The case in summary: Train traffic between Skien and Larvik was stopped on Monday afternoon after Bane Nor failed to deliver the necessary documentation for the safety of the line. Commuters now have to take buses instead of trains, which leads to longer journey times and waiting in the cold. The Norwegian Railway Authority closed the section after Bane Nor received several postponements to deliver the documentation. Bane Nor has received criticism for its handling of the case, and a daily compulsory fine of NOK 10,000 has been imposed for lack of documentation. Bane Nor is now working to get an overview and assures that no other railway lines will be affected by the same problem. Bane Nor admits that they should have reacted and cleaned up earlier. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It is a large company and they should have fixed this a long time ago, says train commuter Axel Risnes. Together with many others, he came by train to Larvik, and has to change to a bus to get on to Grenland after the Railway Authority closed the train line on Monday afternoon. Axel Risnes does not think it is good how the situation has turned out. Photo: Theo Aasland Valen / news – People have to get there on time and this will be very cumbersome. – Unacceptable The new train section between Porsgrunn and Larvik was opened in 2018. At that time, Bane Nor received a temporary permit to run trains while they waited for final documentation that the section is safe. Since then, they have received repeated postponements, but this week the Railway Authority got enough. This led to a complete standstill in train traffic on the section in question. Erik Ø. Reiersøl-Johnsen, director of the Norwegian Railway Authority. Photo: STATE’S RAILWAY INSPECTION Erik Ø. Reiersøl-Johnsen, director of the Railway Authority, is not enthusiastic about Bane Nor’s handling of the case. – It is completely unacceptable. I have never come across anything like it. Must prioritize safety The train stop has affected several thousand passengers, who now have to expect longer journey times and waiting in sub-zero temperatures. Reiersøl-Johnsen nevertheless believes that this was a necessary reaction on the part of the supervisory authority. – Why does this have to affect the travelers? – At some point we have to say that enough is enough. We do this with the safety of the passengers in mind. – Does that mean that it has been unsafe to drive on the stretch up until now? – This means that we have not received documentation that it is safe. When they do not deliver documentation on time, they do not get a renewed permit. All trains between Skien and Larvik have been cancelled. Photo: Kristin Rivrud / news – Nothing but a scandal Mayor of Larvik, Birgitte Gulla Løken (H), is unimpressed. – This is nothing but a scandal. We must expect Bane Nor to clean up immediately, she says. Birgitte Gulla Løken (H), mayor of Larvik. Photo: H. Philip Hofgaard / news Løken is primarily concerned with the question of safety. – This destroys trust. Here, the state has invested in a great track. Then it must be usable. Has been given several chances The time-limited permit has been renewed several times. In autumn, Bane Nor was additionally imposed a compulsory fine of NOK 10,000 a day, with a requirement that they deliver final documentation. It didn’t happen. – The permit expired on 30 November. At that time they had not yet applied to renew it, says Reiersøl-Johnsen. He does not want to speculate on what is the reason why this has been difficult for Bane Nor to deliver. The new train section between Porsgrunn and Larvik was opened in 2018. Bane Nor has only had a temporary permit since then. Photo: H. Philip Hofgaard / news Aerial photo – They have to answer that for themselves. He does not know of other stretches with the same problem. – But the challenge of obtaining final documentation applies to several places. It is Bane Nor that must understand this and find a solution that will enable them to avoid such situations in the future. Reviewing all sections Executive director of Bane Nor, Bettina Sandvin, told news on Tuesday that they are now working on getting an overview. She believes there is no reason to believe that other railway sections will be affected by the same documentation phase that knocked out train traffic between Porsgrunn and Larvik on Monday evening. Bettina Sandvin, Executive Vice President Development at Bane Nor. Photo: Aksel Jermstad / Bane NOR – No, we have started with a review of all the sections we have to make sure that it does not apply to more places. We haven’t found anyone so far, says Sandvin, and adds that all the sections have now been reviewed. Sandvin lays down completely for criticism that Bane Nor should have reacted and cleaned up at a much earlier time. – The answer to that is obviously yes. We are now working to find out how this could happen.
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The Norwegian Railway Authority criticizes Bane Nor after stopping the Vestfold line – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
