Flytoget
Encyclopedia
is a Norwegian
high-speed
airport rail link
connecting Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
to Oslo Central Station in nineteen minutes. Run by Flytoget AS (formerly NSB Gardermobanen AS), it operates on the high-speed Gardermoen Line using sixteen GMB Class 71 electric trains. Normal service frequency is once every ten minutes, with half the services continuing westwards to Drammen Station
. The extended services serve nine stops within Greater Oslo and take up to 60 minutes.
Flytoget transported 5.4 million passengers in 2007, a 34-percent market share of airport ground transport. The service is the only high-speed rail service in operation in Norway, with a top speed of 210 kilometres per hour (130.5 mph). Founded in 1992 as a subsidiary of the Norwegian State Railways, construction started in 1994; during construction the tunnel Romerike Tunnel had a leak, draining two lakes and delaying the opening the tunnel one year. The service began with the opening of the airport in 1998. One fatal accident has been caused by Flytoget trains. Since 2001 the company has been owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry
.
When the Parliament of Norway on 8 October 1992 decided to build a new central airport for Eastern Norway, they also decided that the main mode of ground transport should be by rail. While the previous airport, Oslo Airport, Fornebu
, was located just outside the city limits, the new airport, Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, would be located 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) north of the city, outside the reach of existing public transport
. The principle of the airport construction was that it was not to be footed by the tax payers; the entire airport would be built with borrowed money
through Oslo Lufthavn AS
, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Airport Administration
. The same principle was chosen for the airport rail link—the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) creating the limited company
subsidiary NSB Gardermobanen AS, founded on 24 November 1992, to perform the construction of the line. It would be able to charge train operators using the line, channeling the payments to cover down payments and interest of the debt used to build the railway. Profit margin
was estimated to 7.5%.
, and continuing north as single track
, the Trunk Line would have to be supplemented by a parallel double track
from Oslo, with a new route north of Kløfta
to Eidsvoll
; the 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the airport allowing trains operating on the Dovre Line to Lillehammer
and Trondheim
to access the airport. The 64 kilometres (39.8 mi) line was named the Gardermo Line.
The Gardermo Line was the second attempt to build high-speed rail in Norway, after the 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) line from Ski
to Moss
on the Østfold Line. But no operation speeds exceeding 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph) are achieved there due to short distances and limitations to rolling stock, making Gardermobanen the first real high-speed railway line in Norway. Due to the domination of single track in Norway, the opening of the Gardermo Line increased the total length of double track
in the kingdom by two-thirds.
Construction started in 1994. An agreement for purchase of sixteen three-car electric multiple unit
s was signed with Adtranz
on 23 February 1995. Parliament decided on 1 October 1996 that the construction company would also operate the new train service. The trains were delivered between 19 September 1997 and 30 January 1998, costing NOK
1.4 billion.
The greatest challenge was the 14580 metres (47,834.6 ft) Romerike Tunnel from Etterstad
, beside Oslo Central Station, to Lillestrøm—the longest railway tunnel in Norway, located underneath the geological highly unstable recreational area Østmarka
. In 1997, the water level in some of the lakes above the tunnel, including Lutvann
and Nordre Puttjern
, sank dramatically. After the leakages were discovered on 3 February 1997, sanctions requiring leakage removals were initiated by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate
. At the worst the tunnel leaked 3000 litres (659.9 imp gal) of water per minute.
The substance Rhoca-Gil
was used to attempt fix the leakages, but failed to work properly. Not only did it not polymerize and fail to tighten the leak, it also intoxicated the surroundings with acrylamide
. Manual fixing with concrete became necessary; the fixing and cleaning up of the toxin delayed the building of the tunnel by one year. Further complications arose due to conflicts between NSB Gardermobanen and the construction company, Scandinavian Rock Group, with the latter at one instance stopping work for three weeks while the parties quarreled in court.
Reports have shown lack of control- and reporting procedures during incidents that should have been addressed—but never taken seriously—in 1995. About sixty houses received damages due to the construction of the tunnel and an evaluation by the Ministry of Transport and Communications
showed NOK 500 million went to fixing the leaks; claiming this to a large extent was unnecessary expenditure due to inefficient engineering procedures. It also criticized the administrative planning and organization of the overall construction of the railway.
When the new airport opened on 8 October 1998, the Airport Express Train started operations; the trains had to use the old Trunk Line line from Oslo S to Lillestrøm, but could use the new high-speed line from Lillestrøm to Gardermoen. Flytoget was forced to only operate two trains per hour due to capacity restraints on Hovedbanen. Regular operations at full capacity using the Romerike Tunnel started on 22 August 1999.
Estimates for the project costs were NOK 4.3 billion, ±20%, but by completion they had ended at NOK 7.7 billion, of which NOK 1.3 billion were related to the leakages. The rest of the line had a cost exceedings of NOK 0.4 billion. The company had acquired financial costs
of NOK 0.9 billion, so the company owed NOK 10.0 billion by 1999, including money spent on the new trains.
