The case in summary • Sørlandsbanen has run several empty trains this week, which has meant that passengers have had to take buses.• This is due to a combination of holiday cancellations and illness, which has led to a lack of conductors.• Communication manager at the train company, Oda Riska, understands that the situation is frustrating for the passengers.• Mayor of Drangedal, Stina Sætre, believes that the situation shows poor planning.• The company has informed that there have only been 19 days without a fault on the Sørlandsbanen, Jærbanen and Arendalsbanen.• Work on the track will lead to the section between Oslo and Kongsberg being closed from 29 June to 29 July, and buses will be run instead of trains on this section. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Sørlandsbanen, or Sørtoget as Go-Ahead calls it, runs the route between Stavanger and Oslo. On Thursday alone, four departures ran empty, while passengers had to travel by bus between Oslo and Kristiansand. – Molboaktig When news shared the information with passengers at the train station in Drangedal, many people widened their eyes. Trine Kyvåg could travel as normal on Friday. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news One of them is Trine Kyvåg. She had indeed been given a seat on the train as usual on Friday morning, but was surprised that Sørlandsbanen had run with empty carriages earlier in the week. – What? It doesn’t matter, she says. Magne Hella thinks it’s strange. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news Magne Hella agrees. – It sounds a bit molbo-like. As a passenger, I think this was a bit backwards. It must cost a lot more for those who operate trains and railways. Illness in the ranks – The reason is that a combination of holiday cancellations and illness, which meant that we could not provide conductors. That’s what Oda Riska says, who is responsible for communications at the train company. Go-Ahead will still have the trains in the right place at the right time, she explains. – We have had enough drivers, and therefore ran the trains empty. Oda Riska, communications manager at Go-Ahead. Photo: Private – What do you say to the passengers who have had to take a bus, while the trains run empty on the same route? – We understand that is incredibly frustrating, she says. – It is certainly not a desirable situation. – Shouldn’t a company like Go-Ahead have a backup solution? – Yes, of course we should. The combination of summer holidays and a lot of illness meant that we couldn’t make it this time. Riska says that it looks brighter in the coming days. – We have no planned settings as of now. We have a personnel situation that looks much safer. We do not expect to be in this situation again. Badly planned Mayor of Drangedal, Stina Sætre (Sp), is not impressed. Sørlandsbanen is important for the municipality. – I spoke to a lady recently, who said that she could not have lived in Drangedal if it were not for the train. Stina Sætre (Sp), mayor of Drangedal. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news Empty trains in operation without passengers think women are too stupid. – This shows poor planning, she says to news. – There can’t be such a shortage of people that it becomes a complete crisis if someone goes missing, says the mayor. Like several other mayors in municipalities along the Sørlandsbanen, Sætre has complained about frequent deviations. In a letter from the company, it appears that there have only been 19 days without a fault on the Sørlandsbanen, Jærbanen and Arendalsbanen. – They have informed themselves about this. There is a crisis in Norwegian railways. It’s too bad. Work on the track will affect several departures In any case, it will not be completely normal for those traveling with Sørlandsbanen this summer. The train station in Drangedal. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news It puts an end to work on the train track. – It will be closed between Oslo and Kongsberg from 29 June to 29 July. Then we will run buses instead of trains on this route, says Riska. Published 28.06.2024, at 15.25
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The trains ran empty – the passengers still had to take the bus – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
