The Norwegian Railway Directorate

The Norwegian Railway Directorate is the coordinating agency for Norway’s railway sector. The Directorate advises the Ministry on all matters involving railways and rail transport and is authorised to requisition services from the infrastructure manager (Bane NOR SF) and train operating companies. The Directorate is an administrative agency under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport.

The Railway Directorate has been assigned the task of exploring the future demands for rail traffic in Norway. This work will help the Government make decisions to improve the nation’s railway sector. One of the Directorate’s most important tasks is compiling proposals for the National Transport Plan (NTP) in cooperation with other national transport agencies and Avinor. The Directorate will begin work preparing the national programme for the railway sector for the subsequent plan period after the parliament (Stortinget) has approved the final NTP. The programme includes specific plans for infrastructures, passenger travel and cargo services.

The programme forms the basis for all agreements with Bane NOR SF regarding infrastructure procurements and agreements with passenger train operators regarding railway services that are offered to the public.
The Directorate is also tasked with overseeing interaction between all professional agencies and operators within the railway sector.

The Directorate thus aims to manage and develop infrastructures, rolling stock, passenger travel and cargo transport to make Norway’s rail sector as good as possible. The individual operators are expected to comply with safety rules and regulations in all activities based on national and international railway legislation, while the Directorate has a supervisory role in managing cooperation and the exchange of information within the sector.

The Directorate has operative responsibility for all railway passenger transport procurements.

Web page: http://www.jernbanedirektoratet.no/