– I encourage everyone who has the opportunity to have a home office now in the new year. We know from experience how this works. A bus takes 50 passengers, while a train takes 600. It cannot replace the trains that were supposed to run, therefore there is not room for everyone. So says Ronny Aukrust, leader of the Commuter Association in Indre Østfold. This week it was announced that the Folloban line will be closed until further notice, and will open in February 2023 at the earliest. This means fewer departures and longer journey times than promised. – We will put in extra buses from Indre Østfold during rush hour, and no one will be left on the platform. But no, the travelers will not get a full offer for the week, says communications manager at Vy, Åge-Christoffer Lundeby. 22 minutes extra travel time each way Alternative routes will be introduced for those traveling on the Østfold Line on 9 January. Until then, there will only be buses for trains on the original rush-hour departures from Spydeberg, Askim and Mysen. – Those buses will go directly to Oslo. Many of the trains on the Østfold line also run, and they will carry the largest amount of transport, says Lundeby. But these trains will take longer. If you come from Rakkestad or Mysen, you must change trains in Ski as before. – It will be a more difficult everyday life for those who come from there. It takes ten minutes to change trains at Ski, and in addition the trip itself will take an extra twelve minutes. The bus also takes longer. How long will depend on the traffic on the roads, says Lundeby. This will not appear in Vy’s app either. The timetable now shows the time the journey would take if the Follobanen was open, and it will not be updated until 9 January. – We will have space for everyone who is going out to travel for the week, and are prepared for the traffic to pick up. It is clear that the trains will be fuller than usual when we do not run all the departures as planned, but we run the best schedule we can, says Lundeby. Åge-Christoffer Lundeby in Vy. Photo: Vy – Not good enough – It’s not sustainable, not least considering that you don’t know how long this will take. They have probably tried to wring out all the resources they can, but it is not good enough. As travelers, we are left to ourselves, says Aukrust. He believes this should have been handled better, as people have known about the problem for a longer time. The tunnel was already closed on 19 December, just eight days after opening. – Why aren’t alternative routes already introduced from 2 January? – It takes time to reshuffle both trains and personnel. We must have a proper route plan where everyone is in the right place at the right time, and we have worked all Christmas on this, says Lundeby. Vy will also monitor and adjust the timetables next week if necessary. Have sent a request to Bane Nor and Vy – This always applies to the same passengers every time. This leads to a tremendous load, less trust and less demand, which in turn reinforces the impression that more people are traveling with the other lines. I can’t see how a commuter from Indre Østfold should be able to combine work and private life, says Aukrust. He has sent a request to Bane Nor and Vy on behalf of the Commuter Association. There he demands that one train per hour should be allowed to run directly from the Eastern line to Oslo S. – The answer was that there is not enough space on the tracks. But with a little goodwill and a solution-oriented mindset, there must be a way to do it, says Aukrust.
ttn-69
Collective chaos awaits after the Christmas holidays – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
