When Espen Vesteraas and his family were going on autumn holiday in Vinstra, north of Lillehammer, they were shocked when they saw the price of the train tickets. For two adults and a child, a trip to Vinstra from Bergen and back would have cost the family close to NOK 8,200. – When it is so expensive, I am unable to prioritize sustainability, says Vesteraas. Cheaper with diesel and new tires The trip was actually supposed to go with the Bergen Railway to Oslo, and from there on with the Dovre Railway to Vinstra. Because of the high price, the family chose to drive themselves instead. – Unfortunately, it was an easy choice, says Vesteraas Espen Vesteraas believes that sustainability is for the economically privileged. Photo: Mia Størksen / news He says that they saved money by not choosing the train, even though they bought new winter tires and paid for diesel and tolls on the trip. Vesteraas thinks it is stupid that it should be so expensive to choose an environmentally friendly alternative. – Sustainability must be available to most people for it to be sustainable, he says. Vy does not want to comment Regional director for Vy tog west, Yvonne Torgersen Hetlevik, does not want to comment on the calculation that made the Vesteraas family ditch the train and instead use a car to Vinstra. Hetlevik nevertheless says that she believes the company has good offers for its travellers. – If you book early, you can get a ticket from Bergen to Oslo for NOK 269. It is not particularly expensive compared to flying, says Hetlevik. Vy increases departures from four to six trains each way on the Bergen Railway. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news Vesteraas says that when he had to order the train tickets it was between one and three weeks until departure. – In any case, NOK 8,000 is such a high price that environmentally friendly choices are not available to most people. It can’t actually be that expensive, he says. From 1 May, the train service between Bergen and Oslo will be strengthened with an additional two daily departures each way. But that does not necessarily mean that it will be cheaper. – There will be more tickets to choose from. This can also make it easier to find tickets at the lowest price, says Hetlevik. – The price must go down – The price of trains has to go down for people to choose trains over flights, says Ida Thomassen, deputy chairperson of Framtiden i våre hands. In March 2023, the organization published a report with figures from Eurostat which showed that the stretch between Bergen and Oslo is one of the most flown stretches in the whole of Europe, even though it has good train connections. Also Oslo – Trondheim and Oslo – Stavanger in the top ten in Europe. Ida Thomassen from the Future in our hands says that we must reduce the number of flights, and switch to other alternatives such as trains. Photo: Knut Neerland / The future in our hands – If we are to reduce the number of flights, we need more affordable, environmentally friendly alternatives. It is absolutely hair-raising that Norway has three of the ten most flown routes in Europe, says Thomassen. She thinks it is very good that Vy is introducing more trains on the Bergen Railway, but says that you also have to do something about the price to get people to actually choose trains. Believes people must stop bleeding their wallets – If we are going to change to a zero-emissions society, we cannot base ourselves on people having to bleed their wallets, says Thor Haakon Bakke, urban policy spokesperson for the Green Party in Bergen and former urban development council. Bakke believes it is a paradox that if people are to choose environmentally friendly, they have to pay more than if they choose what pollutes the most. – It is a shame if people have to sacrifice their private finances to make sustainable travel choices. It is primarily the Storting and the government that must do something about this, he says. Thor Haakon Bakke (MDG) thought it was a shame that people had to sacrifice private finances to make sustainable travel choices. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news The Ministry: – For most people Senior adviser in the Ministry of Transport, Kristin Bentdal Larsen, says that the government’s aim is for the railway to be an attractive and reliable means of transport for all travellers. Nevertheless, she also points to the paradox surrounding train prices. – On the one hand, the price must be high enough to cover as much of the costs as possible, but on the other hand, it must be low enough that it is available to as many people as possible, she says.
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– Sustainability is a choice for the economically privileged – news Vestland
