Many people spend their winter holidays in the cabin or on the toboggan run. Others visit relatives and friends. The winter holidays were a great opportunity for Monica Helgå and her son Filiph to visit their eldest son and older brother, who had just moved to the capital. It is a good distance by train from Mo i Rana to Oslo. Helgå thought that the reclining seat was a good compromise between airplane and sleeping compartment. The trip was decided at short notice and the tickets were bought two days before departure. Still, she was shocked by what met her. NOK 10,000 round trip in total for her and her son. Helgå thought something was wrong and checked the prices again the next day: NOK 11,000. – It’s absolutely horrible. I thought at first that the system had hung up, that there was an error. She decided to call the railway company SJ Nord to double check. Yes, the price was right. It was Rana No who mentioned the case first. Ended up paying NOK 7,000 For mum Monica, it is important to visit her son, but this time she had to do the math to see if the math worked out. At first she thought they would travel by plane, but it was way over budget. With prices of over NOK 10,000, Helgå felt compelled to bite the bullet and order a standard seat instead. The total price was NOK 7,000. – This time it went well, but I can’t afford to travel and visit my son several times a year at those prices. Helgå was advised by an acquaintance to book a normal ticket also on the return trip and instead try to buy into a sleeping compartment on board the train. – My body was so broken when I came down, so then I tried again to contact the train company to get a sleeping compartment or a rest seat on the return trip. It became a standard seat between Oslo and Trondheim, but they managed to rent a sleeping compartment from Trondheim and northwards. SJ Norge: – Dynamic prices The short explanation for why train tickets became so expensive is what SJ Norge calls “dynamic prices”. This means that the price of train tickets varies depending on how early you book the ticket. If you choose additional products such as recliners. Which departure and day you choose to travel on. Or if the train is almost fully booked, according to the railway company. – These are factors that affect the ticket price. The winter holidays are a period of high demand where the price usually becomes more expensive the closer to the departure date you book, says press officer Steinar Olsen in SJ Norway. Monica Helgå and youngest son Filiph ended up paying NOK 7,000 for the train journey with SJ Norge round trip Mo i Rana-Oslo. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news He says that because ticket prices vary in relation to supply and demand, it is possible to find departures and additional products in different price ranges. – Being competitive compared to cars and airplanes is important to us. This may include, for example, discounts for early booking and flexible ticket options. We therefore work with a price strategy where we review prices and various additional options. – There will be a flight next time The experience has become a reminder for Monica Helgå. – I want to go down more often to visit my son, but that’s out of the question with the prices here. Then I have to find another way to do it, she says. – Today, the family does not live in one and the same place. With those prices, you put people in a very difficult situation. I find it terrifying. She has decided that next time, it will be a plane rather than a train. – Yes, it will be. It will be a flight next time. If it costs a little more, then I save on travel time. The journey down alone took over 16 hours. But I have to familiarize myself with the prices and plan better when I have the opportunity to do so.
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Thought trains were cheaper than flying – got a surprise – news Nordland
