More snow in southern Norway – 9,000 without electricity
8,800 customers in the Agder counties are Saturday morning without electricity after a snowfall night before Saturday. The train traffic in the area is affected as well.
On Friday, Agder Energi informed that most of the customers had been reconnected after the snowy weather earlier this week, but the joy was short-lived. An additional 20 centimeters of snow added during the night is the culprit. There are currently 25 breaks in the grid.
– There are extensive repair work underway at the moment, mainly due to the fact that there has been another power outage due to the weather, says communications adviser in Agder Energy, Yvonne Ødegård, to TV 2.
Agder Energi states that they had 30 technicians working during the night before Saturday, and several more in action on Saturday morning.
Train trouble
There are also big problems on the southern railway (Sørlandsbanen). It was opened at 3.15 am, but a mere two hours later, at 5 am, the westbound night train from Oslo to Stavanger crashed into a tree between Marnardal and Audnedal.
– Damage has been found on the train’s power connector and on the drive line which supplies the trains with electric power. – It will probably take many hours before the damage is repaired, says communications adviser in Bane Nor, Harry Korslund.
Bus
A diesel engine train from Stavanger was called out to pull the night train to Marnardal. Passengers were transported by bus. 300-350 meters of the power line is missing
At the moment, rail transport is halted on the streches between Kristiansand and Nelaug, Marnardal-Audnedal and on the Arendal track.
The problems in the Agder counties began Tuesday when large amounts of snow fell throughout south eastern Norway. As many as 22,400 households in South Eastern Norway were without electricity on Tuesday afternoon.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
