On the night of Sunday there was a fire in cables by the tracks at the Nationaltheatret station. The entire station has been closed since then. The error has led to cancellations and delays affecting several thousand travellers. – We see once again that one mistake leads to almost the entire train traffic around Oslo being paralyzed, says Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård. Signal errors, settings, closed stations. Train problems always occur in Austlandet and cause trouble for commuters. – Should travelers simply expect more train trouble in the years to come? – Our goal is to have better operational stability and punctuality, and for people to experience that the train comes and goes when it should, Nygård answers. But the transport minister cannot offer quick solutions. STAPPA: On Monday afternoon, commuters in Austlandet once again encountered stoppages and signs for buses and trains. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB Maintenance, maintenance and more maintenance Three words repeat themselves when the transport minister has to answer the problem. Operation, maintenance and renewal. It is in these areas that one must make an effort, according to the minister. And he says that the current government proposes to spend NOK 3.2 billion more on these three post offices in the next state budget. – There is no “quick fix”, but that is the direction we must go in order to make Norwegian railways work better, says the minister. In the long term, he believes that this will lead to fewer train problems, such as typical signal errors. DREAM: Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård aims for a rail service that runs on rails. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news Shows the need for a new tunnel But at the Nationaltheatre, major measures are needed to solve the biggest problem: That there are simply too few tracks. The Norwegian Railway Directorate and Bane Nor describe today’s Oslo tunnel as the biggest bottleneck in the railway system. And the need for a new tunnel through the capital has been called for for a long time. This is what they looked like, the burnt cables at the Nationaltheatret station in Oslo. After the fire on the night of Sunday, Bane Nor worked to repair the damage. This is what the cables looked like after the fire. Bane Nor has replaced 250 meters of cable and has many hundreds of joints that need to be tested. They have a full crew on site. Does the fire show that there is a greater need for a new tunnel? – I think it does, says the minister. Earlier this year, a new tunnel entered the National Transport Plan (NTP) with money for planning. It was also opened to start construction in the period 2031–2036. – In the best case, when is a tunnel completed? – Unfortunately, it will take a very long time before we get there. According to railway director Knut Sletta, the new Oslo tunnel is a large project that requires a lot of planning. He reckons that realization is 20-30 years away. Must make what we have work In the meantime, the minister will look at other solutions. – We must do everything we can to make the railway we have work. To get the most out of it. One of the solutions he points to is the merger of Flytoget and Vy, which several politicians have already criticized. – So it is one step on the way. Nygård will also try to get more passengers on board each individual train. – We are working out double-deckers and many such measures that can enable us to get more passengers on board the train. DOUBLE: There is room for far more passengers in a double-decker train. In Sweden, a toga with two floors looks like this. Photo: Benjamin Vorland Andersrød Published 11.11.2024, at 19.00 Updated 11.11.2024, at 20.24
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