Construction work on the Folloban has been going on for over seven years, and cost almost NOK 37 billion. But when the giant plant was due to open, it was only tested with one train, and for a very limited period of time. The rush and the reduced load the one train put on the system did not reveal that the electrical system was too weak to cope with normal everyday traffic. This led to overheating and a fire, and the closing of the track after a short time. Four weeks later, the facility has been reinforced. According to Bane Nor, cable joints and other parts have been changed and the grounding system for return current has been rebuilt. New feeder cables have been laid for power to the trains and a shorter circuit has been made with new connections on the suspension masts which give better control of the current. Now the director of development in Bane Nor, Stine Undrum, hopes that it will withstand the traffic and the testing will start this week. Stine Undrum in Bane Nor says they have strengthened the power system in the Blixtunnel and replaced many components. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB – We are as safe as we can be at the present time. I can’t stand here and be 110 per cent sure, but we are doing everything we can to get this up and running, says Undrum. This time they put in more trains. Triple the load Bane Nor used only one train set for the first testing of the tunnel, which took place at the end of November and the beginning of December. In retrospect, they have admitted that it was obviously not enough. Now they significantly increase the load. The Blix tunnel has two runs, and stretches between Oslo S and Ski station in Follo. Price tag: NOK 36.8 billion. Photo: Nicolas Tourrenc – There are three double trainsets from Vy that will run continuously through the tunnel to test all possible driving routes and driving patterns, to make sure that we put as much stress on the power system as possible. Two of the trains will increase speed in one tunnel run, while the third train will slow down in the other run. This will cause the power grid in the tunnel to be loaded to the maximum, writes Bane Nor to news. It takes around ten minutes for the trains to pass through the two mile long tunnel. On Sunday evening, Bane Nor reports that they are already running several tests of the facility. When these show that the system is in order, the test run with trains will start. More details about the test schedule will come at 4pm on Monday. – It is planned to start traffic during the month of January, so there will be around two weeks of testing, and that is a longer period than we did in the previous round, points out Stine Undrum. This time Vy has lent three double train sets for testing the Follobanen. But it does not correspond to full load on a daily basis. Photo: Lars Håkon Pedersen / news Passengers do not trust that it will work At Ski station there is a waiting atmosphere. On Friday morning 12 January several trains are cancelled. The passengers we meet have little faith that the floundering new tunnel will be usable any time soon. Jane Faleide is critical of the tender process around Follobanen and doubts whether it will be okay now. Photo: Lars Håkon Pedersen / news Jane Faleide lives in Ski and travels to Oslo by train daily. She is quite bored and critical of the whole building process. – No, I don’t think it will work now either. They have been advertising this tunnel for years and getting people to move here. Then they put the tunnels out to tender and choose the cheapest, which in turn chooses the cheapest, and then we are left with bad cables. That burns. It doesn’t work, she concludes. Robert Winnem is also on his way to Oslo, for the time being on the old Østfold line which goes in many turns towards Oslo S. Robert Winnem had been looking forward to driving the express train between Ski and Oslo. Photo: Lars Håkon Pedersen / news – We had been looking forward to the new express train. Then eight days pass and then it was “goodnight”. Let’s hope it starts up again as soon as possible. But I have my doubts. Have you lost trust in Bane Nor? – I have it. And I think others have too.
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Bane Nor starts new testing of the Follobanen today – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
