The Østfold Line can get double-decker trains

"Bus for Train" Railroad track Bergen railwayIllustration,Railroad track. .Photo: Pixabay

The railway in Norway are now looking for double-deckers that can be used on the Østfold Line (Østfoldbanen) and thereby increase the capacity by 40 percent – perhaps as early as next year.

The new trains can be in place within a relatively short time because we are talking about rentals, writes Aftenposten.

– There has been much talk about the poor capacity and a concern that nothing would happen before the Follo line is realised. Longer train sets are not a viable option. We must therefore increase the use of bus in parallel with the train or find other solutions.

This second solution is to look outside of Europe for double-deckers that can be used in conjunction with the locomotives we already have, the Manager for passenger traffic agreements in the Railway Directorate, Dagfinn Berge, told the newspaper.

He stressed that they are still in an early phase.

– The material will still not be in place until next year. But we have had indications that this type of material is available and we will not leave any stone unturned, he said.

According to Aftenposten, the change is due to that Norway State Rail (NSB) lost control of the types of passenger train running on Norwegian lines in January.

Now it’s Togmateriell AS (Rolling Stock Inc), owned by the Ministry of Transport – and represented through the Rail Directorate – that is to rent the equipment out to NSB and other operators. Berge is responsible for the direct agreements with NSB.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today