Rage against the State withdrawing the guarantee for Majorstua station: – Embarrassing

But from the government’s side, there is no hope for money. Group leader for SV’s city council group, Sunniva Holmås Eidsvoll, demands that Majorstua station be included in NTP again.

– Oslo SV made it resoundingly clear to SV’s transport faction in the Storting that we expect them to negotiate again the 500 million that was in the previous NTP for Majorstua subway station, says Sunniva Holmås Eidsvoll (SV) to Dagsavisen.

But even if the state withdraws the project from NTP, work on the station will proceed as planned.

The entire Fornebubanen depends on an efficient Majorstua station. When the Fornebubanen was planned, and before the gigantic, financial overruns, it was planned to put Majorstua station underground on two floors. At a price of NOK six billion.

Those plans have long since been shelved, but the station will be upgraded to have better capacity when the Fornebubanen is scheduled to be ready in 2029.

Nonsense

But from the Ministry of Transport, there is neither money nor comfort to be had.

–– There is no grant for Majorstuen station in the signed urban growth agreement for the Oslo area, and no room has been found to be able to prioritize grants for this in the project in NTP 2025–2036. It is Oslo municipality that is responsible for the project, and which is also responsible for the financing, writes State Secretary Tom Kalsås (Ap) in an e-mail to Dagsavisen.

The municipality of Oslo is responsible for the project, and is also responsible for the financing.
— Tom Kalsås (Ap; State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport

This means that Oslo municipality must take the entire bill itself, and distribute it to the rest of us in the form of, for example, increased toll fees.

SV believes that increased costs for the municipality will affect public transport in Oslo.

– It is completely nonsensical for the government to withdraw support for a project barely a month before planned start of construction. In the worst case, this means a large extra bill for Oslo’s residents or 500 million less for public transport in the Oslo area. On top of this, the government has postponed all the important measures in connection with the construction of Trondheimsveien, she says, while the subway rushes past in both directions at Majorstua station.

Now Oslo SV wants to have Majorstua station in NTP again.

– That Majorstua station fell out of the NTP appears to be a rather embarrassing oversight by the government. It simply has to go back in. If we don’t get the 500 million that have been set aside earlier, it means worse public transport services for everyone in Oslo and especially the people who live in Groruddalen, says Holmås Eidsvoll.

– In the grand scheme of things, we are not asking for much. Only eight percent of the 1,200 billion that the government wants to spend on the transport sector in the next few years will go to urban areas, she says.

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One billion

Oslo municipality made the investment decision for the upgrade of Majorstuen station in January. The cost framework for the project is NOK 1.135 billion, of which the state would pay NOK 500 million, the municipality the rest.

– If nothing is done about Majorstua station now, there will be a bottleneck in the public transport system in Oslo. It will apply to all travelers. So that’s why we have to expand the station now, she says.

The plans at Majorstua station involve building a new signal and security system, straightening the platforms, and making the station more efficient so that the trains can stay at the station for a shorter time before moving on. And a new footbridge will be built towards Chateau Neuf, so that you don’t have to go all the way to Majorstuehuset to get to the platform towards the centre. A challenge today is that most travelers use the front carriages when going towards the city centre, which means that an unnecessarily long time is spent getting on and off the carriages. In the first instance, several buildings at the station will be demolished to make way for the improvements.

Construction sheds have already been set up in the area for the imminent work.

The improvements will increase capacity from today’s 28 trains per hour, to 36 trains in each direction in the future past Majorstuen.

The SV politician believes there will be a crisis for Oslo if the station is not upgraded.

– The subway and tram are Oslo’s lifeblood, and have around 160-170 million journeys in a normal year, which is twice as many travelers as the railways in the whole of Norway in the course of a year. In addition, there will be around 100 million bus journeys. In comparison, the railways in the whole country have approx. 70–80 million travel a year, she says.

– The subway transports 40,000 people an hour into the city centre. If you were to push these people over by car, you would have to have 27-lane motorways. If we open the Fornebubanen without building a new station at Majorstua, we will create a huge traffic jam in the public transport network, which in the worst case could mean fewer departures for people in Oslo East. The reason why there is not room for more departures in Groruddalen and the outer city is about the capacity in the city centre, because all subway lines have to go through the same city center tunnel. says Holmås Eidsvoll.

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Offensive investment

According to Tom Kalsås, the proposal for NTP 2025–2036 sets the stage for an offensive investment in the Oslo area.

– The state has entered into an urban growth agreement for the Oslo area for the period 2019–2029, which is based on nearly NOK 28 billion in state funds. In addition, it will be relevant for a government contribution to a new subway tunnel through the center of Oslo. From 2023, the annual state contribution to the Fornebubanen has been increased to 70 per cent. During the planning period, there will be room to renegotiate and extend the urban growth agreement until 2036, he says.

– Many small and medium-sized infrastructure measures will together give travelers ten-minute intervals on the local train routes into Oslo S from Asker, Ski and Lillestrøm on the basic route. In addition, it will be possible to offer four trains an hour to Moss on the regular route, with a further two trains an hour in rush hour. In the NTP (2025 – 2036), the government has set aside NOK 5.8 billion in the first six-year period and NOK 8.3 billion in the second six-year period for these measures. This is a strong investment in the Oslo area that will help relieve pressure on both the housing market and the transport system in Oslo, he says.

State Secretary Tom Kalsås (Ap) (Photo: Morten Brakestad)

He further says that during the planning period there will be room to renegotiate and extend concluded urban growth agreements until 2036.

– This will provide increased predictability, and it will also be opened up for more flexible use of the funds in the agreements by combining several of the grants. This is requested by local authorities. Overall, this creates the basis for further strong investment in the four largest urban areas throughout the planning period, says the state secretary.

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Lean project

City councilor for the environment and transport, Marit Vea (V), tells Dagsavisen that the project has come so far that it would be irresponsible to stop now. She also does not hide that she is disappointed with the government.

Environment and Transport Council Marit Vea (V). (Sturlason AS Polyfoto/Photo: Sturlason)

– Majorstua station is already the country’s third largest public transport hub, and the planned redevelopment is a prerequisite for making use of the extra capacity that the Fornebubanen adds to the metro service. With an upgraded station, we can increase the frequency and capacity of the branch lines, including to Grorud, Lambertseter and Kolsås. The municipality has now scaled back the project significantly, but it is still a significant investment. I am both disappointed and surprised that the NTP government is withdrawing the support they have promised for the project, she writes in an email to Dagsavisen.

We are nevertheless absolutely obliged to continue building Majorstua station as planned. It would be completely irresponsible and very costly to stop now.
— Marit Vea (V), city councilor for the environment and transport

– It shows very little concern for Oslo, which is generally eaten up with crumbs in the government’s NTP. We are nevertheless absolutely obliged to continue building Majorstua station as planned. It would be completely irresponsible and very costly to stop now. If we do that, the plan for the Fornebubanen will have to be drastically changed and the entire frequency increase in the subway network will have to be put on hold. In my view, that is not an option. So the government’s breach of promise in reality gives us two choices: We either have to increase tolls or lower our ambitions for public transport elsewhere in the city, says Vea.

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