NORWAY’s incoming government has announced plans to stop tendering rail services in the country, with these services instead operated by incumbent, state-owned Vy Tog. The government also plans to increase rail’s share of the passenger and freight markets, review the organisational structure of the rail sector and improve the night train offer.

The plans come after a Labour Party-led coalition unseated the Conservative government after eight years in power following an election in September. The plans were unveiled in the “Hurdalsplattformen” policy statement released on October 13 before the new government was sworn in on October 14.

Norway’s Ministry of Transport and Communications first launched a competitive tender to operate passenger services on the national network in February 2016 under plans to liberalise the sector unveiled in 2015.

The Norwegian Railway Directorate announced in October 2018 that it had selected Go-Ahead Norge as the winner of Traffic Package 1, with Swedish national operator SJ winning Traffic Package North in June 2019. Vy Tog (formerly Norwegian State Railways) won Traffic Package 3 in December 2019, beating TideArriva and SJ Norway.

The directorate announced in July 2020 that it was postponing the awarding of Traffic Package 4 to operate passenger services around Oslo by a year, in order to give operators more certainty following the coronavirus pandemic. The competitive tender for operation of Traffic Package 5, which comprises regional and regional express trains from Oslo and Bratsberg Line services, was subsequently postponed by a year in March 2021.

But under the government’s new plans, the tendering of packages 4 and 5 would be scrapped, along with the tendering of track and infrastructure maintenance and operation. The government says it plans to reduce the number of operators in the country, to simplify the system for passengers and increase rail’s competitiveness with other transport modes.

The government also plans to review and simplify the current organisation of the railway sector to create a clear outline of responsibilities between the ministry, railway directorate and infrastructure manager Bane Nor.

Other changes include a reduction in the maintenance backlog and the construction of new passing loops and double-track sections to increase capacity and facilitate the full or partial electrification of the network alongside the use of other technology to reduce emissions.

The government’s plan includes a pledge to improve the night train offer, and the current environmental support scheme for rail freight transport, as well as develop InterCity services in the east. Construction of the Northern Norway line will also be included in the next National Transport Plan.

Bane Nor says it was encouraging to see support for rail included in the plan, including the structural review.

“It is very positive that the government platform explicitly mentions further development, and that they will pursue an offensive railway policy,” says Bane Nor CEO, Mr Gorm Frimannslund. “We interpret this as an intensified investment in train transport.

“It is our experience that there is an unclear division of responsibilities and that the sector is confusing. In addition, there is a need for better coordination in the transport sector in general.”

However, Mr Nick Brooks, the secretary general of the Alliance of Passenger Rail New Entrants in Europe (AllRail), said the plans were more regressive than offensive.

“Competitive tendering of public service offerings has been proven to improve service quality and frequencies while reducing the burden on the taxpayer,” he says. “By contrast, renewed directly awarded PSOs to the state-owned operator are a regressive policy that failed in the past – this will lead to a smaller, more inflexible and inefficient rail market that will not be attractive for the passengers. If Norway plans to be part of a European single rail market, then this is the wrong way to go about it.”