📋 Tender Overview
There is cross-party agreement that more travelers will choose to take trains and that we will transport more goods by rail. A large proportion of trains in Norway run through the Oslo Tunnel between Oslo S and Skyen. This section has been declared congested since 2007. If the development in the number of train journeys goes in the direction we want there is very limited opportunity to extract more capacity in the current tunnel. It is therefore important to get on schedule with the planning of a new tunnel so that we get knowledge about when it may be relevant that it is completed says Minister of Transport Jon-Ivar Nygard.The Ministry of Transport and Communications has commissioned the Norwegian Railway Directorate to study the decision basis for a new national tunnel for the railway.Important for train traffic over large parts of the countryIn addition to local and regional trains in Eastern Norway the Oslo Tunnel is also used by long-distance trains and freight trains to the rest of the country. Delays and operational disruptions in the Oslo tunnel therefore often have consequences for traffic flow on other parts of the railway network. A new national tunnel will double capacity through the city of Oslo and be positive for train traffic for large parts of our national railway network says Nygrd.The Directorate shall assess demand needs and ambitions for train servicesIn 2021 further planning of a new double track in the tunnel from Oslo S to Lysaker was stopped as a result of insufficient money. In the new decision basis the Norwegian Railway Directorate will assess demand needs and the long-term ambitions for the development of the train service so that the new national tunnel can be completed at the right time. As part of the study the Norwegian Railway Directorate will also assess whether new tender concepts better use of the current tunnel and the use of new technology can provide even better utilization of existing capacity than what is the basis for the existing plans.Ask to enter into an agreement on planning with Bane NORAs part of the assignment the Norwegian Railway Directorate is asked to enter into an agreement with Bane NOR to plan the national tunnel further in accordance with the Planning and Building Act so that the uncertainty of costs and implementation is reduced.Further progressThe Ministry of Transport and Communications has set 31 March 2023 as the deadline for submitting the decision basis from the Norwegian Railway Directorate. At a later date the Ministry will establish a planning framework for the work on the next National Transport Plan of which the decision basis will be a part. A time course for the realization of the national tunnel must take these frameworks into account.
