Nordic cooperation gives unique transport strategy advantages

Nordic cooperation means a lot for the strategic development of the infrastructure between the countries. Bane NOR, which is responsible for railway infrastructure in Norway, is involved as a partner in creating the Nordic region’s most important meeting place for the development of tomorrow’s transport and infrastructure: Elmia Nordic Future Transport Summit.

“I believe that Nordic cooperation is very important on many levels,” says Irene Johansen, senior adviser on communication at Bane NOR and a member of the programme council. “We are neighbouring countries who are influenced by each other, so cooperation across borders in the field of infrastructure is of huge importance. For Bane NOR, it is important to participate in cooperative Nordic efforts such as this one, both to facilitate railway expansion between the Nordic countries and to be able to learn from each other within our industrial sector.”

Bane NOR is a member of the programme council for Elmia Nordic Future Transport Summit, the council that decides on the conference’s contents. The conference is the forum for the big strategic issues of the future, with a focus on politics, strategies, Nordic cooperation and transport-related infrastructure, and will be held concurrently with the two transport trade fairs, Elmia Nordic Rail and Elmia Nordic Transport Infrastructure, on 8–10 October 2019.

A common culture and values

For some years now, Elmia Nordic Rail has been the Nordic region’s most important meeting place for the entire railway industry. It brings together planning managers, purchasers, operators, specifiers, government departments and agencies, organisations, researchers and educationalists – all with a shared interest in rail transport. Elmia Nordic Transport Infrastructure is the new transport fair that takes a comprehensive grasp on all the transport modes plus the technology and services that are tomorrow’s major transport challenges: various transport modes, intermodality, infrastructure and building the fabric of society.

“In the Nordic region, we have a common culture and values that enable us to cooperate in all sectors of society, which we are currently doing today, for example in the Nordic Council on many different issues,” Irene Johansen says. “Cooperation in the field of infrastructure has a lot to do with making mobility easier between the Nordic countries and removing all border obstacles, one of which can be infrastructure.”

Infrastructure investments for billions of kronor

Bane NOR builds and operates railways in Norway and is responsible for several of the biggest infrastructure construction projects right now. At the same time, work is also continuing on changing the track signalling system to be the same as the common European system, ERTMS.

“Major contracted projects worth 60 billion kronor will be calling for tenders for the next few years, and we would like to use both Norwegian, Nordic and European suppliers,” says Gorm Frimannslund, CEO of Bane NOR. “Cooperation between the Nordic countries is valuable for comparing experiences and developing networks. We are part of the same market and therefore the meeting place at Elmia is very important to us.”

“Together with our partners, we are creating the industry’s most important meeting place, which covers everything from products, services and technical advice to the big strategic issues of cross-border cooperation, the Nordic region and the future in the form of Elmia Nordic Future Transport Summit,” concludes Magnus Ringqvist, manager of Elmia’s new transport fairs.