route through Østfold. But in Østfold there is limited opportunity to run more new departures. Because the space is tight. Especially from the Swedish border to Rygge. There is only one track. This is also the case from Moss to Kambo. – We work closely with Trafikvärket in Sweden on trains across the border, says Bane Nor. In Sweden, the capacity is generally good for new train routes from the border to Norway down to Malmö, Trafikvärket informs news. In 2025, DSB will apply to Trafikvärket in Sweden for times for the Copenhagen-Oslo route. But they will not say which timetables they will request. The reason is that they expect there to be competition for the same times on the Malmö, Gothenburg and Oslo route. Getting help from the politicians A majority in the Storting have a strong desire to help trains abroad. – If we get more people to take the train, we can cut large emissions, says Åse Heien. She is deputy representative to the Storting for Østfold SV. They have won a majority in the Storting to ask the government to secure day trains to Copenhagen, no later than 2026. This is in addition to the demand from the Storting that the government must provide night trains to Copenhagen and/or Hamburg by 2030. Åse Heien is an SV politician from Østfold. Photo: Julia Giæver Ap, Sp and SV also agree that a day train can be operated commercially. In addition, they agree that they can provide some financial support at the start. But it is not only DSB that can imagine a route between the capitals Oslo and Copenhagen. Vy, who is currently driving to Gothenburg, is also interested. Especially after the majority in the Storting, says communications manager Åge Christoffer Lundeby. – We have sensors outside. It can be in collaboration with other European partners. Communications manager Åge Christoffer Lundeby in Vy. Photo: Vy The Norwegian Railway Directorate writes to news that within a short time they will enter into a dialogue with relevant train operators. They must find out whether there is a basis for a day train offer on commercial terms. – The aim is of course to achieve this by the end of 2026, writes Line Poppe, senior communications adviser at the Norwegian Railway Directorate. Published 16.12.2024, at 11.35
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