Onrail, a private Norwegian rail operator, was banned from the state rail maintenance facility in Alnabru, Oslo, for the past year and a half. During that time, the workshop only serviced rolling stock belonging to state-owned operator CargoNet. Onrail says that it has incurred hundreds of thousands of euros in financial losses because of it.
Despite a legal guarantee for non-discriminatory access for rail maintenance services, Onrail was not allowed to use the Alnabru facility. It subsequently turned to the Norwegian Rail Inspectorate, which is now saying that the facility has to offer Onrail rolling stock the same servicing as CargoNet.
The latter is currently leasing the workshop from its owner, infrastructure manager Bane NOR. CargoNet has hired maintenance company Mantena, another state-owned company, to provide servicing at the facility.
Pointing fingers
For its part, Mantena has said that it has no problem providing maintenance services for Onrail alongside CargoNet. It points to the facility’s lessee, saying that CargoNet needs to give its approval before Mantena can service Onrail as well. At the same time, CargoNet points to Bane NOR, because they are the owners of the facility.
Regardless of who is at fault, what matters for Onrail is most likely that they simply get access to the facility. “This has cost us millions of Norwegian crowns in extra expenses and lost revenue”, comments Henning Aandal, CEO of Onrail, to the Norwegian publication NRK. The millions of Norwegian crowns likely equal hundreds of thousands of euros, but no specific number has been mentioned.