– There will be a lot of stress. This sometimes goes awry, says train commuter Cecilie Aarnes Kjos. Train commuter Cecilie Aarnes Kjos believes that all train delays are caused by health issues. Photo: Privat She is one of several thousand train commuters who make the trip from Drammen to work in the capital every day. This year she has been late for work countless times, because the train is late. – I don’t get paid for the time I travel to work. If the train is late, I have to work longer that day. If the train is delayed on the way home, it affects the free time, says Kjos. What do you think about train delays? Have your say at the bottom of the matter. The statistics from Bane Nor are not pleasant reading for those who travel by rail. The trains to and from Drammen are set to set a new record for delays this year. Until 27 September, the trains on the Drammen line alone have a total of 2,699 hours of delay. That corresponds to close to 10 hours every single day. – Compound causes According to Bane Nor, there are compound causes for all the delays. Press officer Anne Kirkhusmo at Bane Nor. Photo: Moment Studio – There have been large amounts of snow, wind and ice in Southern and Eastern Norway this winter, and challenges with signal errors especially in April and May. Now this autumn, there is a particular lack of train material on Vy’s trains and slow running due to work on and by the railway track which is the cause of the delays, says press officer Anne Kirkhusmo. Nor can Flytoget boast of being particularly precise. So far this year, 1,330 hours of delay have been recorded on the train’s entire route, which is significantly more than during the whole of last year. Vy: – We are very sorry Vy has previously said that several of their trains are out of service due to maintenance. – We are very sorry that we are still not back to normal with enough train sets on all departures, said communications manager Siv Egger Westi to Romerikes Blad in September. The trains were taken out of service to be rebuilt. In addition, several trains are in the workshop due to extensive damage following collisions. Vy has neither had enough people nor the capacity to quickly repair the trains. – Therefore, one of the most important things we do is to staff up the workshops, explained Westli. Completed in 10 years at the earliest – In recent years, the number of train departures has increased significantly and capacity has been exceeded on several routes. Around 94 percent of Norwegian railways are sections with only one track. Unfortunately, this means that many trains are affected when faults occur, says Kirkhusmo. Several of the delays are due to old and outdated signaling systems. These are to be replaced by a common digital system, which will be introduced on the entire railway. – This is a large and very time-consuming development and will not be completed until 2034 at the earliest, says Kirkhusmo. The train will probably set a new record for delays this year. Photo: Bård Nafstad / news In other words, train passengers to and from Drammen may have to live with delays in the future as well. This despite the fact that the government has promised billions in investment in upgrading the railway. – Everything is in place for it to gradually improve, but there is no quick fix to get better punctuality on the railway. Our goal is for nine out of ten trains to run on schedule. So far there are approx. 85 percent of the passenger trains that run nationally. We work every day to improve the situation with a number of measures, says Kirkhusmo – The new normal Flexible working hours and the possibility of a home office notwithstanding: for train commuter Kjos, all the stress of the delays may mean that she retires earlier than she had planned. – I am actually starting to approach retirement age. If I’m going to stay at work longer, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it the way it is now. One should think about what this does to society in general, and not just those who commute, says Kjos. – I cannot be late for meetings. We train commuters cannot be late every day just because we take the train. We have to get up earlier, and then we have to go in and get to work earlier than we needed to. It is the new normal for us train commuters. What do you think about train delays? Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue Published 07.10.2024, at 08.02
ttn-69
Train commuters on the Drammen line frustrated by delays – almost ten hours late every day – news Buskerud – Local news, TV and radio
