The fire on the Bergen Line: This is what Bane Nor says about a possible reopening
A train on the Bergen Line caught fire on Tuesday, and around 220 passengers were evacuated. A new assessment has been announced at 12 noon, but until further notice it is completely closed.
A train on the Bergen Line was in flames at the old Bromma station in the municipality of Nesbyen in Buskerud on Tuesday.
The train, which was en route from Bergen to Oslo, stopped at the old Bromma station in the municipality of Nesbyen in Buskerud just before 5 p.m. Tuesday. A little over an hour later, the fire, which had also spread to the terrain, was under control. No one was injured.
Press contact Siv Egger Westin in Vy says that the railway is completely closed to traffic between Nesbyen and Flå. All trains are being replaced by buses for trains.
"The stoppage also potentially affects the first three departures in both directions on Wednesday morning," she told NTB late Tuesday evening.
As long as the police and the Accident Investigation Board Norway conduct their investigations, the train will remain stopped, blocking the Bergen Line.
150 meters of overhead power line must be replaced
A new assessment has been announced at 12 noon on Wednesday. Bane Nor has been ordered to stop the train carriages, press officer Harry Korslund told NTB.
"The police, in consultation with the Accident Investigation Board of Norway, have made a decision that the three train carriages that were hit by the fire will not be moved, so that they can conduct technical examinations," he says.
The technical investigations will start at 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to Korslund. Once they are over, Bane Nor can begin repairing the damage.
"We know that the overhead line that carries electricity to the trains is damaged. Around 150 meters of it needs to be replaced. So we need to get new overhead lines and everything else that is damaged that is part of the system before we can start again," says Korslund.
Until then, buses will replace trains in passenger traffic, but also in freight traffic between Bergen and Oslo.
Korslund does not dare to indicate when normal train traffic can resume.
"We'll have to come back to that when we know more about the actual extent. All such estimates are uncertain until we can pull the train cars away from the site and study them properly," he says.
Then they can have the train pulled aside so that traffic can resume.
"We have the opportunity to get it onto track two at Bergheim or Nesbyen, which is not that far away. So in the blink of an eye we have had to repair the damage, it will be possible to park it out to the side."
It is currently unclear what caused the fire.
"It is something that the police and especially the Accident Investigation Board Norway should shed light on," he says.