The first steps of organizational restructure were taken 29 June 2000, when the CEO
of NSB, Osmund Ueland
, was fired due to several incidents related to the operations of NSB—not just the Gardermo Line. Einar Enger
took over as new CEO on 26 February 2001.
The debt in NSB Gardermobanen had become unmanageable, and in April 2000 parliament accepted that it would not be possible to make the Gardermo Line—with the current structure—the profitable venture predicted in 1992. From 1 January 2001, the company changed name to Flytoget AS, retaining ownership of the trains and operations and kept as a subsidiary of NSB. The tracks and infrastructure were transferred to the Norwegian National Rail Administration , who owns the rest of the Norwegian railway network
. All debt was restored and covered by the state, and a vehicle excise duty was implemented on the Gardermo Line to cover the management and maintenance of the line, to be paid by all users.
On 9 December 2002, parliament decided that Flytoget AS would become a separate railway company
from 1 January 2003, owned directly by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. One year later the ownership was transferred to the Ministry of Trade and Industry as part of a cleanup of political overhaul between the departments. As part of the process, a new CEO, Thomas Havnegjerde
, was appointed in June 2002, and in January 2003 the new Chair, Endre Skjørestad
—who took over the position form NSB's director Einar Enger. Havnegjerde announced on 6 August 2008 that he would retire from his job before the end of the year. He was replaced by Linda Bernander Silseth on 10 November 2008. On 30 August 2009, two of three services to Asker were extended to Drammen. This followed upgrades to the Drammen Line, including the Lieråsen Tunnel
, and a new parking lot at Drammen Station
, in total costing NOK 20 million.
all-stop trains. While the services northeast from Oslo S to the airport use the high-speed Gardermo Line, those westwards towards Asker use the Drammen Line built in 1870–72; so while the 48 kilometres (29.8 mi) from Oslo S to the airport can be done in 19 minutes, the 24 kilometres (14.9 mi) from Asker to Oslo S takes 26 minutes. The latter does however include stops at five stations: Nationaltheatret
, Skøyen
, Lysaker
, Sandvika
and Asker
.
Competition is offered from other means of ground transport and by NSB who operate trains from Oslo to the airport. This includes one hourly departure with line 450 of the Oslo Commuter Rail
north to Eidsvoll
and south to Oslo, Drammen
and Kongsberg
; one regional train hourly north to Hamar
and Lillehammer
and south to Vestfold
; and four daily express trains to Trondheim calling Oslo Airport Station, including one night train
(although the express trains to Trondheim do not accept passengers only travelling between Oslo and Gardermoen).
The price of a ticket to Oslo is NOK 170, though higher if departing from Sandvika, Asker and Drammen. Reduced fares with 50% discount are offered to senior citizens, children, youth under 21 years, students, benefit recipients and military personnel. Flytoget tickets are not valid on NSB trains, and vice versa. NSB tickets are generally cheaper, though not for some groups with reduced fare; for instance students are granted a greater discount with Flytoget than with NSB. Ticket can either be bought at vending machine
s or as e-ticket
s; there is no seat reservation.
Flytoget transported 5.4 million passengers in 2007, a 34% market share of airport ground transport. Flytoget boasts a high service quality, with 96% of departures arriving within 3 minutes of schedule and only 0.4% of departures canceled. Part of this is due to the airport express trains receiving priority over other trains in the limited capacity around Oslo. Flytoget was announced to have the most satisfied, and the fourth most loyal customers of all Norwegian companies in 2008, by the customer satisfaction survey conducted by the Norwegian School of Management
. The same year Flytoget was declared the best place of work in Norway by Great Place to Work. During the 2007 recruitment half of the newly educated train divers chose Flytoget over NSB, mostly due to higher wages.
Several deaths have taken place on the route, but only one due to an accident. In 1999, an employee of the National Rail Administration was killed by a train because it was operating at 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph) instead of the temporarily reduced limit of 80 kilometres per hour (49.7 mph); Flytoget was fined for not informing the engineer of the speed limit reduction. Several other deaths on the line have been classified as suicide
s, and so are not in the accident statistics; they do however cause delays on all services for hours after the incident takes place.
In 2000–01, Flytoget experienced three derailments with empty trains at Gardermoen; one caused by the engineer falling asleep and two by the train passing a red light. No more such accidents occurred after automatic Train Control
was installed in 2001.
Delays have been experienced many times by travelers due to technical problems on the infrastructure. In particular the old line west of Oslo causes much delay, and the National Rail Administration performed during 2008 a NOK 100 million upgrade to the Oslo Tunnel to ensure better performance. But problems also incur on the new sections, regularly delaying service or capacity, and forcing Flytoget to operate fewer departures. In total 96% of departures arrived within 3 minutes of schedule and 0.4% of departures were canceled in 2007.
