Currently, Bane Nor is working intensively to get the Follobanen back on track. When even a brand new stretch to 36.8 billion doesn’t work, things aren’t that easy. But a closed Follobane is just one of the problems Norwegian railways are struggling with. Here it will be about the old, what is usually referred to as the maintenance backlog. 26.3 billion When tired catenary lines fall down and old signaling systems fail, it affects thousands of travelers. Bane Nor calculates that the need for absolutely necessary maintenance will increase to NOK 26.3 billion during the year. The number increases year by year. – Old infrastructure certainly plays a role in the operational disruptions that we see, says Sverre Kjenne, executive vice president for operations and maintenance at Bane Nor. HEAD OF RAILWAY OPERATIONS: Sverre Kjenne is executive vice president for operations and maintenance at Bane Nor. Photo: Rushda Syed / news Errors have major consequences The question news has been trying to get an answer to is this: How much of the train trouble is due to old and outdated facilities? Giving an unequivocal answer is not so simple. The Oslo area is the best example of this. Overall, this is where the technical condition of Bane Nor’s equipment is at its best. Nevertheless, delays and cancellations are part of everyday life, to the despair of all those who depend on trains to get to and from work. FELL DOWN: When the catenary falls down, there are delays and adjustments. At Rosenholm station, the passengers had to be evacuated in 2021. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB The reason is simply that there are so many trains here. In just a few years, traffic has increased by 15 per cent. The capacity is far exceeded. – One mistake here has very big consequences. Many trains are affected, says Sverre Kjenne. Needle in the haystack We saw to our advantage in September last year that a small tuft can topple a large load. An earth fault on Oslo S came and went, but finding the fault was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Only after a week of troubleshooting and delays did Bane Nor manage to locate the culprit among 160,000 electrical contacts in the signaling system from 1977. FROM 1977: It was here in the relay room for the train traffic on Oslo S that the ground fault took a week to find. Photo: Bane Nor 40,000 hours of delays All breaches of punctuality are carefully logged. In total, Norwegian freight trains and passenger trains were delayed for 40,000 hours in 2022. 25 percent were due to errors at Bane Nor’s facilities. 25 percent was the fault of the train companies. 18 per cent came from external factors, primarily the weather. And 31 percent were “following errors” by one of the other three. Of the things Bane Nor has to deal with, signal errors and errors with the power supply are the most common. – We have plans, and we are working on renewing what is of a critical nature, says Sverre Kjenne. – Worsening year by year But the money is not enough. In order to keep up with the decay, Bane Nor has calculated that they need NOK 4.5 billion each year. In the state budget for this year, 3.4 billion has been set aside. – As soon as we fall below four and a half billion, things get worse. – The infrastructure is gradually deteriorating year by year, says the man responsible for operation and maintenance of Norwegian railways. BIG CONSEQUENCES: A single error in the Oslo area affects many passengers. Photo: Siv Johanne Bjørkly Seglem / news New signaling system coming Sverre Kjenne is more concerned about old catenary lines than outdated signaling systems. As far as the signaling system is concerned, there is a plan for the introduction of a new, digital signaling system throughout Norway, the so-called ERTMS. But train passengers have to live with old signaling systems failing for many years. Only after 2030 will all sections have ERTMS. The plant at Oslo S – which was the cause of the mysterious earth fault in September – is to be replaced in 2026. The development must take place gradually. – We cannot shut down the entire railway while we do that, says Sverre Kjenne. From steam to electricity He says that the next big challenge is the contact lines, i.e. the power supply. Some originate from the transition from steam to electricity in the 1950s. – We try to take a share, and have done so in Sørlandet. But we need to increase the pace of renewing our catenary systems, he says. – Is it a funding issue? – It is also a matter of funding. When asked whether maintenance should be prioritized higher than today in relation to new investments, he answers diplomatically. – Now you ask the person responsible for the operation of the railway. My answer is that it is never wrong to take care of what you have, says Sverre Kjenne. – Transport policy scandal Transport policy spokesperson for Rødt, Geir Jørgensen, has no doubts. SCANDAL: Transport policy spokesperson in Rødt, Geir Jørgensen. Photo: Olav Juven / news – Here the priority must be to take care of what you have, he says. It was Rødt who asked for figures for the maintenance requirement during the processing of this year’s state budget. He believes that it is not acceptable that the decay is only increasing. – What the government is doing, like the previous one, is to steer towards a transport policy scandal in the billions range. – It has been pointed out time and time again that the funds set aside for maintenance are not sufficient. You push ahead year by year the great work that must come, says Geir Jørgensen. – Challenging framework conditions. The Ministry of Transport recognizes that train traffic has challenging framework conditions. HAVE A PLAN: State Secretary Johan Vasara (Ap) in the Ministry of Transport. Photo: JOHN-ANDRE SAMUELSEN / news – Much of the infrastructure is old, and a large maintenance backlog has built up over many years, says State Secretary Johan Vasara (Ap). He says that in future the government will prioritize finishing what has been started and taking care of the infrastructure it already has. – In the Hurdal platform, we have said that we will draw up a plan to reduce the maintenance backlog on the railway. – We have commissioned the Norwegian Railway Directorate and Bane Nor to prepare a proposal for such a plan in the work on the new national transport plan, says Johan Vasara. He also says the players in the railway sector have drawn up an action plan which they are well underway with.
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The railway is deteriorating faster than Bane Nor can renew it – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
