– I am more concerned as a resident than as a commuter, says Roar Lyby. He is one of many commuters who use the train between Østfold and Oslo every day. In the first four months of this year, 970,000 passengers traveled on Østfoldbanen’s western line between Halden and Oslo, and on the local train from Moss. Roar Lyby is mossing and commuting. The delay in the opening of the new railway is causing concern. Photo: Anette Torjusen / news Lyby has experienced a number of changes and delays in recent years. But now he is not most worried about the commuter life. He himself lives in Moss, where construction of the double track is underway. – The entire route to be built between the tunnel run under the city and to the mountain at Kleberget is clay, so there is probably cause for concern when you are going to build this here in the red quick clay zone, says Lyby. – The most frustration is that you drive on despite warnings about quicksand and overruns. Must get district on safe ground The double track should have opened in 2024, but was first postponed until 2026. But now it has been postponed another four years. In 2021, the development of the double track was stopped by Bane Nor because large quantities of quick clay were discovered. In the same year, the cost framework for the project was increased from NOK 10.5 to 17.9 billion. Commuters in Moss must be patient while waiting for the new double track to Oslo. Photo: Julie Helene Günther / news This time, Bane Nor points out that a greater occurrence of quick clay has been discovered than expected. – The project is no longer just about a new double track, but about getting an entire district in the center of Moss on safe ground. The development has become more than a railway project, writes project manager Eirik Harding Hansen on Bane Nor’s website. Bane Nor says the area where the construction work is taking place is safe. – The measure we are going to carry out is to establish concrete pillars in the ground from the rock up to the surface, and create a ribbed wall of concrete pillars through the area to stabilize it. In addition, rock piles must be in place to counteract the force of gravity, says Hansen to news. – The expertise that has been involved in planning this is the best, so this is safe. Extensive measures The construction of 10 kilometers of railway through Moss started in November 2019. It quickly became clear that the quick clay in the city center area is more unstable than first thought. But it is not only in Moss that unstable ground masses have caused problems. The double track was to run from Oslo and all the way to Halden. But when Bane Nor investigated the ground conditions between Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad, the price increased by NOK one billion per kilometer. In the end, the planned project was so expensive that the Ministry of Transport said no to tracks from Moss to Halden. This is how Bane Nor has previously illustrated what the area around the train station in Moss should look like. Photo: BANE NOR Bane Nor informs that they have now received the necessary overview of how the center works in Moss must be carried out. Thus, they can say more about the consequences of the new knowledge about the basic conditions. – Extensive measures must be put in place to stabilize the ground in the area, both to be able to build a railway – but also to create better security for an entire district, writes Bane Nor. Based on assessments from Bane Nor and the Norwegian Railway Directorate, the Ministry of Transport will submit a proposal for a new cost framework to the Storting. – We will do this as soon as we are as sure as we can be that we know what the project will cost and when it will be finished, says State Secretary Cecilie Knibe Kroglund. Byggeindustrien and Teknisk Ukeblad mentioned the case first. Consequences for Østfold – Saying that you don’t know that there are bad soil conditions in Østfold is like saying that you don’t know that there are mountains in Dovre, says Atle Ottesen. He is an Labor politician and leader of interest organization Jernbaneforum Øst. Ottesen thinks it’s a shame that the project is being postponed again. – It is annoying that things take so long. We understand that there are demanding ground conditions and that things can come up, but it is still annoying for everyone who is waiting to get this in place, says Ottesen. He hopes the delays in Moss will not have negative consequences for the plans in the rest of Østfold . – I have a clear expectation that even if it takes longer in Moss, that it will not delay the process further south from Moss and towards Fredrikstad. Mayor Hanne Tollerud in Moss thinks the postponement is annoying, but says that the city will be safer when everything is in place. Photo: Julie Helene Günther / news Moss municipality is clear that safety is the most important thing. – We are not at all happy that it is taking so long. At the same time, it is important that we put safety first. Then we have to make sure we do the best for our citizens who will have to live with this for so many years, says mayor Hanne Tollerud (Ap) to news.
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Opening of double tracks through Moss postponed until 2030 – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