Pickpocketing
has been a problem since the start; even the Chief of Police in Oslo has been picked on the train. The train has also been the target of sabotage, and embezzlement for NOK 1 million by an employed ticket salesman, who found a way to print two tickets with the system only charging for one, by turning off and on the ticket printer.
When Al Gore
came to Oslo to receive his Nobel Peace Prize
on 7 December 2007, he used the Airport Express Train to make his journey as environmentally friendly as possible. The company has initiated a program to ensure better diet for the employees; this had made several lose weight and has reduced the level of sick leave from 12 to 8%. In 2005–07, a program to reduce the energy use of the trains through smarter operation reduced energy consumption by 15%.
During the 2010 volcano air travel disruption
, the Gardermoen airport was closed for a period, and the Flytoget trains were used by NSB instead, to give extra train capacity for long-distance routes.
The company operates sixteen Class 71 three-car electric multiple unit
s delivered in 1997–98, and built domestically by Adtranz
at Strømmen
based on carbodies built in Adtranz
factory in Kalmar
. They are based on the Swedish X2 operated by SJ
in their X 2000
intercity service, and developed by Kalmar Verkstad during the 1980s. The Class 71 are nearly identical to the NSB Class 73
, save the 71-series lacking one car and tilting mechanism
, and a different interior. Both have chosen to not use the original locomotive
design, instead installing one powered bogie
in each car. The 71-series is built for a maximum operating speed of 210 kilometres per hour (130.5 mph), but has achieved higher speeds in test runs.
Among the features are pressure-tight cabins to allow comfortable travel through tunnels at high speeds, and step-free access to the cars. Instead steps are inside the trains; this has been criticized to be in non-conformance with public accessibility
policy. The multiple units can only operate in fixed sets of three cars, but up to three sets can be run in multiple
. Flytoget regularly uses double sets to create six-car trains. In 2008–09, all units will be refit with an additional middle car by Bombardier Transportation
, increasing capacity by 40% to 244 seats.
Unlike the Class 71, the sister trains in service with NSB were prone to trouble, having to operate on hundred-year-old infrastructure on cross-mountain services; the Class 71 has more lenient operating conditions thanks to better infrastructure. The only incident to ground all the BM71 trains occurred on the 17 June 2000 at Nelaug
when a Class 73 train operated by NSB derailed because of stress on the axle. Unlike the NSB trains, the airport express trains were back in service the next day, while the 73-series had to wait another month. On 24 January 2004 a unit had to be taken out of service due to smoke from a stressed bearing
—within days the bearings were replaced on all units.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
high-speed
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
airport rail link
Airport rail link
An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city; by mainline- or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover or light rail...
connecting Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving Oslo, Norway. It acts as the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and a focus city for Widerøe, it is...
to Oslo Central Station in nineteen minutes. Run by Flytoget AS (formerly NSB Gardermobanen AS), it operates on the high-speed Gardermoen Line using sixteen GMB Class 71 electric trains. Normal service frequency is once every ten minutes, with half the services continuing westwards to Drammen Station
Drammen Station
Drammen is a railway station located in downtown Drammen in Buskerud, Norway. The station is the terminus of both the Randsfjord Line, the Drammen Line and the Vestfold Line...
. The extended services serve nine stops within Greater Oslo and take up to 60 minutes.
Flytoget transported 5.4 million passengers in 2007, a 34-percent market share of airport ground transport. The service is the only high-speed rail service in operation in Norway, with a top speed of 210 kilometres per hour (130.5 mph). Founded in 1992 as a subsidiary of the Norwegian State Railways, construction started in 1994; during construction the tunnel Romerike Tunnel had a leak, draining two lakes and delaying the opening the tunnel one year. The service began with the opening of the airport in 1998. One fatal accident has been caused by Flytoget trains. Since 2001 the company has been owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry
Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry is a Norwegian ministry responsible for business, trade and industry. It is led by Trond Giske . The department must report to the legislature, Storting.-History:The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Shipping, Industry, Craft and Fisheries was created...
.
History
Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one...
, was located just outside the city limits, the new airport, Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, would be located 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) north of the city, outside the reach of existing public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
. The principle of the airport construction was that it was not to be footed by the tax payers; the entire airport would be built with borrowed money
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
through Oslo Lufthavn AS
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving Oslo, Norway. It acts as the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and a focus city for Widerøe, it is...
, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Airport Administration
Avinor
Avinor AS is a state owned limited company in that operates most of the civil airports in Norway. The Norwegian state, via the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications controls 100 percent of the share capital. Avinor was created on 1 January 2003, by the privatization of the...
. The same principle was chosen for the airport rail link—the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) creating the limited company
Aksjeselskap
Aksjeselskap is the Norwegian term for a stock-based company. It is usually abbreviated AS or A/S, especially when used in company names. An AS is always a limited company, i.e. the owners cannot be held liable for any debt beyond the stock capital...
subsidiary NSB Gardermobanen AS, founded on 24 November 1992, to perform the construction of the line. It would be able to charge train operators using the line, channeling the payments to cover down payments and interest of the debt used to build the railway. Profit margin
Profit margin
Profit margin, net margin, net profit margin or net profit ratio all refer to a measure of profitability. It is calculated by finding the net profit as a percentage of the revenue.Net profit Margin = x100...
was estimated to 7.5%.
