The case in summary • So far this year, only five out of 190 ordinary operating days have been without fault on the infrastructure for the company Go Ahead, which operates the Sørlandsbanen, Arendalsbanen and Jærbanen.• This has led to frequent delays and buses for trains, which often creates tense situations on board.• The conductors are often blamed for the delays and have to endure criticism from frustrated passengers.• Conductor Evangeline Høie says that criticism can be mentally taxing, but that she has also experienced support from passengers and employers.• CEO of Go-Ahead, Emil Eike, emphasizes that the conductors are not responsible for the infrastructure failures.• The Norwegian Railways Association expresses concern that constant criticism may be burdensome for the conductors over time. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. There is always a train, the saying goes. Often this is a truth with modifications. So far this year, only five out of 190 ordinary operating days have been without fault on the infrastructure for the company Go Ahead, which operates Sørlandsbanen, Arendalsbanen and Jærbanen. Go-Ahead and the other train companies have many delays on departures. Then it is often the conductors in the first row who get the rinsing buckets. Here from Drangedal. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news This means in practice frequent delays and bus for train, which often creates unpleasant situations on board. And when the cup runs over for the travelers, it is often the conductors who are to blame. Being told that she is useless – We have had quite a few settings and there has been a lot of nonsense on the lines, to put it bluntly. Then you can get a lot of talk, and we get that. I am threatened and spat on, says Evangeline Høie. She is happy in her job as a conductor in Go-Ahead, and finds that most passengers are nice to have on a trip. But the job can also present challenging situations. The examples are many. Evangeline Høie has worked permanently on the Kristiansand-Oslo section since November 2023, but has been a conductor since 2021. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news She may hear, among other things, that conductors are useless, or that the train is always late. Still others believe that she leaves the train on the platform for too long on purpose, even though they are actually waiting for a signal to be able to continue. The list is long. – What do you think of the criticism you receive? – Something can of course be justified, but for the most part I think it is very unjustified. I can’t get anything done about it. Screams from passengers hit her hard. – Of course it affects me. I get really tired mentally, says Høie. This is what passengers think about yelling at the conductor: Hans Philip Hofgaard / news Sara Chabchoub – They’re just doing their job. You should not be too hard on the conductors. Hans Philip Hofgaard / news Vetle Forsland – I’m very pleased with the train services, myself. Any criticism must be directed at the company. Hans Philip Hofgaard / news Maiken Jacobsen – It’s not the conductor’s fault. There are situations around, which cannot be controlled. Hans Philip Hofgaard / news Marius Helgesen – Sometimes I complain, but then it happens via an app for the company. I don’t complain to the conductor. Received praise At the beginning of June, it peaked at Bø station. Due to a fire in a freight train, passengers in a train had to wait. When they were transferred to the train Høie was a conductor on, what she describes as an awkward situation arose. Delayed passengers became angry because she could not help them with their onward journey from the station they were supposed to get off at. Bus for train is not uncommon in Norway. It creates frustration. Photo: Juni Hoem / news She copes with getting feedback, but doesn’t think it’s good to be shouted at. – I had to keep a cool head. I had to catch the train. All I could do was just stand and receive a lot of yelling, Høie remembers. However, the situation was noticed. A passenger observed the incident, and later wrote a message to the train company praising the conductor for his handling. The feedback warmed. – I was very happy. It made my day, because the situation was quite tough, says Høie moved. Supported by employer The conductor shared the experience on social media, and has since received a lot of support. Also from his own employer. The managing director of Go-Ahead, Emil Eike, emphasizes that the conductors have no responsibility whatsoever for the infrastructure failing. Emil Eike, CEO of Go-Ahead Norway. Photo: Moment Studio – Absolutely not, he says. Operation, traffic management, maintenance and development are the responsibility of the state-owned company Bane Nor. So far this year, there have been a lot of mistakes. – Five full ordinary days without error, out of 190. We cannot describe that situation in any other way than that it is a crisis, says Eike. – Then it is easy to understand that the frustration increases. He also adds that the company’s employees often receive praise, which is shared with the employees when it happens. Eike is clear that Go-Ahead also has a responsibility to achieve good cooperation with the suppliers. – Over the past year, we have worked purposefully on these issues. For the time being, I can state that so far we cannot report on any effect of that work. Can be burdensome The Norwegian Railways Association has the impression that conductors generally have to accept more criticism, and that it can be burdensome over time. That’s according to union secretary Audun Sør-Reime, who has around 1,500 conductors in his union. – It is hard to constantly apologize and regret that we are late. An hour then, and two hours then. Union secretary Audun Sør-Reime in the Norwegian Railways Union says it is regrettable that Evangeline Høie is experiencing criticism and criticism. Photo: private He encourages people to think twice. – You don’t get ahead faster by scolding a hard-working conductor, he says. Published 11.07.2024, at 05.21
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Conductors in Go-Ahead experience threats and discrimination during train delays – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
