Debate, Train | In the last six months, I have waited 9 hours and 3 minutes for delayed trains

Over the past six months, I have noted the delays on all trains I have used between Drammen and Asker, and the survey shows that I have waited 9 hours and 3 minutes for delayed trains.

Until the recently initiated rebuilding of the platforms in Drammen, the number of train departures between Drammen and Oslo had actually reached an acceptable level, so that you could almost just go down and stand on the platform and wait, because “there is always a train”.

Train passengers dissatisfied with punctuality: –

But it is not always that the train leaves when it is supposed to.

Unfortunately, Norwegian railways suffer from very poor punctuality, and Drammen station is an illustrative example.

Here I have found that more than 95 percent of all trains I have used between Drammen and Asker in the last six months did not depart from the station according to the timetable.

It must be added that I do not use the trains that have Drammen as their starting point, and that I have mostly noted departure times during rush hour.

We are talking about a major societal problem that needs to be solved.

The personal consequences of having to wait almost 10 hours for delayed trains over the course of six months are insignificant, but in the bigger picture the delays cause me to spend significantly more time commuting because I often miss corresponding buses.

And if we add up all the disadvantages both in terms of time and money for private individuals and businesses, we are talking about a major social problem that needs to be solved.

I have thought that can’t just the train companies adjust the timetables so that they are more realistic and are not perceived as a deception for the passengers?

But the train times are also an expression of some expectations on the part of the train companies about what could have been possible if the conditions were right.

Unfortunately, the Norwegian authorities have largely neglected responsibility for this part of the infrastructure, and it is not the fault of the train companies.

The biggest challenge with the western railway corridor is that between Lysaker and Skøyen station there are only two tracks.

In comparison, E18 has seven files on the same stretch.

All trains going west from Oslo must pass along these two tracks: local trains, intercity trains, regional trains, Flytoget and goods trains.

Does anyone really imagine that it is possible to achieve efficient train transport with such framework conditions?

No, it goes without saying that if a situation arises with one of the tracks, it will have ripple effects across the entire Eastern Norway transport system.

In addition to the delays, there is also a major limitation with full trains during rush hour, and there are rarely seats from Drammen or Asker on the trains coming from the west.

One reason is that there is a lack of a sufficient number of train sets. But as I have already explained, there is also no capacity for more trains between Lysaker and Skøyen.

Considering the large backlog in terms of investment in railway infrastructure, as well as the lack of plans to solve the bottlenecks, we unfortunately cannot expect major improvements in terms of train capacity between Drammen and Oslo.

Therefore, there must be temporary solutions, such as being able to use the free capacity on the Flytoget west of Oslo, for example.

In the near future, I really hope the authorities take the necessary steps to get the railway between Drammen and Oslo on the rails.

And until that becomes a reality, I encourage you to create realistic timetables so that the trains run at the stated departure times.