– The Danish Minister of Transport has given the Norwegian a thumbs-up, says Mona Fagerås. She is spokesperson for transport policy in SV.
Until the year 2000, you could sleep your way through Sweden and wake up in the Danish capital.
The then transport minister Knut Arild Hareide advocated getting the night train back on track two years ago.
Positive Danes
The Danes are positive. There, money has been set aside for night trains in the state budget.
Therefore, SV asked sister party SF what initiatives Denmark’s transport minister would take to get the offer in place.
And the Danish Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen (V) is ready.
POSITIVE: Thomas Danielsen (V), Minister of Transport in Denmark.
Photo: Ritzau Scanpix
– I am positive in supporting the establishment of a night train route between Copenhagen and Oslo, he writes in his reply.
He plays the ball over to Norway.
– However, the Norwegian authorities have not yet announced whether they will concretely work towards the establishment of a night train route between Copenhagen and Oslo.
– Get the ball into the goal
Now Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap) has to step in, according to SV.
– The Danish government has set aside money. They are ready. They are just waiting for the Norwegian minister.
– Now it’s just for Nygård to get the ball into the goal, says Mona Fagerås.
NYHAVN: Copenhagen is a popular destination for many Norwegians.
Photo: Erik Johansen / NTB
Lack of sleeping cars
NRK has previously reported that the Norwegian Railway Directorate sees several practical problems with a night train to Copenhagen. One of them is a lack of sleeping cars.
That cannot prevent an emission-free alternative to a heavily trafficked flight route, SV believes.
– I think that is solvable. You just have to be willing to look at the possibilities. We know that people choose the train when it is fast, punctual and at a reasonable price.
Cheaper than flights?
Travelers NRK has spoken to at Oslo S can confirm this.
– That sounds great. I would like to use it, says Jan Gunnar Madsen.
POSITIVE: Jan Gunnar Madsen.
Photo: Jan Gunnar Madsen / NRK
– What would have been the right price?
– A thousand, for sure. It’s a matter of convenience, says Madsen.
– Great! says Ann-Christin Harr.
– Then I would take the night train to Copenhagen. It must compete with the flight price, and it is very low. But I think people would have gone anyway with the night train, says Harr.
POSITIVE: Ann-Christin Harr.
Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / NRK
– It is more environmentally friendly, and that is a good thing. But I think it should be a bit cheaper than flying, says Mie Nesse Haakonsen.
She says that she likes Copenhagen and likes to take the night train on a weekend trip if possible,
– After school it would have been nice to take the night train at night, she says.
POSITIVE: Mie Nesse Håkonsen.
Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / NRK
The government: – Too expensive
The government is not as enthusiastic.
The Ministry of Transport has assessed what a so-called public purchase of night train services will cost.
– These estimates show that the state must subsidize each journey with somewhere between NOK 280 and 500, writes State Secretary Cecilie Knibe Kroglund in an e-mail to NRK.
SKEPTICAL: State Secretary Cecilie Knibe Kroglund (Ap) in the Ministry of Transport
Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / NRK
The bill for the night train will be between NOK 70 and 100 million a year, according to the ministry.
Kroglund also writes that the night train Oslo – Copenhagen cannot be considered an effective environmental measure.
– The value of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions does not outweigh the need for subsidies. It is uncertain how big the demand for night trains on the route is, compared to the costs of operating the service, writes Cecilie Knibe Kroglund.
Despite the skepticism, she points out that the government has not reached a conclusion. This happens in the National Transport Plan, which will be presented in March next year.
– Europe will make it happen
SV believes that Norway is a train wreck.
– In Europe, they have had to invest in trains. Now we have to achieve the same in Norway, says Mona Fagerås.
2023-12-12 05:39:10
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