Construction
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is not on the Trunk Line that runs north from Oslo. With heavy traffic and many small stops until LillestrømLillestrøm Station
Lillestrøm Station is a railway station located at Lillestrøm in Skedsmo, Norway. The station serves as the main transportation hub of the eastern parts of Greater Oslo and all trains east of Oslo stop at Lillestrøm...
, and continuing north as single track
Single track (rail)
A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....
, the Trunk Line would have to be supplemented by a parallel double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
from Oslo, with a new route north of Kløfta
Kløfta Station
Kløfta station is a train station at Kløfta which was opened in 1854 as a part of Norways first railway, Hovedbanen with endpoints at Kristiania and Eidsvoll...
to Eidsvoll
Eidsvoll Station
Eidsvoll is a railway station located at Eidsvoll in Akershus, Norway. The station is the terminus of both the Trunk Line, the Gardermoen Line and the Dovre Line. Though the Dovre Line and the Trunk Line/Gardermoen Line practically are the same continual railway, there is a naming change at the...
; the 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the airport allowing trains operating on the Dovre Line to Lillehammer
Lillehammer Station
Lillehammer is a railway station located in downtown Lillehammer, Norway, on the Dovre Line. The station was opened in 1894 with the construction of the railway between Hamar Station and Tretten Station. The station got a major overhaul before the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer...
and Trondheim
Trondheim Central Station
Trondheim Central Station or Trondheim S is the main railway station serving the city of Trondheim, Norway. Located at Brattøra in the north part of the city center, it is the terminus of the Dovre Line, running southwards, and the Nordland Line, which runs north...
to access the airport. The 64 kilometres (39.8 mi) line was named the Gardermo Line.
The Gardermo Line was the second attempt to build high-speed rail in Norway, after the 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) line from Ski
Ski Station
Ski Station is a railway station located in Ski, Norway. Located from Oslo Central Station on the Østfold Line, at the point where the railway splits in two into an eastern and western line....
to Moss
Moss Station
Moss Station is a railway station located in downtown Moss in Østfold, Norway. The station is located on the Østfold Line and serves as terminal station for Line 550 of the Oslo Commuter Rail service to Oslo Central Station and onwards to Spikkestad as well as a stop of the InterCity Express...
on the Østfold Line. But no operation speeds exceeding 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph) are achieved there due to short distances and limitations to rolling stock, making Gardermobanen the first real high-speed railway line in Norway. Due to the domination of single track in Norway, the opening of the Gardermo Line increased the total length of double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
in the kingdom by two-thirds.
Construction started in 1994. An agreement for purchase of sixteen three-car electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s was signed with Adtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....
on 23 February 1995. Parliament decided on 1 October 1996 that the construction company would also operate the new train service. The trains were delivered between 19 September 1997 and 30 January 1998, costing NOK
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
1.4 billion.
Challenges
Etterstad
Etterstad is a neighborhood in Oslo, located between the river Alna and Strømsveien, north of Vålerenga. It was incorporated into Oslo in 1946, two years before the merger of Oslo and Aker. The area is mainly residential.-History:...
, beside Oslo Central Station, to Lillestrøm—the longest railway tunnel in Norway, located underneath the geological highly unstable recreational area Østmarka
Østmarka
Østmarka is a forested area to the east of Oslo and part of the congregation of woodland areas known as Oslomarka. The area is situated within the municipalities Oslo, Lørenskog, Rælingen, Ski and Enebakk...
. In 1997, the water level in some of the lakes above the tunnel, including Lutvann
Lutvann
Lutvann is a lake in the recreational area Østmarka in Oslo, Norway. It covers an area of 0.39 km², at 205 m elevation.Located just outiside the capital city, it is a popular site for recreation, including swimming and fishing during summer, with brook trout in the lake. In the winter there are ski...
and Nordre Puttjern
Nordre Puttjern
Nordre Puttjern is a lake in Østmarka in Oslo, Norway.The lake was almost entirely dried up in 1997 due to a leak during the construction of the railway tunnel Romeriksporten....
, sank dramatically. After the leakages were discovered on 3 February 1997, sanctions requiring leakage removals were initiated by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate
Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate
The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate is a Norwegian government agency established in 1921. It is under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and regulates the country's water resources and energy supply. Its mandate includes contingency planning for floods, serving as a centre of...
. At the worst the tunnel leaked 3000 litres (659.9 imp gal) of water per minute.
