Norway high speed rail study underway

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The Danish engineering, design and consultancy company Ramboll is to assess the feasibility of high-speed trains between Trondheim and Oslo, Norway, on behalf of the Norwegian National Rail Administration (Jernbaneverket). They will be joined in the project by independent rail consultants Rail-X.

The CEO of Rail-X and project manager for Ramboll’s report, Frode Mo said that this was “one of the most exciting engineering tasks in Norway.”

“A modern high-speed railway between Trondheim and Oslo could mean big changes in society. Ramboll’s task is to create a basis for the decision whether such a railway is feasible or not,” said Mo who heads a team consisting of staff from Ramboll Norway and Sweden, as well as high-speed experts from ILF and IGV.

The Norwegian National Rail Administration has given Ramboll the task to assess a future high-speed connection between the two cities Oslo and Trondheim. The report will address the route selection, stopping intervals and the location of stations. Furthermore, Ramboll will assess the costs of establishing and operating high-speed trains.

The high-speed assessment report is to be submitted 1 February 2012.

Project Manager Tom Stillesby said; “It seems so far there is a significant market for high-speed trains in Norway,”  adding that “we can not compare ourselves with countries in Europe as we have completely different population.”

The British firm Atkins, internationally known for their transport analysis, conducted market research last year and found that most of the stations should be located in urban centres where they are today, with some exceptions.

Atkins also found that the trains should be linked to the airport to pick up most of the airline market.

A new user survey shows that Norwegians are in favour of high-speed trains. With the price of flying as it is currently, nearly 7 out of 10 selected high-speed rail rather than travelling by plane.

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