6 Operations

6.1 Introduction

This part provides an overview of the rules governing the operation of the railway network and how disruptions to planned operations are handled. Here, you will find important information about the guidelines for daily operations, including procedures that come into effect in the event of unforeseen incidents and deviations from the plan.

6.2 Trafikkregler

6.2.1 Railway undertakings obligation to follow TJN

Railway undertakings are obliged to comply with Bane NOR’s applicable traffic rules and other operating rules applicable to the rail network rail networkThe rail network managed by Bane NOR, which is the entire Norwegian rail network..
Bane NOR may grant dispensations from the traffic rules in special circumstances. Dispensations may not be granted for rules pursuant to TSI-Ope. Applications must be submitted to the Traffic Division via Bane NOR. 

6.2.1.1 Changes to traffic rules issued by Bane NOR

Bane NOR uses the assessment instruction (utredningsinstruksen) as a basis when preparing traffic regulations, but the investigation instruction does not limit Bane NOR's right to make decisions regarding changes in accordance with the authority granted by law and regulations.

Changes to the traffic regulations that are a necessary result of implementing regulatory requirements, such as the common European rules in TSI-Ope, will typically not be subject to consultation by Bane NOR. In such cases, the consultation is carried out by the authority that sets the regulation.

Descriptions of technical installations, local procedures, or arrangements will generally not be subject to consultation, and the same applies to changes to these.

6.2.2 Requirement for continuous availability of traffic management

Bane NOR requires railway undertakings to have a traffic management function that is always available when their trains are in operation.

The traffic management function must have the authority to make the necessary decisions to handle and resolve operational disruptions quickly, so that the consequences of such disruptions are minimal and short-lived.

Railway undertakings must provide Bane NOR with the necessary contact information for their traffic management function and are responsible for always keeping this information up to date.

Any changes to contact information must be reported to sirkulaerer@banenor.no, and updates will be implemented no later than 14 days after the change has been reported.

6.3 Operational measures

In the event of operational disruptions, it is in Bane NOR's and the railway undertaking's joint interest to restore normal train operations, punctuality, and regularity as quickly as possible. This is also required in accordance with Railway Regulations § 10-4, which emphasizes the importance of ensuring efficient traffic flow. To achieve this, various measures may be used, such as prioritizing trains, cancelling trains, or redirecting trains.

6.3.1 Principles

Good punctuality and regularity are important requirements for Bane NOR’s and the railway undertakings’ reputations and financial situations and are a crucial requirement for achieving the best possible capacity utilisation.

A crucial prerequisite for good punctuality is strict adherence to the agreed planning assumptions, particularly in high-traffic areas such as the Oslo region and the cities of Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim. This must be ensured in day-to-day timetable planning. For more information, see Chapter 4.2.1.1.

Critical delays in a capacity context will vary according to line section and depend on several factors such as distances between passing loops, the length of passing loops, the type of safety installation, as well as capacity utilisation and technical assumptions.

In the Oslo area, a critical delay is defined as a delay exceeding three minutes.

6.3.1.1 Priority rules in the event of irregularities in rail services

The purpose of the prioritization rules is to ensure a consistent and predictable management of traffic disruptions, as outlined in the requirements of Railway Regulations § 10-4.

The train controller shall, based on experience and a comprehensive assessment, ensure that traffic is normalized as quickly as possible (general disruption reduction). If necessary, the train controller should collaborate and coordinate with other affected train control areas, particularly for trains passing through the Oslo area.

Responsible personnel in the traffic areas, in cooperation with relevant railway undertakings, shall develop action plans for a unified approach to managing major traffic disruptions.

Detailed prioritization rules are established alongside the individual timetable.

6.3.1.2 Guidelines in the event of operational disruptions

The following guidelines have been provided for use by Bane NOR’s operational traffic control to restore designated rail services as quickly as possible in the event of disruptions:

6.3.2 Operation regulation

The general principle is that trains which are on schedule should be prioritized to remain on time.

However, there may be situations where considerations regarding the vehicle’s turn-round and its importance for the execution of the timetable make it necessary to deviate from this principle.

The details of such deviations are established in connection with the relevant timetable, and Bane NOR publishes these guidelines just before each new timetable period begins. Railway companies are informed about the planned guidelines during the capacity allocation capacity allocationA collective term teferring to the infrastructure manager's planning and allocation of infrastructure capacity as well as access to serice facilities and the services in these. process.

6.3.2.1 The train controller’s right to depart from the operational guidelines due to local conditions

Train controllers may depart from operational guidelines when this is deemed to be justified. The train controller’s authority can be found in TJN Item 5.3: In certain situations, train controllers may deviate from the traffic rules for the railway network (TJN). This applies to situations in which there is a risk to life or health or where necessary to resolve or avoid a deadlocked traffic situation and there is no increased risk. Train controllers must clearly state which rules are being deviated from. 

6.3.2.2 Special measures in the event of disruption

In accordance with Railway Regulations § 10-4, Bane NOR must take all necessary measures to restore normal train traffic when disruptions occur, such as due to technical failures or accidents. Bane NOR also has the authority to take other necessary actions in such situations, such as withdrawing infrastructure capacity or requisitioning the railway companies' vehicles to restore normal traffic.

When Bane NOR exercises its right to requisition, net operating-related costs are reimbursed only if the disruption that led to the requisition was not caused by the railway company being requisitioned, or by those for whom they are responsible.

The costs associated with the use of Bane NOR's requisitioning right will be charged to the party responsible for the disruption in train traffic.

