Operational reports

A landslide on the Nordland Line, a rockslide on the Ofoten Line, and a freight train derailment in Sweden have caused major challenges over the past two weeks in transporting letters, parcels, and goods between the northern and southern regions of Norway.

Additional trucks and some diverted trains have helped move a significant amount of volume despite closed railway sections. However, this is far from sufficient to handle all the shipments.

Now, it appears that contingency solutions have been established that will significantly improve transport over the coming weeks:

• An emergency terminal for freight trains has been set up in Steinkjer, allowing some train traffic on the Nordland Line. It is unclear how long this contingency solution will be needed, but it is expected to last for months.
• Some trains have operated through Sweden this week, and starting next week (week 38), train operations are planned on a detour line. This will provide full transport capacity, although with delays in scheduled times. It remains uncertain when train operations will return to normal, but it may take several weeks.

We are facing a large backlog of shipments, especially from the south to Northern Norway. This means that even if everything is now being dispatched, there will be continued delays for parcels and goods into next week. Parcels and goods submitted now and in the coming weeks may also be delayed, as the schedules for the diverted trains differ from the regular ones.

We apologize for the consequences this has had—and continues to have—for our customers.

The landslide in Trøndelag during week 35, the rockslide on the Ofoten Line the following week, and most recently the train derailment in Sweden last weekend have caused significant challenges in transporting parcels and freight between regions.

Nordland Line
An emergency terminal is being established in Steinkjer, and trains will operate between Steinkjer and Bodø. Southbound trains will start running on Tuesday, September 9, while northbound trains will begin on Wednesday, September 10. We are supplementing with trucks between Southern Norway and Nordland to ensure sufficient capacity going forward. This deviation setup, involving both trucks and trains, means we will continue to experience delays in the delivery of parcels and freight.

Narvik (ARE)

The train derailment in Sweden has closed the usual railway route for at least a week, likely longer. There is an alternative route available, and trains will be operated on this line. This means we hope to quickly establish good capacity on the trains and avoid excessive road transport. However, transit times will still deviate from normal schedules, so delays should be expected.

These delays affect parcels and freight, as letters are transported by car and plane and are largely unaffected by the train-related incidents.

We apologize for the inconvenience this causes our customers.

A freight train has derailed in Sweden. Posten and Bring have several containers with parcels and goods on this train. In addition to the units on the train, delays are expected on other trains as well. It is currently unclear how long the line will be closed, but significant delays for parcels and goods should be expected from week 36, and the same will apply in week 37.

Since the Nordland Line is also closed, delays will affect all transport to and from Northern Norway. Everything that needs to be transported between the south and the north will have to be moved by truck for the time being, which will result in major delays.

We apologize for the difficult situation this causes for our customers.

The landslide south of Levanger last Saturday resulted in closed roads and railway lines between Southern Norway and Nordland.

There are some detour options available in Trøndelag, and we are also utilizing train routes through Sweden. However, an incident has now occurred on that route as well, with a large rock blocking the tracks on the Ofoten Line. This means that over the next 24 hours, we will need to arrange alternative road transport to and from Kiruna. Train equipment is out of position, and in addition, planned maintenance work on the Swedish route next week will lead to changes in the timetable.

As a result, previously announced delays for the remainder of this week—and possibly into next week—are expected to increase further. For large parts of Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark, packages and freight may be delayed by two to three days.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

Road closures following the landslide in Levanger mean that delays must be expected between Nord-Trøndelag and the rest of the country, both for incoming and outgoing deliveries to areas north of the landslide site.

This applies to postal codes 7600–7999 to and from 0001–9999.

We apologize for the inconvenience this causes our customers.

The landslide in Levanger last Saturday is causing challenges in transporting parcels and goods between Southern Norway and Nordland.

It is still unclear how long the Nordland Line will be closed, but estimates suggest 2–4 weeks. In addition to the railway closure, large vehicles currently cannot pass the landslide site. In practice, the only viable routes from south to north are via Sweden or by ferry.

In addition to the challenges on the Nordland Line, scheduled maintenance work on the Dovre Line is planned for weeks 38 and 39. This will result in changes to schedules and capacity for trains using the Røros Line, as well as further north on the Nordland Line.

The rail route through Sweden to Narvik is also not optimal at the moment, with extensive maintenance work and schedule changes.

CargoNet is working to establish train solutions on the north side of the landslide, which may help alleviate the situation somewhat. We are also deploying road transport capacity as far as possible, but it will not be possible to maintain normal delivery times.

In practice, this means that delays must be expected throughout September for parcels and goods between Southern and Northern Norway. Letter products may also be delayed, especially to Nordland.

We apologize for the inconvenience this causes our customers.

In weeks 27 – 31, transport times to and from the largest cities will be approximately the same as usual. To smaller places and areas with low numbers of parcels and goods, there may be +1 day.

In weeks 27 – 32, there will be no Saturday delivery of parcels to mailboxes, parcel boxes and pick-up points in Oslo.

Do you have a fixed appointment and will be closed for a few weeks? Let us know so we know when we can pick-up and deliver your goods. You can let us know either via Mybring or contact us by phone 04045 by July 1. If you do not have a Mybring user, you can easily register your company here.

If you need mail storage, please use the form on this page.

Have a nice summer!