Rail replacement service causes travel chaos in Oslo
Bus services meant to replace T-bane closures until September have suffered major issues from Helsfyr this week; Oslo City Council has called on public transport firm Ruter for answers.
Last week work began to connect a new track and tunnel at Brynseng, which means closures and disruptions on several metro lines lasting until September.
Helsfyr is the T-bane station facing the biggest disruption, with all traffic east from the station halted by the construction work, with a rail replacement service in place.
Unfortunately for travellers and commuters, implementation the rail replacement service has been far from smooth so far.
Earlier this week, many travellers reported packed busses and delays to their journey stretching into hours. Some travellers have been asked to find alternative means of transport to avoid traffic jams at Helsfyr station.
“If you can walk two extra minutes and take a bus that does not go via Helsfyr, then do it,” Øystein Dahl Johansen, a communications advisor for Ruter, told public broadcaster NRK.
Ruter has said delays and long-traffic jams aren’t caused by the rail replacement busses but by the large volume of motorists on the road around Helsfyr.
The public transport network believes that the situation should ease heading into next week. This is because Line Four will fully reopen again.
Oslo City Council has called on Ruter to explain why the delays and disruption on the rail replacement services have been so bad.
“This is the second year in a row of bus chaos. I want to call Ruter on to get an explanation and find out what they intend to do to sort out the chaos,” Deputy Mayor of Oslo Abdullah Alsabeehg told Avisa Oslo.
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Last week work began to connect a new track and tunnel at Brynseng, which means closures and disruptions on several metro lines lasting until September.
Helsfyr is the T-bane station facing the biggest disruption, with all traffic east from the station halted by the construction work, with a rail replacement service in place.
Unfortunately for travellers and commuters, implementation the rail replacement service has been far from smooth so far.
Earlier this week, many travellers reported packed busses and delays to their journey stretching into hours. Some travellers have been asked to find alternative means of transport to avoid traffic jams at Helsfyr station.
“If you can walk two extra minutes and take a bus that does not go via Helsfyr, then do it,” Øystein Dahl Johansen, a communications advisor for Ruter, told public broadcaster NRK.
Ruter has said delays and long-traffic jams aren’t caused by the rail replacement busses but by the large volume of motorists on the road around Helsfyr.
The public transport network believes that the situation should ease heading into next week. This is because Line Four will fully reopen again.
Oslo City Council has called on Ruter to explain why the delays and disruption on the rail replacement services have been so bad.
“This is the second year in a row of bus chaos. I want to call Ruter on to get an explanation and find out what they intend to do to sort out the chaos,” Deputy Mayor of Oslo Abdullah Alsabeehg told Avisa Oslo.
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