The substance Rhoca-Gil
Rhoca-Gil
Rhoca-Gil is a type of industrial sealant produced by Rhône-Poulenc, used in the construction of tunnels to block the passage of groundwater into the tunnel...
was used to attempt fix the leakages, but failed to work properly. Not only did it not polymerize and fail to tighten the leak, it also intoxicated the surroundings with acrylamide
Acrylamide
Acrylamide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula C3H5NO. Its IUPAC name is prop-2-enamide. It is a white odourless crystalline solid, soluble in water, ethanol, ether, and chloroform. Acrylamide is incompatible with acids, bases, oxidizing agents, iron, and iron salts...
. Manual fixing with concrete became necessary; the fixing and cleaning up of the toxin delayed the building of the tunnel by one year. Further complications arose due to conflicts between NSB Gardermobanen and the construction company, Scandinavian Rock Group, with the latter at one instance stopping work for three weeks while the parties quarreled in court.
Reports have shown lack of control- and reporting procedures during incidents that should have been addressed—but never taken seriously—in 1995. About sixty houses received damages due to the construction of the tunnel and an evaluation by the Ministry of Transport and Communications
Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications is a Norwegian ministry established in 1946, and is responsible for transportation and communication infrastructure in Norway. It is led by Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa...
showed NOK 500 million went to fixing the leaks; claiming this to a large extent was unnecessary expenditure due to inefficient engineering procedures. It also criticized the administrative planning and organization of the overall construction of the railway.
When the new airport opened on 8 October 1998, the Airport Express Train started operations; the trains had to use the old Trunk Line line from Oslo S to Lillestrøm, but could use the new high-speed line from Lillestrøm to Gardermoen. Flytoget was forced to only operate two trains per hour due to capacity restraints on Hovedbanen. Regular operations at full capacity using the Romerike Tunnel started on 22 August 1999.
Reorganization
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
of NOK 0.9 billion, so the company owed NOK 10.0 billion by 1999, including money spent on the new trains.
The first steps of organizational restructure were taken 29 June 2000, when the CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of NSB, Osmund Ueland
Osmund Ueland
Osmund Ueland is a Norwegian civil servant and former CEO of Norges Statsbaner .An engineer by education, he worked for Aker from 1975 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994 he headed the Lillehammer Olympic Organising Committee . In 1994 he was hired as CEO for NSB Gardermobanen; the next year he was...
, was fired due to several incidents related to the operations of NSB—not just the Gardermo Line. Einar Enger
Einar Enger
Einar Enger is a Norwegian business executive, who is currently chief executive officer of Norwegian State Railways.He was educated as an agrarian economist from the Norwegian College of Agriculture and worked for the agricultural cooperatives in Norway...
took over as new CEO on 26 February 2001.
The debt in NSB Gardermobanen had become unmanageable, and in April 2000 parliament accepted that it would not be possible to make the Gardermo Line—with the current structure—the profitable venture predicted in 1992. From 1 January 2001, the company changed name to Flytoget AS, retaining ownership of the trains and operations and kept as a subsidiary of NSB. The tracks and infrastructure were transferred to the Norwegian National Rail Administration , who owns the rest of the Norwegian railway network
Rail transport in Norway
The Norwegian railway system comprises 4,087 km of track of which 2,622 km is electrified and 242 km double track. There are 696 tunnels and 2760 bridges....
. All debt was restored and covered by the state, and a vehicle excise duty was implemented on the Gardermo Line to cover the management and maintenance of the line, to be paid by all users.
On 9 December 2002, parliament decided that Flytoget AS would become a separate railway company
Railway company
A railway company or railroad company is an entity that operates a railroad track and/or trains. Such a company can either be private or public...
from 1 January 2003, owned directly by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. One year later the ownership was transferred to the Ministry of Trade and Industry as part of a cleanup of political overhaul between the departments. As part of the process, a new CEO, Thomas Havnegjerde
Thomas Havnegjerde
Thomas Havnegjerde is a Norwegian businessperson and since 2002 CEO of Flytoget.-Biography:Havnegjerde is educated as a siviløkonom in 1987 from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. He worked in Scandinavian Airlines System until 2001, where he had various positions...
, was appointed in June 2002, and in January 2003 the new Chair, Endre Skjørestad
Endre Skjørestad
Endre Skjørestad is a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Centre Party. He is Chair of the railway company Flytoget since 2003. He is also Chair of Nofima, deputy chair of the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, board member of Gassnova and partner in the law firm Haver...
—who took over the position form NSB's director Einar Enger. Havnegjerde announced on 6 August 2008 that he would retire from his job before the end of the year. He was replaced by Linda Bernander Silseth on 10 November 2008. On 30 August 2009, two of three services to Asker were extended to Drammen. This followed upgrades to the Drammen Line, including the Lieråsen Tunnel
Lieråsen Tunnel
Lieråsen Tunnel is a railway tunnel on Drammenbanen between Asker Station and Lier Station in Norway. The 10,723 m long tunnel was opened in 1973 and was the longest railway tunnel in the country until Romeriksporten was opened in 1999....
