Travelers between Oslo and Trondheim had to take a bus rather than a train from Lillehammer after a bridge collapsed at Ringebu. Bane Nor warns that it will take a long time to repair the bridge. SJ asked the Minister of Transportation to join him on board.
The railway bridge over Gudbrandsdalslågen in Ringebu collapsed on Monday.
– For those who travel, this is not sustainable in the long term. They wanted to travel by train, not sit on a bus from Lillehammer to Trondheim, said information manager Hilde Lyng at SJ Norge to NTB.
On Monday, Dovrebanen was closed after the railway bridge over Lågen in Ringebu collapsed. SJ, which runs all passenger trains on this stretch, had on Tuesday cleared buses for trains between Lillehammer and Trondheim.
Ask Nygård to take action
– When the bridge collapsed, we couldn’t get the train across. But there was also some damage to the track elsewhere in Dovrebanen, meaning we were unable to fully drive the train today, said Lyng.
Railway director Eivind Bjurstrøm in Bane Nor told NTB on Monday that he envisions a new bridge over Lågen, but it is too early to say when it will be ready.
Bane Nor told Aftenposten that it would probably take some time.
– Now it should be planned how the bridge will be rebuilt. This means that Dovrebanen will be closed for a long time. The bridge was badly damaged by the extreme storms and flooding, and despite today’s events, it will take a long time to repair it, wrote press officer Anne Kirkhusmo in an email.
Lyng asked Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap) to find a solution urgently. He was in Ringebu on Tuesday to visit the collapsed bridge.
– I really hope he brings the news that getting the bridge back up and running will be a priority, Lyng said.
– Theoretically, we could run buses for trains for a long time, but that’s not what customers want, and it would be very expensive, he added.
Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap) had to be on track after the bridge collapse in Ringebu, suing the SJ rail company.
There are no night trains
SJ carried about 20,000 passengers both ways on the Dovrebanen in the last week before the extreme Han weather, Lyng said. From now on, buses will run for most trains, but there will be no night trains, nor will there be alternative transportation at night.
From Tuesday, there will also be two direct one-way trains between Oslo and Trondheim on the Røros line to improve the situation on the Dovre line.
– This is quite serious for rail traffic between the capital and Norway’s third largest city, concludes Lyng.
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