At Oslo Central Station, one of the many day trains to Gothenburg is ready for departure. With bags on their backs and Europe in their sights, Ingrid Skarsvåg and Ailin Skarsvåg Lepe board. The train journey, which will take them to Northern Italy, started in their hometown of Bergen. – We are going on the interrail, to Italy. First we travel to Copenhagen, and then via Hamburg to Verona, and then we’ll see about it a bit, say the two before departure. They think it would have been nice to have a night train to Copenhagen. – We have come all the way from Bergen, so it is the stretch down to Europe that is a bit cumbersome, perhaps. It’s nice that you just wake up, and then you’re where you’re supposed to be, they say. Ingrid Skarsvåg ready for the first leg of the interrail trip. SV’s Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes (tv) and train enthusiast Kristian Skjellum Aas at Oslo S. For the time being, it is not easy to travel from Oslo to Hamburg by train. – Timetable In the 1980s and 1990s, two day trains and one night train ran directly from Oslo to Copenhagen. But since 2005 there have only been trains from Oslo to Gothenburg. There you have to change to Swedish trains towards Copenhagen. Now SV has gone through with the idea that there will once again be a night train to the continent. – This is a marching order to the government to start the work on realizing night trains to Copenhagen and Hamburg, says deputy head Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes. – It will require quite large investments, but by 2029 this should be in place, he says. The government must start work on implementing the decision during the year. This is the decision in the revised national budget. The Storting asks the government to lay the foundation for the start of traffic no later than 2030 for direct night trains from Oslo to Copenhagen and/or Hamburg, and to enter into a dialogue with the necessary authorities and operators during 2024. Related note: The members of the committee from the Labor Party , the Center Party and the Socialist Left Party have agreed to establish a direct night train between Oslo and Copenhagen and/or Hamburg. The government is asked to consider alternative arrangements, for example that the operator provides its own vehicles or that new vehicles are acquired, in order to ensure the start of traffic as quickly as possible. The Directorate of Railways concludes in a report from 2021 that there is a market basis for a night train offer between Oslo and Copenhagen. The directorate points out that many people travel by plane between the two cities, and that it is likely that many people who travel by plane today will want to use a more environmentally friendly night train service. – Will this be expensive? – Not particularly expensive in a Norwegian context. There is talk of a few extra wagons to make this happen, but it relieves all other traffic enormously, says Fylkesnes. TOGENTUSIA STAR: Kristian Skjellum Aas (left) and Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes in SV in Oslo S. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo / news – There are a lot of planes and buses to Copenhagen, why should you absolutely have a train too? – Trains are the most environmentally friendly form of transport we have. Nothing beats rail. It is energy efficient and positive for the climate. – This must be in place by 2030, but there are two elections before 2030. What is this promise actually worth? – There are long procurement processes, and they are being entered into now. If you buy something today, it won’t be ready until a few years have passed. So suddenly 2029 and 2030 are there. But we are working to get it realized as soon as we can. THE CONTINENT: Ailin Skarsvåg Lepe (left) and Ingrid Skarsvåg are going on interrail in Europe. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo / news Simple solution? With Oslo S is also train enthusiast Kristian Skjellum Aas. His Facebook group Togferie has almost 70,000 members. He likes the plan for a night train to Copenhagen. – At the same time, I would like to challenge SV to also look at possibilities for day trains to Copenhagen, which will take many more passengers. – But does this have to take six years? – It doesn’t necessarily have to take six years, but there is very little night train material available in Europe, because night trains have become hugely popular. It is not just about renting some night train carriages and setting up such a train, because they are already in use. Skjellum Aas strikes a blow to think alternatively from the Norwegian side by getting hooked on the night train that already runs from Sweden via Denmark to Germany. – Here there are opportunities to make things a little simpler than setting up a completely new Norwegian night train between Oslo and Copenhagen, he says. The train connoisseur believes that Norway is a developing country when it comes to railways. – We forgot to refurbish our railway in the 1960s, 70s, 80s. That is why we are behind compared to all other European countries. We have the fastest long-distance trains in Western Europe, with the fewest departures. – You have taken the night train to Copenhagen before…? – I took the night train to Copenhagen while it was running, it was closed in 2000. But I managed to take it once, and I would like to do it again. CALL: Train enthusiast Kristian Skjellum Aas asks SV to also fight for day trains to Copenhagen. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo / news Published 09.07.2024, at 05.10
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Lover night train to Copenhagen – but not before 2030 – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