, and a new parking lot at Drammen Station
Drammen Station
Drammen is a railway station located in downtown Drammen in Buskerud, Norway. The station is the terminus of both the Randsfjord Line, the Drammen Line and the Vestfold Line...
, in total costing NOK 20 million.
Operations
Departures operate every ten minutes from Oslo Central Station (Oslo S) to the airport. Half of the trains originate in Drammen, making five intermediate stops before Oslo S, and again at Lillestrøm. The other half go directly from Oslo S to Gardermoen. On Saturdays, Sunday mornings and in most of July, Flytoget does not operate the direct trains from Oslo S—only the 20-minute headwayHeadway
Headway is a measurement of the distance/time between vehicles in a transit system. The precise definition varies depending on the application, but it is most commonly measured as the distance from the tip of one vehicle to the tip of the next one behind it, expressed as the time it will take for...
all-stop trains. While the services northeast from Oslo S to the airport use the high-speed Gardermo Line, those westwards towards Asker use the Drammen Line built in 1870–72; so while the 48 kilometres (29.8 mi) from Oslo S to the airport can be done in 19 minutes, the 24 kilometres (14.9 mi) from Asker to Oslo S takes 26 minutes. The latter does however include stops at five stations: Nationaltheatret
Nationaltheatret station
Nationaltheatret Station is an underground railway station on the Drammen Line serving Vika and the central business district of Oslo, Norway. It is the second-busiest railway station in Norway, behind Oslo Central Station , from which Nationaltheatret is away...
, Skøyen
Skøyen Station
Skøyen is a railway station located in Oslo, Norway and is part of Drammen Line. The station serves commuter trains, some regional trains and the Flytoget airport express train service. Skøyen station is owned and operated by the Norwegian National Rail Administration.Though some continue on, the...
, Lysaker
Lysaker Station
Lysaker Station is Norway's third-largest railway station, located at Lysaker on the Drammen Line. It serves express, regional, local and Airport Express trains. The station opened in 1872, and is located west of Oslo S at elevation...
, Sandvika
Sandvika Station
Sandvika Station is a railway station located in downtown Sandvika in Bærum, Akershus, Norway. The station serves as a local public transport hub and is located on the Asker Line and the Drammen Line. The station was opened with the Drammen Line in 1872. In 2005 the Asker Line opened allowing...
and Asker
Asker Station
Asker is a railway station located in downtown Asker in Akershus, Norway. The station serves as the main public transportation hub for the municipalities located around the Asker Line, the Drammen Line and the Spikkestad Line. The station was opened with the Drammen Line in 1872...
.
Competition is offered from other means of ground transport and by NSB who operate trains from Oslo to the airport. This includes one hourly departure with line 450 of the Oslo Commuter Rail
Oslo Commuter Rail
Oslo Commuter Rail is a commuter rail centered in Oslo, Norway, connecting the capital to six counties in Eastern Norway. The system is operated by the Norwegian State Railways and its subsidiary NSB Gjøvikbanen, using Class 69 and Class 72 electric multiple units . The network spans eight routes...
north to Eidsvoll
Eidsvoll Station
Eidsvoll is a railway station located at Eidsvoll in Akershus, Norway. The station is the terminus of both the Trunk Line, the Gardermoen Line and the Dovre Line. Though the Dovre Line and the Trunk Line/Gardermoen Line practically are the same continual railway, there is a naming change at the...
and south to Oslo, Drammen
Drammen Station
Drammen is a railway station located in downtown Drammen in Buskerud, Norway. The station is the terminus of both the Randsfjord Line, the Drammen Line and the Vestfold Line...
and Kongsberg
Kongsberg Station
Kongsberg Station is a railway station located in downtown Kongsberg in Buskerud, Norway, on the Sørland Line. The station is served by express trains to Kristiansand and is the terminus of the local trains from Oslo and Eidsvoll.-History:...
; one regional train hourly north to Hamar
Hamar Station
Hamar Station is a railway station located in downtown Hamar, Norway, on the Dovre Line and the Røros Line. The station was opened in 1862 with the construction of the narrow gauge railway between Hamar and Eidsvoll...
and Lillehammer
Lillehammer Station
Lillehammer is a railway station located in downtown Lillehammer, Norway, on the Dovre Line. The station was opened in 1894 with the construction of the railway between Hamar Station and Tretten Station. The station got a major overhaul before the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer...
and south to Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
; and four daily express trains to Trondheim calling Oslo Airport Station, including one night train
NSB Night Train
NSB Night Train is a night sleeping car service provided by the Norwegian State Railways on four routes; Oslo - Bergen , Oslo - Stavanger , Oslo - Trondheim and Trondheim - Bodø .The service is provided using El 18 locomotives with WLAB2 and B7 cars on the electrified lines in Southern Norway,...
(although the express trains to Trondheim do not accept passengers only travelling between Oslo and Gardermoen).