6.3.3 Disturbances

6.3.3.1 Foreseen disturbances

Foreseen disturbances in the form of reduced infrastructure capacity must be resolved based on the same prioritisation criteria as in the case of congested infrastructure, but in such a way that service trains running for the purpose of helping to restore the limited infrastructure capacity are given priority over other trains.

Bane NOR and the railway undertakings involved can agree jointly on a different solution.

6.3.3.2 Unforeseen disturbances

In the case of unforeseen disturbances resulting in reduced infrastructure capacity, the same prioritization criteria apply as for congested infrastructure. Here too, work trains that help restore infrastructure capacity should be prioritized.

In such situations, the temporary traffic management solutions should be customer-oriented, ensuring that they best meet the needs of the railway companies' customers. The quality of operational disruption management plays an important role in the collaboration within the railway sector. This means that the solutions should not only focus on the traffic management itself, but also on alternatives such as alternative transport, customer communication, and other relevant customer handling for both passenger and freight trains.

The quality of operational disruption management is crucial, and there are three aspects to this:

1. the preparation of alternative plans, ahead of disruptions
2. the operational handling of disruptions
3. the parties’ work on measuring, evaluating, and improving disruption management

The selected solutions, plans, and action cards for operational disruption management must always comply with current safety requirements and regulations, laws, guidelines, and other relevant agreements; see the manual (below) for detailed descriptions.

For situations where Bane NOR has prepared action cards, these must be followed unless all involved parties collectively agree on an alternative solution. Bane NOR has an action card group consisting of representatives from the traffic control centres and railway undertakings. These action cards are evaluated and updated annually in line with the new timetable. The action cards must also be customer-oriented; see the manual (below) for detailed descriptions.

"Reduced infrastructure capacity" refers to a situation where it is not possible to carry out the planned train operations on a section, for example, due to technical problems such as signalling failures, unavailable switches, or only one passable track on a double-track section.

6.3.3.3 Emergency response plan for accidents

Bane NOR has an emergency response portal (Emergency Response in Bane NOR). There, Bane NOR's system for emergency preparedness related to unwanted incidents is outlined. The descriptions in the portal convey Bane NOR’s principles for dimensioning and prioritisation.

Emergency response analyses for objects and sections provide central guidelines for the railway undertaking’s emergency response analyses/plans. These emergency response analyses are made available in the Emergency Response Portal.

Access to the portal requires a password. For assistance, send an e-mail to beredskap@banenor.no.

Emergency Response Portal External link

Emergency response information covering alerting protocols, incident handling, communication procedures, and coordination during emergencies.

6.3.3.4 Logging and storage of calls in Bane NOR's train radio network

In accordance with the Railway Infrastructure Regulations, Section 3-11, third paragraph, Bane NOR must store communications in connection with traffic management securely and for a sufficient time in relation to the need for any potential investigation of railway accidents, serious railway incidents and railway incidents.

Bane NOR logs and stores all such communications. This is applicable to all communication on the train radio network.

These communications will be played back in the following instances:

• in the event of railway accidents and serious railway incidents requiring connection with railway accidents and serious railway incidents
• to check communication discipline

The purpose of storing these communications is linked to safety management to help clarify accidents and incidents. Everyone involved in playback must exercise caution in respect of confidentiality and maintaining privacy.

Separate administrative procedures have been prepared for use in connection with railway accidents and serious railway incidents.

6.4 Tools for train information and monitoring 

6.4.1 TIS (Train Information System)

TIS (Train Information System) is a network-based program that supports international administration of railway traffic by supplying real-time data relating to international trains. Relevant data is obtained directly from Bane NOR systems. Bane NOR sends data to TIS, where all the information from the various managers is collated and combined so that it is possible to track the running of a train from departure or the initial destination to the final destination. This permits transboundary monitoring of the train, from start to finish.

Railway undertakings and terminal operators are also able to access TIS. They are invited to participate in the RNE RNERailNetEurope is a joint European organization aimed at facilitating international traffic. TIS Advisory Board: all members of this board are given full access to TIS data if they are involved in the same train operations. If undertakings and the terminal operators are not members of the RNE TIS Advisory Board, mutual agreements may be signed between the individual undertaking and between the undertakings and terminal operators.

TIS may be accessed for free. If you would like a user account, please contact RNE TIS Support.

6.5 Customer and traffic information

Bane NOR provides customer and traffic information through screens, speakers, apps, banenor.no and static signage. Facilities at each individual station are described in our overview of stations.

The customer and traffic information standard has been designed by Bane NOR in consultation with railway undertakings, with Bane NOR playing a coordinating role to ensure operator neutrality. The design of informational elements and rules relating to how information is provided at stations are based on customer insights and requirements for universal design governed by TSI PRM (Technical Specification for Interoperability for Persons with Reduced Mobility).

For a detailed description, see the Customer and Traffic Information Manual in Bane NOR’s customer portal.

Customer and traffic information constitutes the sum of deliveries from core processes on the part of Bane NOR and railway undertakings. The data is created where decisions are made and supplied to those who require information in a machine-readable format. The “master data” owner is responsible for ensuring that the quality of the supplied data provides correct, consistent, fast and useful information for travellers.

Railway undertakings are obliged to provide data in accordance with the descriptions set down in AST. Bane NOR has a duty to provide data in line with the AST and applicable national and international standards. Bane NOR provides information that is relevant to travellers through open data provided to undertakings, Entur and other participants that require information. This is done using established standards via open APIs in line with ITS legislation.