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RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2016 :: RMTnews 15 Trade unionists from the Norwegian Railway Association (NJF) visited Britain last month to learn about the impact of rail privatisation on workers in Britain. The right wing Norwegian government has announced the first two packages of routes it plans to privatise using EU rail directives that fragment the network between infrastructure and operations. The first package includes the Sørlandet, Arendal and Jæren lines, while the second includes the Dovre, Rauma, Røros, Meråker and Nordland lines, as well as the Trøndelag Commuter Rail network. Norwegian State Railways (NSB) and its subsidiary NSB Gjøvikbanen, which operates services between Oslo and Gjøvik, will be awarded contract extensions from December 2017 to the start of the tendered contracts in December 2018. A new state-backed company will assume responsibility for train line expansion, property, maintenance and operations. Both maintenance work and route operations will be put out to bid through a public-private partnership, which will sound familiar to many in Britain. The overall system will be backed by the state but NSB operations will need to compete for the rights to operate on various lines. The government has said that bidders may include MTR of China, SJ of Sweden and Deutsche Bahn of Germany, along with Dutch and French train operators. NJF delegation leader Morten Olsen said that it would not be fair ‘competition’ for the benefit of passengers. “This will be competition between foreign companies to secure monopolies for running trains for years to come in the interests of profit. “Under government proposals for the NSB ticket system, the players who win the tender and get a monopoly on routes shall also be able to sell their own tickets. “Then NSB will be drained of knowledge and technology, and competitors will have an advantage, It is not fair play,” he said. The move towards privatisation has already threatened workers’ pensions and the future of ticket offices across the country. NORWAY SAYS NO RAIL PRIVATISATION Norwegian trade unionists visit RMT to learn about rail privatisation being imposed in Norway next year