The price of a ticket to Oslo is NOK 170, though higher if departing from Sandvika, Asker and Drammen. Reduced fares with 50% discount are offered to senior citizens, children, youth under 21 years, students, benefit recipients and military personnel. Flytoget tickets are not valid on NSB trains, and vice versa. NSB tickets are generally cheaper, though not for some groups with reduced fare; for instance students are granted a greater discount with Flytoget than with NSB. Ticket can either be bought at vending machine
Vending machine
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
s or as e-ticket
Electronic ticket
An electronic ticket is a digital ticket. It may be issued by an airline, in road, urban or rail public transport, and in entertainment.-Airline ticket:...
s; there is no seat reservation.
Flytoget transported 5.4 million passengers in 2007, a 34% market share of airport ground transport. Flytoget boasts a high service quality, with 96% of departures arriving within 3 minutes of schedule and only 0.4% of departures canceled. Part of this is due to the airport express trains receiving priority over other trains in the limited capacity around Oslo. Flytoget was announced to have the most satisfied, and the fourth most loyal customers of all Norwegian companies in 2008, by the customer satisfaction survey conducted by the Norwegian School of Management
Norwegian School of Management
BI Norwegian Business School former name BI Norwegian School of Management is the largest business school in Norway and the second largest in all of Europe. BI has in total 6 campuses with the main one located in Oslo.-History:...
. The same year Flytoget was declared the best place of work in Norway by Great Place to Work. During the 2007 recruitment half of the newly educated train divers chose Flytoget over NSB, mostly due to higher wages.
Stations
| Station | Distance | Time | Fare | Reduced fare | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Oslo Airport Oslo Airport Station Oslo Airport Station , also known as Gardermoen Station, is a railway station located in the airport terminal building of Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in Norway... |
0.00 km | 0 min | n/a | n/a |
 |
Lillestrøm Lillestrøm Station Lillestrøm Station is a railway station located at Lillestrøm in Skedsmo, Norway. The station serves as the main transportation hub of the eastern parts of Greater Oslo and all trains east of Oslo stop at Lillestrøm... |
30.90 km | 12 min | NOK 130 | NOK 65 |
 |
Oslo Central Station | 48.07 km | 19 / 22 min | NOK 170 | NOK 85 |
 |
Nationaltheatret Nationaltheatret station Nationaltheatret Station is an underground railway station on the Drammen Line serving Vika and the central business district of Oslo, Norway. It is the second-busiest railway station in Norway, behind Oslo Central Station , from which Nationaltheatret is away... |
49.50 km | 27 min | NOK 170 | NOK 85 |
 |
Skøyen Skøyen Station Skøyen is a railway station located in Oslo, Norway and is part of Drammen Line. The station serves commuter trains, some regional trains and the Flytoget airport express train service. Skøyen station is owned and operated by the Norwegian National Rail Administration.Though some continue on, the... |
52.43 km | 32 min | NOK 170 | NOK 85 |
 |
Lysaker Lysaker Station Lysaker Station is Norway's third-largest railway station, located at Lysaker on the Drammen Line. It serves express, regional, local and Airport Express trains. The station opened in 1872, and is located west of Oslo S at elevation... |
55.07 km | 34 min | NOK 170 | NOK 85 |
 |
Sandvika Sandvika Station Sandvika Station is a railway station located in downtown Sandvika in Bærum, Akershus, Norway. The station serves as a local public transport hub and is located on the Asker Line and the Drammen Line. The station was opened with the Drammen Line in 1872. In 2005 the Asker Line opened allowing... |
62.24 km | 42 min | NOK 200 | NOK 100 |
|
Asker Asker Station Asker is a railway station located in downtown Asker in Akershus, Norway. The station serves as the main public transportation hub for the municipalities located around the Asker Line, the Drammen Line and the Spikkestad Line. The station was opened with the Drammen Line in 1872... |
71.93 km | 48 min | NOK 200 | NOK 100 |
| Drammen Drammen Station Drammen is a railway station located in downtown Drammen in Buskerud, Norway. The station is the terminus of both the Randsfjord Line, the Drammen Line and the Vestfold Line... |
100.96 km | 60 min | NOK 250 | NOK 125 |
Incidents
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
s, and so are not in the accident statistics; they do however cause delays on all services for hours after the incident takes place.
In 2000–01, Flytoget experienced three derailments with empty trains at Gardermoen; one caused by the engineer falling asleep and two by the train passing a red light. No more such accidents occurred after automatic Train Control
Automatic Train Control
Automatic Train Control is a train protection system for railways, ensuring the safe and smooth operation of trains on ATC-enabled lines. Its main advantages include making possible the use of cab signalling instead of track-side signals and the use of smooth deceleration patterns in lieu of the...
was installed in 2001.
Delays have been experienced many times by travelers due to technical problems on the infrastructure. In particular the old line west of Oslo causes much delay, and the National Rail Administration performed during 2008 a NOK 100 million upgrade to the Oslo Tunnel to ensure better performance. But problems also incur on the new sections, regularly delaying service or capacity, and forcing Flytoget to operate fewer departures. In total 96% of departures arrived within 3 minutes of schedule and 0.4% of departures were canceled in 2007.
