In normal operation, there are at most six departures per hour in each direction on the Follobanen, but the test run was never done with more than one departure per hour, writes Often.
Bane Nor believes it was impossible to test the section with the same rail traffic it has in full swing, an argument Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (AP) reiterated to NRK on Monday morning.
– It is hardly possible to carry out large-scale tests in Norway. That means you have to take trains from other operations to make it happen, Nygård said.
Vy, whom Bane Nor hires to drive the trains for the trial runs, rejects Bane Nor and the transport minister’s request.
According to the head of communications, Åge-Christoffer Lundeby, it would not have been a problem for Vy to deliver enough trains to test with traffic similar to the schedule. He says it’s just a matter of planning and they would be able to deliver such an order within a two week deadline.
The prestigious NOK 37 billion project officially opened on 12 December, but had to close eight days later. Nobody knows when trains will be able to run again on the Follobanen, but it will be in February at the earliest. According to Bane Nor, the reason the section is closed is a fault in the reverse current system.
On Tuesday at 3 pm, the Minister of Transport summoned Bane Nor to an emergency meeting, where he will ask for a preliminary statement on the closure of the Follobanen.
