Norway awards Sørlandsbanen to Vy without tender instead of Go-Ahead

Vy receives the operation without competition and is to provide better punctuality, additional stops in Telemark, reserve trains and three new long-distance trains from Stadler; Go-Ahead claims a NOK 530 million loss despite NOK 500 million in state support and is leaving after 2027.

The transport ministry under Jon-Ivar Nygård has decided that, after Go-Ahead's contract ends in December 2027, passenger trains on the Sørlandsbanen (Oslo–Stavanger) and Arendalsbanen will be awarded directly to Vy, initially for five years and without a tender; an earlier switch failed on legal grounds. The plans presented on 30 April 2026 provide for better punctuality, additional stops in Telemark, reserve trains and three new long-distance trains from Stadler. Go-Ahead, operator of the Sørlandsbanen, Arendalsbanen and Jærbanen since 2019, announced, according to a report of 8 June 2026, that it will leave Norway after 2027: despite NOK 500 million in state support it claims a NOK 530 million loss, and more than 1,000 services were cancelled between September 2025 and February 2026 because of vehicle faults. (LOK Report, 5 May and 8 Jun 2026)