There currently is no rail freight traffic between Oslo and Bergen due to the recent derailment in Arna. “Some of the containers will just have to wait for the reopening of the line”, said a spokesperson from CargoNet, the rail freight operator most active on the route.
The company usually runs six trains per direction between Oslo and Bergen every day. “In this situation, we provide our customers with good information, but we can’t help them with transport options”, they added. As they highlighted, some of the goods can be transferred on the road, but some of them will remain blocked until the line can reopen.
Also read: Derailment in Norway blocks rail access to Bergen indefinitely
At least 18 daily freight trains will remain on the ground
How many more freight trains run on this line is still unclear. Norwegian infrastructure manager (IM) Bane NOR told RailFreight.com that 112 trains travel this route every day (56 per direction), but was unable to specify how many of those are freight convoys. OnRail, the operator involved in the accident, runs three daily trains per direction between Oslo and Bergen. The company was also contacted for further information but no answer was provided as of yet. Thus, at least 18 freight trains are going to be cancelled every day. This will lead to more trucks on the road connecting Oslo and Bergen, but this option is not necessarily always viable, as CargoNet pointed out.
The accident
The accident took place on the evening of Friday 22 March near Arna, 20 kilometres northwest of Bergen. A freight train operated by OnRail derailed at the entrance of the tunnel connecting Arna and Trengereid. The train driver was slightly injured. Bane NOR started the cleanup over the weekend, but it might be a lengthy process. A spokesperson from the IM said that it is not known when the railway will be reopened, meaning that rail freight traffic between two of Norway’s largest ports is on hold until further notice.
