In the autumn, the Norwegian Railway Directorate presented a report showing what it will cost to develop the Nord-Norgebanen in its entirety. A full development, from Fauske to Tromsø with a side arm to Harstad, will have a cost of NOK 281 billion. Nordland County Council supports the Norwegian Railway Directorate’s main conclusion not to develop the Nord-Norgebanen in its entirety. In the response to the consultation on Nord-Norgebanen, which the county council in Nordland sends to the county council for processing, the message is crystal clear. – Drop the castle in the air. Nord-Norgebanen will never be a socio-economic right to prioritize. The line is not the solution to the transport challenges we face in Nordland or Northern Norway, says county councilor for transport, Marianne Dobak Kvensjø (H). A complete development of the Nord-Norgebanen will involve 293 kilometers of tunnels. GRAPHIC: Egil Ursin Kvensjø, who is also the county council’s deputy chairman, believes the cost picture and the environmental consequences are so negative that it will never be possible to defend building a railway from Fauske and northwards. Sections in the north will not have the right of life either, according to Kvensjø. – It has major negative consequences, for nature and the environment, and for the indigenous population. Would rather prioritize Nordlandsbanen Kvensjø would rather spend money on improving Ofotbanen and Nordlandsbanen. – We have two railway sections that are crying out for improvements. Double tracks on Ofotbanen, many more crossing tracks on Nordlandsbanen, as well as an electrification of Nordlandsbanen, are measures that are realistic and that can be started immediately. The county council for transport wants more crossing tracks and an electrification of the Nordlandsbanen. Photo: SJ Nord Kvensjø adds: – We know that business wants more space on the trains. On the Nordlandsbanen, we want increased capacity, it is full today. She believes that other transport solutions must also be looked at. – We have to move more to sea. And get our road network upgraded. It will provide better opportunities to ensure that Nordland will continue to be the value-creating county that we are. She is also concerned that the KVU is taking little account of the changed international security policy situation and preparedness. – The Ofotfjorden has a very important role, with a link between the harbor in Narvik and the Ofot Railway in an east-west axis. In today’s Europe, you cannot choose to ignore the security perspective when planning public infrastructure, says Kvensjø. Totally disagree While people in Nordland turn the thumbs down, there is a different attitude further north. Earlier in November, the report “Professional assessment of KVU Nord-Norgebanen” was presented by Norsk Bane. It was made to order from Troms and Finnmark county council. According to Nordlys, the report must show professional weaknesses and serious shortcomings in the Norwegian Railway Directorate’s report. Mari Siljebråten is group leader in Troms and Finnmark County Council for the Labor Party. She believes the exact opposite of her political colleagues in Nordland, and says that Nord-Norgebanen cannot be assessed only from an economic point of view. – I think it’s a great shame that the county council in Nordland has set things up the way they have, and that they characterize it as a castle in the air. It is by no means a castle in the air. In Northern Norway, we cannot always look at socio-economic profitability, we also have to look at socio-economic benefit. Nord-Norgebanen has that to the highest degree, we believe. – But it is an expensive benefit, 280 billion, is it worth it? – One of the things we also have to emphasize are the reports from the Defense and Total Preparedness Commission. They point out that one of the limitations we have regarding Norwegian security policy is that we do not have track and equivalent infrastructure in Norway. It is something that we weigh heavily, given the new security policy situation that we have to deal with. Looking forward to the treatment Siljebråten believes that Kvensjø would rather prioritize Nordlandsbanen and Ofotbanen. – For our part, it is against its purpose, all the time we support the development of the Nordlandsbanen and Ofotbanen. It is wrong that those projects should be pitted against each other. What is important to us is that we should not fight against each other, but to fight for total, equal infrastructure throughout the country. Nor does she believe that road and track should be set against each other, and that the Nord-Norgebanen must be built for equality. – We have to take into account what is in the reports that have to do with national security. It is not tenable that one does not plan for there to be equal infrastructure throughout the country. The case will be heard in Troms County Council in December. Siljebråten says she is looking forward to it. – There will be the opposite conclusion? – That is my expectation, yes. Divided opinions in Finnmark Farthest north in Northern Norway, in Finnmark there are divided opinions. Linda Beate Randal was Aps’s 1st candidate for the county council election. She has previously stated to news that 281 billion is a hefty sum. She thought there were many other measures that the money should rather be spent on. – We in Finnmark also want to prioritize Northern Norway. In that sense, we have said that we want to prioritize the Nord-Norgebanen, but it must not in any way come into conflict with, or instead of, any transport measures in the north and in any case not in Finnmark. Storting representative Runar Sjåstad (Ap) supported Randal. – We must be honest enough to say that with such amounts the railway is far behind in the ranks, was his comment. County councilor for transport in Troms and Finnmark, Agnethe Masternes Hansen (Ap) from Finnmark, believes the county must be crystal clear that both the Storting and the government must deliver on their ambitions to develop Northern Norway in the future. – Then transport is an important key, both when it comes to roads and the development of railways, says Masternes Hansen.
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Northern Norwegian disagreement about Nord-Norgebanen – news Nordland
