Status of train traffic in Eastern Norway for December 2024
In the last two months of the year, we have unfortunately run a number of departures with fewer carriages and seats than planned. We are still not in normal operation on local trains, but are on the road to recovery. On regional trains, we are on the way to solving the challenges.
The red and grey local trains
We see a slight improvement on the trains running L1 Spikkestad – Lillestrøm and L2 Stabekk – Ski, compared to earlier this autumn. The biggest challenge with these trains is their age, and it is difficult to do anything about it.
The red trains on L2 are far beyond their expected lifespan, which unfortunately means that customers must expect an unstable and unpredictable situation in the future as well. We are working to prevent as many errors as possible, but until the new local trains arrive in the next few years, there will be occasional demanding conditions on L2.
To remedy this, we have borrowed modern regional trains from Western Norway, which will be used on this line. They will initially run in Eastern Norway until the spring, and we are also looking at other opportunities to lease trains in the short term together with Norske Tog.
The situation is somewhat similar on line L1, where the grey local trains run. These are also older trains, but with many years of service ahead of them. That is why Norske Tog is working on a so-called mid-life upgrade. At the same time, we are looking at how we can accelerate other technical upgrades, which we believe will make the trains more stable during 2025.
In November and December, we have unfortunately operated a number of departures with fewer carriages and seats than planned, on both L1 and L2, and capacity has been reduced by approx. 12%.
Continued improvements on the dark green and grey trains
We solved many of the problems related to the regional trains, which run across large parts of Eastern Norway, with increased staffing in the workshops and thus increased capacity for maintenance.
In November, we have run with somewhat fewer carriages and seats than planned. The reason for this is that we have chosen to take out more trains than normal for quality control and inspections. This is part of preparing for the winter, but also part of improving the quality of the trains in the long term. When we check more trains than normal, we also find several minor errors that we want to correct. This is good in the long term, but it results in fewer trains in traffic on certain days.
In December, we have run almost normally, which we expect to do also in and through the winter. However, there will be individual days that can be demanding due to unforeseen errors and incidents, such as faults with electricity, rails and signals.
In November and December, we have unfortunately operated a number of departures with fewer carriages and seats than planned, and capacity has been reduced by approximately 5.5%.
Is it safe to operate trains when they are full?
The simple answer is yes. Safety is very important to us, and we do nothing that compromises safety. It is a great responsibility to transport so many people on board our trains, and we are aware of that.
Our conductors are trained to handle emergencies on board trains, and they check the train both before, during and after the journey to make sure that everything is as it should be.
The fact that there are more passengers than there are seats does not constitute a safety risk in itself. The trains can have at least as many standing passengers as seated passengers, and this does not affect the braking system, carrying capacity or evacuation in an emergency.
There is evacuation equipment on board, there are many doors to ensure a quick evacuation, and the conductors also have extra equipment available in their own emergency case.
What can customers expect during the winter?
Last year, we ran our trains too hard, and we did not have enough capacity in the workshops.
This year, we will cancel departures if we have days similar to those we had in January 2024. This will save our trains from failures, which means that customers will experience shorter periods with a reduced train service.
We are sorry that we have not been able to deliver in 2024. Although we cannot promise a problem-free winter, we promise that we will do everything we can to ensure that our customers have a better and more predictable everyday commute both during the winter and after.