Train service is gradually returning to normal
This has been an exceptionally challenging winter for both passengers and trains – with consequences we are still working on. Fortunately, things are gradually improving.
Winter is long gone, but unfortunately it has created consequences that we are still working on. A shortage of trains has made it difficult on board the trains. It has been crowded and many have had to make do with standing room on long journeys.
We understand the frustration and want to apologize to all customers who have not received the train service they should have had.
Updated information 30 August 2024
Before the summer, we had ambitions, and great faith, that we were back to normal traffic with enough trains around the start of school. Unfortunately, we are not. We are very sorry that there are still several departures that run with fewer carriages and fewer seats than they should have had, and we understand that this makes for a more tiring journey for our customers. We do our best to get as many trains into traffic as possible in cooperation with the workshops.
NB: this article is from May 2024:
Gradually approaching normal train traffic
Fortunately, things are gradually getting better, and it is only in exceptional cases that we operate with fewer carriages and less space than planned.
Maintenance and repair of trains takes time, but together with our suppliers we are doing everything we can to get all our trains back into service. At the same time, we are making changes to the way we work with maintenance so that we avoid ending up in the same situation next winter.
Simply explained, we can divide the "way forward" into two phases:
Until August:
This summer, the train service will mainly be as stated in the timetable, with double sets on rush hour departures.
We still have fewer reserve trains than we would like. This means that we cannot tolerate new faults on the trains or major infrastructure problems that cause the trains to get stuck in the wrong place.
August to Christmas:
After the summer holidays, the trains will again run as planned. We also have a sufficient number of train sets in reserve in case something unforeseen should happen.
In the run-up to Christmas, we will also maintain the trains to a much greater extent than has been done previously. Extra resources have been brought in from abroad to repair more faults than we can handle with normal staffing.
The measures and phases mentioned above apply to regional express and regional trains, i.e. lines operated with the dark green Flirt trains.
How do we prevent this from happening again?
We have learned a lot from this winter, which means we are better prepared for next winter. In hindsight, we see that we drove the trains too hard. The need for necessary maintenance increased, and we were not able to handle new faults that came on top of this.
In addition to adding extra staff to the workshops, we are also looking at other measures to carry out maintenance in a more efficient and better way.
This will reduce the time in the workshops, provide a more reliable train service and a better everyday life for customers.