The capital is on track

Building better rail connections to the tune of 11,600 million kroner in the Oslo-area is, according to the government, the largest project in the NTP. So what does it buy? A double set of tracks between Oslo and Ski, and 30,000 passengers daily on the Follo railway will have their journey-time cut in half.

What is happening in Rogaland

Not everyone lives in or around Oslo, but it seems a small sum in relation to 90 billion kroner, of which half will go to running-costs and maintenance, and half to investment. Minus the other areas of the country, how will this region benefit from what is left?

Between Stavanger and Oslo, the journey-time by train is between eight and nine hours. This cannot compete with flying, and just about beats driving. The NTP plans to double the goods-capacity between these cities with trains up to 600 metres in length.

The building of a double set of tracks to increase passenger-capacity between Stavanger and Sandnes, and the moving of the goods-terminal to Ganddal is a start. Further improvements under the NTP include the upgrading of the electricity supply-system, in order to decrease journey-times. This will obviously benefit the passenger-traffic too.

What might not happen in Rogaland

There has also been talk of building a high-speed rail-link between Oslo and Stavanger, but no funding is mentioned in the present NTP. The Stavanger-area’s city-tram receives a small mention, but the conclusion is that it is the responsibility of the county-council, rather than the government.

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