With a burgundy red color, and a name and logo reminiscent of Flytoget, the “Bytoget” drove from Oslo to Drammen this morning. Bytoget will therefore be renamed Flytoget and will be allowed to run regional trains on parts of Austlandet in the years to come. By opening all or parts of Flytoget also to commuters, more seats become available for everyone. The logo is not unlike that of Flytoget. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news – Twice as many departures – On some departures there will be a doubling compared to today. We know that people would like to have that, says communications director Ida Marie Fottland at Flytoget. The Norwegian Railway Directorate proposed last year that Flytoget will be allowed to run many of the regional trains in Austlandet in the package that will be called “Austlandet 2”. The rest of the regional trains and local trains in the Oslo area were to be driven by Vy. This is how the Directorate of Railways would divide the train traffic in Austlandet The Directorate of Railways has proposed this distribution of sections between Vy, which has the traffic today, and Flytoget in a direct allocation: Vy: Austlandet 1 Local train (L-tog) Spikkestad/Asker – Lillestrøm Local train (L-tog ) Stabekk/Oslo S – Ski Region train (R-train) Oslo S – Hakadal/Jaren Region train (R-train) Stabekk – Moss Region train (R-train) Oslo S– Mysen/Rakkestad Region train (R-train) Oslo S – Ski Regional express train (RE train) Oslo S – Halden Regional express train (RE train) Oslo S – Gjøvik Fly train: Austlandet 2 Regional express train (RE train) Skien-Eidsvoll Regional express train (RE train) Drammen-Lillehammer Regional train (R train) Kongsberg- Eidsvoll Regiontog (R-tog) Drammen-Dal Regiontog (R-tog) Asker-Kongsvinger Regiontog (R-tog) Notodden-Porsgrunn (Bratsbergbanen) The agreement will be able to include the passenger service currently operated by Flytoget, from 2028 at the latest. But in January asked the Ministry of Transport and Communications Vy to come up with a joint offer to run all of them nne the traffic. This has made Flytoget uneasy because the company will still not be allowed to run any of the regional trains. – Can give a huge boost – Customers can miss out on what would have given the railway a huge boost and which could have given them better weekday journeys in the East, says Fottland. Now the company wants to go on the offensive and explain why they think travelers will benefit from Flytoget not only driving to and from the airport. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news – We can drive trains, and we have delivered good customer experiences for 25 years on the route between Drammen and Oslo airport. It will be good for those traveling on the Flytoget – or Bytoget – to take over a slightly larger area. Customer-oriented – But it’s one thing to drive a straight stretch between Oslo and Gardermoen, another thing is to drive on old and tired tracks elsewhere? – Yes, there are other challenges. But if Bytoget is allowed to take over, we will also get a bunch of good people who know the routes well. Together with Flytoget’s customer orientation, it becomes an unbeatable combination. Communications Director Ida Marie Fottland at Flytoget. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news – Why the name “Bytoget”? – It is because it will not only go to and from the airport, but also from city to city. Fottland claims that Flytoget has a strong tradition of taking good care of its customers. – We focus on the customers in everything we do, and of course we will take that with us to Bytoget as well. By 1 March, the Norwegian Railway Directorate must have clarified whether Vy’s combined offer for both packages in Austlandet is better than if one assigns tasks to both companies. Vy: Long experience Today, Vy is responsible for all this traffic, if one disregards Flytoget’s departures to and from Gardermoen. Executive director for passenger trains in Vy, Erik Røhne, points out that the company has over 100 years of experience in operating train traffic in the Eastern Norway. And he believes that the combined offer they have delivered will provide a significantly better offer to the vast majority of customers. Erik Røhne, executive director for passenger trains in Vy, believes that society achieves economies of scale if one company runs the traffic in Austlandet. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news – Today, many trains are half full with fly train customers. At the same time, the customers are like herring in a barrel on our togas. We have therefore created an offer where all trains are accessible to everyone. Making better use of the capacity It is a requirement from the Norwegian Railway Directorate that the capacity through the Oslo Tunnel bottleneck should be used better. – Then we believe that this is the best way to do it. – Vy want to collect all the train traffic in one company then? – We do not enter into the discussion about companies. But it is clear that if we get both Austlandet 1 and 2, it means that what Flytoget runs today will disappear. Then Vy trains will run instead, says Røhne. One of Vy’s trains at Ski station. Photo: Lars Håkon Pedersen / news – Advantages of scale But isn’t it good to have two companies that can compete against each other? – I think many people here, including myself, think that competition is good. It does something for a company to have someone to look up to, totally agree… – Why would Vy then want to run everything alone? – Firstly, there are significant advantages of scale in running a large train production in an area like Austlandet. It will be more expensive for society to split this into two contracts. Secondly, we believe that it will be better for the customers, who will then have one company to look after. – It is the service we excel at, says flight attendant Amanda Nyåker. She hopes that she will soon be able to work on board the “Bytoget”. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news – We excel in service Flytog hostess Amanda Nyåker helps an elderly couple who are going to board the Flytoget with their luggage. She hopes that she will soon be able to provide service on other routes than this one. – It would have been exciting. I look forward to going to work, meeting people and helping those in need. And service is what we excel at, she says.
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Flytoget will also become “City Train” – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
