After losing the first two rounds of new competition over train lines in Norway, the country’s own state railway has managed to retain the rights to run the main line between Oslo and Bergen. It was a great relief to the former Norges Statsbanen (NSB), now controversially known as Vy.
It will be in charge of passenger traffic on the historic train line connecting Western- and Eastern Norway. Bergensbanen’s roots go back 110 years and it would have been another national scandal if Vy (formerly NSB) lost the rights to operate it.
Rival bids came in from Swedish railway SJ and Arriva of Germany, with all three railways competing of service and price. Vy won the rights to keep running Bergensbanen for at least another 11 years by offering to do it for NOK 2.2 billion.
That compares to the NOK 1.244 billion SJ Norge will get to run lines in a package awarded earlier for lines from Oslo to Trondheim and north to Bodø. Go Ahead of Great Britain will start running Sørlandsbanen between Oslo, Kristiansand and Stavanger this weekend, for NOK 1.5 billion over the next 10 years.
newsinenglish.no staff
