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News | 2021-06-21

Seeking input on new long-distance trains

Norske tog is preparing to make one of its greatest acquisitions of all time: The procurement of nearly 100 new long-distance trains. Norske tog is now requesting input from the market and stakeholder groups in connection with the preparations for the announcement of the tender competition.

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- This is a historic moment. For train enthusiasts like myself and my colleagues at Norske tog, it is incredible to have the opportunity to work on the acquisition of nearly 100 new long-distance trains,” says Kjell-Arthur Abrahamsen, Director of Rolling Stock at Norske tog.

The “New long-distance trains” project team at Norske tog is currently working hard to prepare for the acquisition of the new long-distance trains and the modernisation of the overnight train service. The new long-distance trains will be put into service during the 2026-2033 period, primarily on the Bergen Line (Oslo-Bergen), Dovre Line (Oslo-Trondheim), Nordland Line (Trondheim-Bodø) and the Sørland Line (Oslo-Stavanger).

The acquisition involves an investment of up to NOK 20-25 billion.

- Norske tog would now like to invite all stakeholder groups and potential suppliers to a consultation round in which we will seek input for the tender specification and requirement specification, says Henriette Torgersen, Head of Procurement for the long-distance train acquisition.


Important measure for the climate

The current long-distance trains are getting old. The average age of the Norske tog fleet is more than 19 years. Several of the trains are more than 40 years old.

- Acquiring new trains is a process that takes between five and six years and it is therefore important that we start ordering new ones now, says Torgersen.

The government has set a target of halving greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector by 2030. In order to achieve this target, it must become even more attractive to choose the train as a mode of transport in the future.

- New long-distance trains are essential in making more people choose trains ahead of cars and planes when travelling. We are therefore seeking to get as much input as possible on what we should prioritise when ordering the new long-distance trains,” Abrahamsen says.

Productive dialogue with the market

The project has already completed three rounds of supplier dialogue, which has helped with market maturation and has also provided the project team with valuable input for the work on the requirement specification. The supplier market will also be invited to provide input in this round via a “Request for information” published in TED via Doffin.

The deadline for submitting input has been set to the end of July for any potential suppliers.

- This deadline has been set because the suppliers are from the EU and generally take their holidays during August, says Kine Stousland, Assistant Project Manager.

Focus on the user persepctive

For stakeholder groups in Norway, the submission deadline has been set to Monday 16 August.

- Norwegian stakeholder groups will receive a separate information letter with links to the published tender competition documents. The deadline for this group has been set to after the summer holidays so that they have a proper opportunity to respond. But they will also need to be quick, as our deadlines are tight, says Torgersen.

The input round now initiated by Norske tog is a continuation of the long-distance train seminar that Norske tog arranged in October last year. All Norwegian train operators, the Norwegian Association of the Disabled, the Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature, tourism companies and representatives of railway employees were among the participants in the seminar.

- The long-distance train seminar last autumn was an incredibly useful round. We are now seeking further such input as we are about to launch the tender competition, says Kjell-Arthur Abrahamsen.

In order to take into account groups that are not used to reading such tender competition documents, the project will issue invites to an input meeting in August. The project wants the stakeholder organisations to be heard and understood. It is also important to ensure that they understand the framework conditions of the project.

Extensive sustainability requirements

When the tender competition is announced, Norske tog will enclose the tender specification and requirement specification for the features that the new long-distance trains must have.

- This includes everything from how many seats the train sets will have to how wide they will be, requirements concerning restaurant carriages, family carriages, universal design requirements to make it easy for users with physical disabilities to use the trains, and so on, says Abrahamsen.

The tender will also include a separate part with a number of specifications linked to climate targets along the entire value chain, from production to completion of the train sets.

- The climate targets include both power and project targets, i.e. specifications relating to energy consumption, noise reduction, weight and passenger capacity, speed, documentation of CO2 emissions from the production process, as well as the evaluation of the trains by the degree of recoverability upon scrapping, he says.

Contract to be entered into at the end of 2022

- The contract will also include requirements that the suppliers adhere to the OECD due diligence model so that e.g. human rights and pay and working conditions are safeguarded at all stages of the supply chain, Torgersen emphasises.

The tender competition itself is scheduled for announcement during Q4 2021. The announcement will be followed by a qualification round, tender submission, evaluation and negotiations.

Norske tog then aims to enter into a contract towards the end of 2022.

For further questions, please contact post@norsketog.no.

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Input letter to Stakeholders

Announced Documents