The train between Oslo and Trondheim is a good example of the development: – The train takes 50 minutes longer on the journey today than it did 22 years ago, says specialist manager Holger Schlaupitz at the Norwegian Nature Conservancy. He has studied the running time for the fastest trains on the long-distance train routes in the Route Book for Norway and compared them with today’s timetable. – Crossword puzzle – It is a crossword puzzle that while it is faster to drive than before and the flight offer has become better, it is slower to travel environmentally friendly, says Schlaupitz. It is almost eight in the morning. Schlaupitz finds his place on board the train which is ready on track 16 at Oslo S. Schlaupitz likes the train as much as possible when he is going around the country. It is on the Dovrebanen between Oslo and Trondheim that the travel time has increased the most. Today the journey takes 50 minutes longer than in the year 2000. Here is the train at Lillehammer. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth The 08:02 train to Trondheim is the fastest departure on this route now, the trip takes 6 hours and 37 minutes. It is therefore 50 minutes longer than in 2000. The development has been the same on all long-distance train routes in southern Norway: On the trip from Bodø to Trondheim on the Nordlandsbanen, the fastest train takes 9 hours and 46 minutes. It is 12 minutes shorter today than 22 years ago. This can probably be explained by fewer stops and shorter stays at each station, according to Holger Schlaupitz. It’s a lot of great things to see when you travel with Bergensbanen, like here at Finse. But the trip takes 21 minutes longer today than in the year 2000 and 28 minutes more than it did in 1993. Photo: Paul Vindal – The capacity is bursting It is Bane Nor that is responsible for the railway in Norway and that sets up the timetables. Group director for customers and markets, Henning Scheel, says it has become more difficult to place on the track. – Simply put, the capacity is bursting. We mostly have single-track railways with limited opportunities for crossing. At the same time, we have had a large increase in local and regional traffic and a strong increase in the volume of goods transported on the railway, says Scheel. – More passenger trains and more freight trains means that the capacity on the track is blown up. This means that trains take longer, says Bane Nor’s executive vice president for customers and markets, Henning Scheel. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news He also says that the timetables in 2000 may have been too optimistic considering that the trains would be on schedule. – In recent years, we have focused more on the quality of the journey. This also means that the journey time is slightly longer. – Punctuality more important than travel time – But surely it is a quality to arrive quickly? – It is, but punctuality and regularity are so important for a good travel experience. – What is needed for trains to come faster on long stretches, or is it not so important that they go fast? – We would like to see the train go even faster, but in order to achieve that, more investment must be made in the infrastructure. – But it’s not like there hasn’t been investment in the infrastructure in the last 20 years, is it? – No, and I hope to get a much better train offer very soon. There will be shorter journey times to Hamar, for example, and on the Vestfold Railway. And in December we will open the Follobanen, where we will facilitate an 11-minute shorter journey time, says Scheel. Holger Schlaupitz likes to travel by train when he goes on long trips. But he doesn’t like that it’s taking longer and longer. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news – Reasonable measures can help There must not be double tracks everywhere in order to reduce travel time on the long stretches, says Hoger Schlaupitz of the Nature Conservation Association. – More reasonable measures such as building more crossing tracks can reduce the time a train waits for an oncoming train. In many places there is a long way between crossing tracks and then it becomes a problem when there are more and more trains on the track at the same time, he says. The train journey between Oslo and Stavanger takes 49 minutes longer today than in 2000, even though the type of train is the same. The Sørtoget Vennesla passes here in January this year. Photo: Knut Knudsen Eigeland / news
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Long journeys by train take longer now than 22 years ago – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
