Oslo Central Station will fall silent this weekend as complete rail traffic halts from Saturday morning to early Sunday. The closure, rare for Norway’s busiest station, is needed to carry out critical electrical upgrades aimed at boosting long-term reliability of signalling and other systems.
Oslo Central Station will see no train services from 05:00 on Saturday, 17 January, to 04:00 on Sunday, 18 January. Bane NOR confirms the full closure is necessary for major work on power supply systems. Many trains will reverse at outer stations around Oslo S during the closure, with some departures facing partial or full cancellation.
Regional Director Lars Berge leads the operation. “The work to be carried out affects the entire Oslo Central Station, and that is why we have to close the station completely to train traffic,” he says in a BaneNOR announcement.
Power redesign to prevent widespread faults
Currently, a single ground fault can disrupt signals across all tracks at Oslo S. The system on Oslo S was built almost 50 years ago, and has grown significantly in size since then. A shared power setup complicates fault detection and increases delays. “It can be compared to looking for the famous needle in a huge haystack,” explains Lars Berge. When there is a ground fault, the trains get a red light, as it is too risky to run trains.
To illustrate: while during a ground fault at home (which occurs when an electrical current is ‘leaking’ somewhere), one needs to troubleshoot 10-12 fuses and components connected to each circuit. At Oslo station the fuse box contains 160,000 relay contacts, which each can be a potential source of error. Ground fault monitors on some parts make the job much faster, but on other parts it relies on manual work to find the error.
To change the electrical design and make it more resilient, Bane NOR is carrying out works over the weekend. Crews will install new converters, lay new cables and split the system into isolated sections. These changes mean future faults can be contained. Instead of affecting the whole station, outages will be limited to smaller zones.
Faster fault isolation should lead to fewer delays and less disruption for travellers. Bane NOR describes the changes as essential for a more resilient rail network. All work takes place indoors and behind closed doors. Bane NOR stresses this upgrade is among the most important for improving punctuality in the Oslo region in the coming years.
Fewer delays expected after 2027 completion
While this weekend’s work is key, its full benefit won’t be felt until 2027. That is when all planned upgrades under the wider project are set to finish. Once complete, ground faults will no longer bring large parts of the station to a standstill.
When the new digital signalling system (ERTMS) is installed, there will be fewer components with the possibility of failure as well. Although Bane NOR stresses there will never be any guarantee that ground faults will fully become history.
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