The Folloban line opened on 11 December 2022, and was supposed to shorten the journey time between Oslo and Ski from 22 to 11 minutes, to the delight of all travelers on the Østfold line. On 19 December, the track was closed to all traffic after warm-up and smoke build-up in a technical facility at Ski station. Two weeks and several postponed reopenings later, it is still uncertain when the section can reopen. – It must be resolved On Tuesday afternoon, the top managers of Bane Nor, the Norwegian Railway Directorate and the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate have been summoned to a meeting by Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap). They must answer about the closure of the section. The Minister for Transport wants to know how this could happen, when the track can be expected to be in operation again, and how travelers will be looked after in the future. – We cannot have NOK 37 billion worth of infrastructure that cannot be used. It must be resolved, said Nygård on Monday. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) also expects the Follobanen to be reopened quickly. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre took the train with King Harald and Bane Nor CEO Gorm Frimannslund when Follobanen opened. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB – This needs to be cleaned up, says Støre to VG. – It is very unfortunate that the Follobanen does not run. It has great significance for people’s everyday life and the entire economy in the region. Bane Nor has still not found the underlying cause of the technical problems. – We are working continuously to get the train service up again as soon as possible, says executive director for development, Stine Undrum, to news. Facts about the Follobanen The new Follobanen has had a difficult start. For now, the course is closed until January. The trains on the Folloban line between Oslo and Ski began running on the new section on 11 December, while it was officially opened the following day. With a top speed of 250 kilometers per hour, the journey time was to be halved on the 22 kilometer stretch, from 22 to 11 minutes. Already on the same day that the first trains ran, the trains had to run at a reduced speed on the route due to a signal error. On 19 December, Follobanen was closed due to power problems following a fire in a technical room connected to the Ski station. Then there had been adjustments and delays for several days. The plan was for the Follobanen to be closed until 27 December, but on Christmas Eve there was heat and smoke in the same facility. The underlying cause was not found and thus the reopening was postponed until 1 January. On 29 December, the cause of the failure had still not been found and the opening was again postponed. It is still uncertain when the Follobanen can open to traffic. Until then, it will be closed until January. Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap) has called Bane Nor, the Norwegian Railway Directorate and the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate to a meeting on Tuesday 3 January. Here, the Minister will receive a preliminary explanation of the closure of the Follobanen. He has previously asked for a written explanation, with a deadline of 16 January. While the Follobanen is closed, train traffic between Oslo and Ski runs on the Østfoldbanen’s old line. The prestigious project has a price tag of NOK 36.8 billion. Source: NTB Bane Nor and Vy disagree Bane Nor believes it was impossible to test the Folloban with a normal number of departures before the opening. Vy believes that they had more than enough trains for full-scale testing. The disagreement will be the topic of the meeting in the Ministry of Transport and Communications on Tuesday. – In today’s meeting, Nygård will be briefed on how the tests took place and why these problems were not uncovered in that connection, the ministry informs NTB. In normal operation, there are at most six departures per hour in each direction on the Folloban line. During the test run, there was never more than one departure per hour, writes Aftenposten. According to Vy’s head of communications, Åge-Christoffer Lundeby, it would have been unproblematic for them to deliver enough trains for testing with full traffic. The trains from Ski to Oslo must run on the old Østfold line after the Folloban line was closed on 19 December. Photo: Ninnie Therese Rogne Nilsen / news Mixed feelings among passengers Many train travelers are critical of the handling and the train service after the Follobanen closed. Fredrik Vestby took the train from Ski to Oslo on Tuesday morning. It is not the problems in the startup that he reacts to the most. – For me, the flow of information is the biggest problem. I like to know what’s going on. Now it is easier to find information in the media than with the train suppliers, so it is boring, says Vestby. Fredrik Vestby and Marte Furuholt at Ski station on Tuesday morning, both going to Oslo. Photo: Ninnie Therese Rogne Nilsen / news For Marte Furuholt’s part, the train service has become worse now than it was before the Follobanen opened. – Although I have calculated extra time to get to work, I have been late almost every day since the Follobanen was closed. So it’s quite frustrating that they can’t find the fault, says Furuholt. The Folloban runs between Oslo and Ski. The line will cut the journey time from 22 to 11 minutes, compared to the old Østfold line.
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Urgent meeting about the Follobanen and the Blix tunnel after the failed opening and train trouble – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
