20 Journey
Research
Reality check: Field study Taking the train from Oslo to Copenhagen today is more expensive – and slower – than traveling by plane. I tried both within 24 hours. The 8.5 hour train ride (including one transfer in Gothenburg) is not really a common trip – unless they are on an inter rail ticket. People use the route for shorter trips. The people I talked to preferred it for being on time and reliable, and liked it for arriving closer to their final destination. In this segment, the train competes with bus and the car, not the plane. People didn’t seem to think that a high speed rail (HSR) was realistic. It sounds like a utopian dream. From the train ride to Copenhagen, I could see three similarities between the current train ride and the proposed HSR: 1) Walking to Oslo Central Station. 2) Looking out the window at the landscape passing by. 3) Jumping
off the train in Copenhagen to be met at the station by a friend. All great feelings. The rest of the ride was not that great. 8,5 hours is a lot. I felt I was being ripped off for paying more than the plane ticket and I had to transfer in Gothenburg. The flight home was maybe more relevant as this is the real competitor to HSR. Although the plane only takes 1 hour and 10 minutes, I measured the time from Copenhagen Central Station (08.17) to Oslo Central Station (11.58). That’s a total of 3 hours and 46 minutes – and actual travel time is only 1 hour and 57 minutes, the rest is made up of walking, checking in, getting through security, more walking, waiting, picking up luggage, even more walking, waiting. It is not a bold statement to say that people generally dislike this part of the travel. If you cut away all of this, cut an hour on the total travel time and still keep prices the same, people will definitely use it – as reports have concluded5.
The NSB type 73, designed by Terje Meyer, that would take me from Oslo to Gothenburg.