"It was a serious message, freight traffic is reduced by up to 20 percent, and there will also be a significant reduction in man-years.
Eirik Larsson, Vice Chairman of Norsk Lokomotivmannforbund, attended an information meeting at CargoNet on Friday afternoon.
CargoNet is the largest freight operator in the country and has a market share of around 70 percent. Now the railway company is forced to reduce the route offer and to remove about 50 man-years.
"Many festivals say that you have to transfer more goods from the road to the railway, but that is the opposite," says Larsson, adding:
– The reason for this is very poor conditions for goods on the runway. Politicians must give incentives. We expect politicians to be aware of their responsibilities and to prefer money to the state budget. It should also be facilitated for freight trains for the long term to improve profitability.
According to Larsson, about 15 graduation positions have been removed.
– This is a relatively dramatic change for the staff. Many feel insecure for their future job. We expect most things to happen by natural retreat, but termination can not be ruled out.
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Shock criticism
The Auditor General's office recently criticized the government's efforts to get more goods on track.
CargoNet justifies the discounts with "challenging economy and competition ahead".
Erik Røhne, CEO of CargoNet, will not discuss the reduction of routing.
"We do not want to comment on the extent of this, but we can say that the reduction has the greatest impact on Dovrebanen and Sørlandsbanen.
In a press release, the director says:
"If we are to remain a current supplier of freight traffic and be a good alternative for goods on the road, then we have to make these changes, which unfortunately means fewer routes on unprofitable routes and fewer employees.
Røhne emphasizes that they take the situation seriously.
"We are concerned that the competitiveness of the train will deteriorate in the coming years.
He says that in the course of time it has been difficult to transport freight by rail.
"Our offer is influenced by infrastructure, with both planned and unplanned deviations, which in turn affects our deliveries and customers' confidence that we can make a good offer," says Røhne.
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Calls for action
Holger Schlaupitz, chairman of the Rail Alliance, believes that politicians should get to the ground quickly.
– The Ministry of Transport and Communications has set up a working group to work on support schemes for rail transport. We call for quick action. An environmental support must be set up this autumn so that it reaches the state budget for 2019.
Schlaupitz also calls for a strong commitment to the railway infrastructure.
– The road network is being built at a high speed, making it even more profitable to transport goods on a truck. The government must ensure that we have a good railway infrastructure so that goods on the run are profitable.
"If the trend does not slip, we will not have goods in the future.
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