Airport train under pressure

The Airport Express Train (Flytoget) serving Oslo’s main airport at Gardermoen is fighting hard to maintain its ticket prices and dominance on the line between the airport, Lillestrøm, downtown Oslo and Drammen. It reportedly admits that more competition can lead to major losses, even as it tries to railroad its way on to other lines [...]

Passenger train derails in Hedmark

A passenger train heading from the historic mining town of Røros to Hamar derailed Monday morning, not far from the scene of a fatal train accident on the same line in Hedmark County 11 years ago. This time, though, passengers escaped death, and injuries were believed to be relatively minor. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that [...]

Roads and rails under water again

The unrelenting rains of the summer of 2011 continue to flood and wash away local roads and a major highway in southern Norway, as well as force closure once again of a key passenger- and cargo train line. Transport engineers say they’ve never seen anything like the water damage caused over the past several months. [...]

Oslo Central Station reopens

Oslo Central Station, commonly referred to as “Oslo S,” reopened on Monday after weeks of essential maintenance, with promises that the work done would improve service and reduce problems. The work, which began on June 26, apparently completed upgrades that would usually take 18 months in just six weeks. Trains can now travel out of [...]

Bergen-Oslo train line closed again

More trouble hit the heavily trafficked train line between Bergen and Oslo (Bergensbanen), after several rock- and earthslides left entire portions of the tracks hanging in open air. Some mountain communities have also been isolated. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that hundreds of owners of holiday cabins (hytter) are trapped by the landslides that were set [...]

Conflict over commuter chaos

Morning rush hour lasted until well into the afternoon as the scheduled halt of all trains through Oslo got off to a start yesterday morning. While initial reports from NSB were positive, the decision by state highway department (Statens vegvesen) to schedule road maintenance on major highways leading in and out of the capital without [...]

Train disruption starts smoothly

Locals and tourists alike have been bracing themselves for commuter chaos, as the scheduled halt of all trains through Oslo began this morning. “All things considered, this has gone fairly well,” press officer Bjørn Stuedal of state railway NSB told newspaper Aftenposten. “The coach-for-train system has been working well, and passengers experiencing delays have handled [...]

Travelers brace for more train chaos

Commuters and tourists alike are being warned to expect major disruption on all train routes through Oslo, starting this weekend and continuing for the rest of the summer. Badly needed maintenance and improvements are forcing the closure of Oslo’s Central Station (Oslo S) from June 26 until August 8. Railway and railroad officials realize that’s [...]

Investigation underway into train fire

Railway and railroad officials narrowly avoided a major catastrophe on the train line between Oslo and Bergen, after fire broke out in a snow shelter along the tracks and eventually engulfed an entire train of eight carriages. Questions were flying over how the near-tragedy could have occurred, and a state investigation was launched immediately. Details [...]

Fire shuts Oslo-Bergen line

Around 250 passengers were evacuated from a train running on the popular line between Oslo and Bergen on Thursday, after fire broke out in a structure used to keep snow off the tracks in winter. The train had entered the tunnel-like structure and caught fire as well. No one was injured in the blaze at [...]

Calamities galore on a sunny day

UPDATED: The sun was shining in the Oslo area on a typical spring day, but all was far from calm for local emergency crews. A storm of unrelated alarms descended on police and firefighters from Drammen in the west to Follo in the southeast, and meanwhile, all train traffic through the capital was at a [...]

Fewer train delays this winter

There were some signal problems in the Oslo area Thursday morning, but Norway’s chronic railway delays have been reduced by more than a half since last winter. Efforts to improve winter preparedness by state railway NSB and the Norwegian National Rail Administration (Jernbaneverket) are paying off. “We have had fewer malfunctions and have been better [...]

Train crash victim finally wins compensation

A 33-year-old woman who was among those injured in one of Norway’s worst train crashes ever has finally won compensation, 11 years after the fatal accident on a winter’s day at Åsta in the eastern valley of Østerdalen. Linda Ellefsrud won a major victory against insurance company Tryg, which was supposed to cover claims for [...]

Snow snarled traffic, again

Wintertime tourists may enjoy Norway’s snow, but Oslo-area commuters faced more frustration on Thursday when a heavy snowfall halted trains, made driving hazardous and even was blamed for a tram derailment in the city. Police issued bulletins urging motorists to avoid using their cars. Trains from Skien to Oslo were cancelled after a snow- and [...]

T-bane struggles back into business

Oslo’s underground transit system, the T-bane, was mostly back in service Thursday after a derailment on Wednesday shut down all operations through downtown. Commuters, though, were told to brace for delays and some lines wouldn’t be running on schedule until Friday. Website  Aftenposten.no reported it was taking more time than expected to repair the tracks [...]

« Previous Page — Next Page »