Railway maintenance this summer

At the bottom of this article you can see when and where busses replace trains this summer.    

For many years, the Østfold line has had buses replace trains for several summer weeks at a time. This year, the railway is closed for only one week, and only a few departures are replaced by buses in the last three weeks.

Checklist for you as a passenger:

• Plan your trip in the apps or on the websites of the train companies, Entur or Ruter 
• The bus may use different stops than the train does
• Departure and arrival times may be different 
• The journey may take longer by bus, and it takes time to switch between bus and train 
•  Buy a ticket before boarding

Follow the yellow signs

At Oslo S, most buses will depart from Trelastgata near track 19. All buses will have a terminal stop at the gravel lot in Tollbugata, near Børsen, a stone’s throw from Oslo S. At other train stations, bus stops are marked in yellow where buses replace trains.

- We will sign well, look for the yellow signs. The train companies have customer guides in place at the major stations to assist travelers, says Victor Hansen, director of customer and traffic information.

New this year is that Go-Ahead is collaborating with Vy to have fewer buses on the roads. This means that Go-Ahead’s passengers may take Vy trains between Oslo S and Asker, where they switch to Go-Ahead’s buses.

Why there are buses for trains

We cannot work on the track while there are trains running. This is why we choose the time of year with the fewest passengers and the least amount of traffic to do maintenance work.

Over time, there have been an increase in departures and passengers on the railway. That is good for both the environment and the passengers but means more wear and tear on the rails. That is why it is extra important to shut down every summer for renovation and upgrading.

- This is to correct the wear and tear that occurs throughout autumn, the long winter and spring. It does not necessarily make the railway better, but it prevents deterioration, says Hansen.

The Follobanen will be completed

The new Follobanen will be connected to the westbound tracks at Oslo S. This is the largest track upgrade in Oslo S in 40 years.

Since March 5th, Follobanen has been in operation and running to Oslo S. Today, those who are going further west must change trains. This summer, major work will be done to connect Follobanen to seven westbound tracks in order for Follobanen and R21 to run to Nationaltheatret, Skøyen and beyond from mid-December.

- Finally, passengers on Follobanen will get the full offer they have been promised. In mid-December new schedules for 2024 will commence, at which point travelers can drive through the Oslo tunnel. The work this summer is complex and may create some delays once we start traffic again, but we are focusing greatly on this and are doing our best to keep traffic on schedule, says Victor Hansen.

Drammen and Vestfold prepare for the future

We have major work planned in Drammen and in Vestfold to ensure shorter travel time for train passengers and up to four trains per hour between Tønsberg and Oslo from 2025.

This summer, Tønsberg station and Tangentunnelen will be upgraded; this must be done without trains on the tracks.

In Drammen, we will change the railway tracks that go west from Drammen station. This is to ensure necessary access in order to build the descending passage into the new Drammen tunnel where the tracks run currently.

This summer, just east of Drammen station, an underpass to the river promenade will be built for Drammen municipality.

New signaling system on the Gjøvik line

We are in the process of a completely necessary renewal of the railway’s many and old signaling systems. This will provide fewer delays and more trains on time for passengers and goods.

The new signaling system is scheduled to be put into use between Roa and Gjøvik before Christmas. Whenthis route is closed in August, it is both to test the new system and to upgrade tracks and contact lines, that is, the power lines over the train.

Locations where busses will replace trains this summer