The case in summary Bård Hoksrud from the Progress Party is shaken by the closure of the Vestfold Line between Larvik and Porsgrunn. The closure is due to Bane Nor lacking the necessary documentation relating to the completed signaling system. Thousands of passengers who commute between Vestfold and Grenland every day are affected by the closure. Hoksrud believes that the situation is approaching a scandal and that there should be consequences for someone in Bane Nor. Bane Nor apologizes for the situation and says they are working to clean it up as quickly as possible. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It is absolutely incredible that it works. I am curious as to how long Bane Nor has been aware of this. This is about the safety of the passengers. This is extremely serious, says Hoksrud. Train traffic between Larvik and Porsgrunn was temporarily closed at 5pm on Monday. The section was closed following an order from the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate on the basis that Bane Nor lacked documentation relating to the completed signaling system. The new train section between Porsgrunn and Larvik was opened in 2018. At that time, Bane Nor received a temporary permit to run trains while they waited for final documentation, they write in a press release. – Follobanen fresh in memory Hoksrud says this case is beginning to approach a scandal. – We see how Bane Nor has been doing here, and we have Follobanen and all the challenges that have been there fresh in our memory. Then I start to wonder where Bane Nor’s control is. – This is a very regrettable situation that we must get cleaned up as quickly as possible, says Bettina Sandvin, Executive Vice President Development at Bane Nor in a press release. They apologize to the travelers and to Vy that they had to close. – This is simply embarrassing. Hoksrud says this is not only embarrassing, but also embarrassing. – This is incomprehensible. I have felt that this with safety and security has been incredibly important for Bane Nor. Now we see that one ghost after another comes out of the closet. It is quite incredible that a state company which is responsible for this, is unable to do this in a good way. – Haven’t experienced anything like it. The stoppage on the Vestfold Line came as a great surprise to communications manager Åge-Christoffer Lundeby in Vy. – I have not come across anything like this in my 23 years in the railway. Åge-Christoffer Lundeby is communications manager at Vy. Photo: Synne Sørenes/RNK They have had to set up buses for trains on the section between Skien and Larvik. – We think it is a very demanding situation, both for our customers and the employees. He cannot say anything about how long the passengers have to wait. – We have to run the trains on schedule from Larvik, so then there are many buses that do not arrive in time. Then there will be a waiting period for the customers. We still hope that there will be minimal waiting time for the travelers, so that they are not left standing and freezing for too long. Thousands of passengers affected There are thousands of passengers who commute between Vestfold and Grenland every day. One person who is affected by the problems that have now arisen is the student Elias Johnsen Zekhnini. He commutes daily and is depressed. – I think it is very wrong that Bane Nor is unable to document that they have safe operations. I think that is completely on the nose. It causes delays for those of us who are about to leave. Especially for me who is a student and others who are going to work, who are late. Elias Johnsen Zekhnini is one of those affected by the closure of the Vestfold railway. Photo: Stian Wåsjø Simonsen / news He says he has begun to doubt whether it is so efficient and environmentally friendly to take public transport, when such things happen all the time. The passengers have been told about bus for train and taxi for train. But according to Zekhnini’s Vy app, he has to take an express bus from Skjelsvik to get to Horten, and then he has to book his own ticket. – I think that is unreasonable, especially now that I have a monthly card for which I pay around NOK 1,000 a month, to get trains and buses. – Should have consequences Now Bane Nor must clean up, and immediately, believes Bård Hoksrud (Frp). – This is something that should have consequences for someone in Bane Nor when they operate in this way. – Do you think that someone in Bane Nor should take their hat and go? – I have to be careful about saying that someone should go, but they have to look at the routines they have, and find out how this could happen. I assume that Bane Nor takes this very seriously and comes up with an explanation. The matter will be followed up with Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård, according to Morten Stordalen in the Transport Committee. Hi Thank you for reading. Do you have tips or input for this matter or other things we should write about? Feel free to send me an email!
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– This is close to a scandal – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
