The new conservative Norwegian government is launching an effort to work with their Swedish counterparts on improving rail transport and train lines, especially between Oslo and Göteborg (Gothenburg).
Transport Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen from the Progress Party told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that he’ll contact Swedish authorities with the aim of starting up a planning process for better rail connections. “It’s natural to see how we can cooperate to develop train lines between our two countries, and the dialogue should start relatively quickly,” Solvik-Olsen said.
There are national plans for rail construction in Norway and Sweden, but no joint plan to improve the most highly trafficked stretches that link, for example, Oslo and Göteborg. Most cargo transport between the two cities now uses the recently improved E6 highway, but there long has been demand for double rail tracks between the cities to speed rail transport and get the big trucks off the road.
City officials in both Oslo and Göteborg are keen to improve rail connections. “We see that there’s a need for this,” Göteborg Mayor Anneli Hulthén told NRK, while Solvik-Olsen’s plan also won support from Oslo city leaders and key Members of Parliament involved with transport issues.
newsinenglish.no staff