Pickpocketing
Pickpocketing
Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person of a victim without their noticing the theft at the time. It requires considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection...
has been a problem since the start; even the Chief of Police in Oslo has been picked on the train. The train has also been the target of sabotage, and embezzlement for NOK 1 million by an employed ticket salesman, who found a way to print two tickets with the system only charging for one, by turning off and on the ticket printer.
When Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
came to Oslo to receive his Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
on 7 December 2007, he used the Airport Express Train to make his journey as environmentally friendly as possible. The company has initiated a program to ensure better diet for the employees; this had made several lose weight and has reduced the level of sick leave from 12 to 8%. In 2005–07, a program to reduce the energy use of the trains through smarter operation reduced energy consumption by 15%.
During the 2010 volcano air travel disruption
Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption
In response to concerns that volcanic ash ejected during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland would damage aircraft engines, the controlled airspace of many European countries was closed to instrument flight rules traffic, resulting in the largest air-traffic shut-down since World War II...
, the Gardermoen airport was closed for a period, and the Flytoget trains were used by NSB instead, to give extra train capacity for long-distance routes.
Future plans
In 2005, the first part of the Asker Line opened between Sandvika and Asker, with new double track running parallel to the old Drammen Line, allowing quicker travel times to Asker. The second section, between Lysaker and Sandvika, is planned to open in 2011, and will reduce travel time west of Lysaker by about seven minutes. The project includes a full upgrade of Lysaker Station.Rolling stock
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s delivered in 1997–98, and built domestically by Adtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....
at Strømmen
Strømmens Værksted
Strømmens Værksted A/S was an industrial company based in Skedsmo, Norway, specializing in the production of rolling stock. Founded in 1873, it remains as a part of Bombardier Transportation...
based on carbodies built in Adtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....
factory in Kalmar
Kalmar
Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...
. They are based on the Swedish X2 operated by SJ
SJ AB
SJ is a government-owned passenger train operator in Sweden. SJ was created in 2000, out of the public transport division of Statens Järnvägar, when the former government agency was divided into six separate government-owned limited companies.-Overview:SJ's operations fall broadly into subsidised...
in their X 2000
X 2000
X 2000 is the brand name of Sweden's tilting 200 km/h high-speed train class X2, which was constructed by Kalmar Verkstad in Kalmar, Sweden and operated by SJ. It was launched in 1990 as a first-class only train with a meal included in the ticket price, and free use of the train's fax machine...
intercity service, and developed by Kalmar Verkstad during the 1980s. The Class 71 are nearly identical to the NSB Class 73
NSB Class 73
NSB Class 73 is a class of 22 electric multiple units built by Adtranz for the Norwegian State Railways. The four-car trains were modifications of Class 71, which was again based on the Swedish X2. The A-series consists of 16 intercity trains; they were delivered in 1999 and 2000 and are used on...
, save the 71-series lacking one car and tilting mechanism
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
, and a different interior. Both have chosen to not use the original locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
design, instead installing one powered bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
in each car. The 71-series is built for a maximum operating speed of 210 kilometres per hour (130.5 mph), but has achieved higher speeds in test runs.
Among the features are pressure-tight cabins to allow comfortable travel through tunnels at high speeds, and step-free access to the cars. Instead steps are inside the trains; this has been criticized to be in non-conformance with public accessibility
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
policy. The multiple units can only operate in fixed sets of three cars, but up to three sets can be run in multiple
Multiple-unit train control
Multiple-unit train control, sometimes abbreviated to multiple-unit or MU, is a method of simultaneously controlling all the traction equipment in a train from a single location, whether it is a Multiple unit comprising a number of self-powered passenger cars or a set of locomotives.A set of...
. Flytoget regularly uses double sets to create six-car trains. In 2008–09, all units will be refit with an additional middle car by Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
, increasing capacity by 40% to 244 seats.
Unlike the Class 71, the sister trains in service with NSB were prone to trouble, having to operate on hundred-year-old infrastructure on cross-mountain services; the Class 71 has more lenient operating conditions thanks to better infrastructure. The only incident to ground all the BM71 trains occurred on the 17 June 2000 at Nelaug
Nelaug Station
Nelaug Station is a railway station located at Nelaug in Åmli, Norway, north of the Nelaug Lake. The station functions as a meeting station of Sørland Line and Arendal Line, that latter which the station functions as terminal station for...
when a Class 73 train operated by NSB derailed because of stress on the axle. Unlike the NSB trains, the airport express trains were back in service the next day, while the 73-series had to wait another month. On 24 January 2004 a unit had to be taken out of service due to smoke from a stressed bearing
Bearing (mechanical)
A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as by the directions of applied loads they can...
—within days the bearings were replaced on all units.