On Friday afternoon, the news came that Bane Nor was postponing plans to expand double tracks between Oslo S and Bryn.
The city council in Oslo thinks this is unacceptable, and accuses Bane Nor of fooling the city council.
– It came as a shock that Bane Nor is now postponing the plans for five years. Bane Nor has pressured Oslo municipality to urgently treat train development in Brynsbakken, and then throw away the cards a few months later. This is unacceptable behavior, not least towards the residents of the Old Oslo district, writes City Councilor for Urban Development Hanna E. Marcussen (MDG) in a press release.
– Unsustainable
The development has, among other things, led to more people having to move, due to the planned development.
– This is unsustainable. Here, Oslo has gone to great lengths and done what we can to get the plan through in time, apparently to no avail. That there were complaints about the plan should not come as a surprise to Bane Nor and I expected that they had taken this into account, Marcussen writes.
Leakage: 100 million to charging stations
The development means, among other things, that several houses worthy of protection at Vålerenga must be demolished.
– Always been clear
Bane Nor writes in an email to Dagbladet that they have been clear to the city council about what is needed for them to be able to start the development.
The reason why they now have to wait to expand the section is that they are waiting for a new signaling system on Oslo S. The new system is called ERTMS.
– We have always been clear that we were dependent on a decision no later than Easter this year, in order to be able to finish the measure in Brynsbakken before ERTMS. The city council went to great lengths to approve the plan, and help keep the momentum going, but we are now in November and still do not have an approved plan. Therefore, it is no longer possible to build the measure longer before ERTMS, writes project director Bettina Sandvin to Dagbladet.
Warns Støre
– Important
She says they have offered to pay those who live in the area for the properties.
– We understand that this is burdensome for affected landowners, and that is why we offer redemption to these. This is an offer for those who want to get a clarification, and it is completely voluntary.
Sandvin emphasizes that the project is important for improving public transport in Oslo.
– This is a project that creates great commitment locally. At the same time, the measure is important for resolving a bottleneck that affects many travelers, Sandvin writes.
Led behind the light
Flight arouses indignation: – Hypocrisy
The opposition in the city council also reacts to the postponement.
– It seems as if Bane Nor has led the city council in Oslo behind the light. We were told that there was no time to study alternatives. Now it turns out that it is not true, writes city council representative Haakon Riekeles (V) in an email to Dagbladet.
Riekeles further writes that one now has time to put in place a better solution.
– Then we must now make the changes we wanted, but did not have the opportunity to this spring. I will therefore put forward a proposal in the city council to change the regulation so that Bane Nor must investigate lids over the tracks and preservation of the houses, before they can start construction, he writes.
– I am happy that the city council reacts as she does. Then I reckon that she will support decisions that force Bane Nor to take Oslo seriously, Riekeles writes.
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