An LO-controlled farce – Dagsavisen

Recently it became clear that Vy won the train battle for Eastern Norway for the next ten years. In practice, this means the end for Flytoget. It is not the travelers, but LO who cheers the loudest.

Transport Minister Nygård has, after strong pressure from LO, changed the rules of the game in the allocation of train traffic in Eastern Norway at the 12th hour and overrun his own directorate.

From having a real competition, with several delivered offers in 2021, we are now back to a monopoly for Vy in the whole of Eastern Norway. At first, Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap) was enthusiastic about Vy and Flytoget competing.

Then he was to investigate a merger of the two companies, before Vy was suddenly asked to make an offer for the whole of Eastern Norway. Despite the fact that Flytoget had been in the process of developing a good train offer for travelers for nine months.

I have no doubt that the travelers would get a better offer with two train companies in Eastern Norway.

The Conservatives believe that the right to run trains in Eastern Norway for the next 10 years has become an LO-controlled farce, where the Norwegian Railway Directorate and the government have become extras.

The Conservative Party apologizes for this. Flytoget, called heritage silver by Jonas Gahr Støre, has one of Norway’s best brands with very satisfied customers, and should have been given a real chance to compete with Vy.

Monopolists can become inefficient and uninnovative. I have no doubt that the travelers would get a better offer with two train companies in Eastern Norway. We already see that the new train companies are challenging each other, even if they are not competing directly for the same customers.

In Eastern Norway, this effect would have been even stronger. Travelers around Oslo often use local and regional trains interchangeably.

If Vy had created a new successful product or a new discount, it is likely that Flytoget, or Bytoget as they would become, would have created something similar, or perhaps something even better.

Two train companies would compete to create the best solutions, even if they had been directly awarded their own contract.

In the years to come, the Conservative Party will work to reintroduce competition in order to give train travelers the best possible offer.

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