RAIL ADMINISTRATION CRITICIZED (Aftenposten)

According to investigators looking into the Åsta accident, the Norwegian National Rail Administration has been so badly organized that management has not seen how poor the safety systems have been. The Rail Administration’s lack of focus on safety was the indirect cause of the Åsta tragedy. The direct cause, however, was that the northbound train made an error in leaving Rudstad Station. These are the main points in a report from the commission investigating the accident at Åsta on 4 January 2000, in which 19 people lost their lives.

DESTROYED DECISIVE EVIDENCE (Verdens Gang)

The Norwegian National Rail Administration’s own accident investigation commission failed to secure several important pieces of evidence at Rudstad Station and the Hamar rail traffic control centre in the first few days after the Åsta accident. The report by the government-appointed commission directs harsh criticism against the unprofessional treatment of evidence. "This evidence is gone forever. The amount of information that has been lost has made it difficult and even impossible, in some cases, for the commission to determine the cause of the accident, " says Vibecke Groth, head of the commission.

LABOUR IN THE LEAD AGAIN (Dagbladet)

For two months Carl I. Hagen sat on the throne as chairman of the country’s largest political party, but now he has been dethroned. According to a recent survey carried out by MMI for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and Dagbladet, the Labour Party has reclaimed first place. The two parties have changed places on the list, with Labour gaining 3.8 percentage points and Progress dropping 4.3.

WARNING INVESTORS AGAINST PROGRESS PARTY (Dagsavisen)

The world-wide business information analyst Dun & Bradstreet believes that if the Progress Party takes power, Norway will suffer from economic disorder and political uncertainty. In its most recent analysis, the company is extremely critical of Carl I. Hagen’s economic principles. Dun & Bradstreet conducts regular analyses of 130 countries all over the world. Wealthy investors pay close attention to its advice, and now they are being warned against investing in Norway if Mr. Hagen takes over.

CONFIDENCE IN ORKLA AT AN ALL-TIME LOW (Dagens Næringsliv)

In the view of Sven Arild Andersen, director of the Oslo Stock Exchange, Orkla is not helping to clear up the mysterious Skandia case. Mr. Andersen emphasizes that he regards the situation as extremely grave. The trust placed in Orkla by the Stock Exchange is now wearing quite thin. "The key to this case lies in Orkla, and the Stock Exchange regards it as very serious that the company is not helping to clear it up," says Mr. Andersen, referring to the unexplained purchase of 20 million Orkla shares.

STOCK EXCHANGE DIRECTOR CRITICIZES ORKLA (Aftenposten)

According to Oslo Stock Exchange director Sven Arild Andersen, responsibility for clearing up the mystery surrounding Orkla stock options lies with Orkla itself. The Stock Exchange now knows who the owner of the options is, but has no information as to the background of this mysterious transaction. Mr. Andersen places full responsibility for the lack of clarity in this case on the Orkla management, headed by Jens P. Heyerdahl, and on the Swedish insurance company Skandia.

CRISIS IN COD FISHERIES (Dagens Næringsliv)

Marine researchers want to reduce quotas for Norwegian Arctic cod by 33 per cent in the Barents Sea and along the Norwegian coast as far south as Stadt. They are also sounding the alarm regarding cod stocks in the North Sea. "There are so few cod left in the sea that there is a danger of continued stock depletion," says researcher Ageir Aglen at the Institute of Marine Research. Mr. Aglen represents Norway at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which released its proposals yesterday for fisheries quotas in 2001.

WORTH NOTING

• Trains continue to use a departure procedure that the investigating commission believes is an indirect cause of the Åsta accident. (Aftenposten)
• Train traffic controllers searched frantically for the mobile telephone numbers of the engine drivers on the trains that collided at Åsta Station. The numbers were written on the train schedules right in front of their eyes. ( Verdens Gang)
• The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation newsroom announced yesterday evening that a merger is planned between supermarket chain Rema 1000 and Narvesen, a news agent chain. This will be one of Scandinavia’s largest commercial corporations. An announcement confirming these plans is expected today. ( Dagens Næringsliv)
• Statoil’s group director Inge K. Hansen confirms that a state-owned holding company that administers the government’s shares in Statoil, Norsk Hydro and the State’s Direct Financial Interest would be acceptable to Statoil. This solution could be adopted at Labour’s national party conference this weekend. ( Dagens Næringsliv)
• The government wants to reduce the amount of support provided by the state to children, the elderly, the handicapped and anti-drug campaigns. Most NGOs will be affected by the cutbacks proposed in the fiscal budget. ( Vårt Land)
• The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation is shelving plans for a national televised news broadcast in the Sami language. The broadcast was supposed to begin on 5 March. During the past two or three years, NOK 43 million have been invested in a new building, top-of-the-line technical equipment and 13 new staff members. ( Aftenposten)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Aftenposten, Dagbladet, Nationen and Verdens Gang:

A government-appointed commission under the leadership of High Court Judge Vibecke Groth has investigated the train collision at Åsta Station on the Røros line on 4 January this year, in which 19 people lost their lives. The commission has now condemned the safety procedures implemented by the Norwegian National Rail Administration. Those responsible for this must take the consequences. Ms. Groth says that the Åsta accident was allowed to happen because of the Rail Administration’s lack of safety measures. ( Aftenposten) Oddvar Nilsen, chairman of the Storting Committee on Transport and Communication, says that the conclusions of the report are dramatic. We agree fully. But Mr. Nilsen himself should acknowledge his responsibility, as should most of the other Storting members responsible for transport policy. High Court Judge Groth’s commission has ascertained that neglect of safety measures has deep roots in the history of the Norwegian State Railways, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Norwegian National Rail Administration. This is a history characterized by a lack of adequate funding, but also by a dwindling interest in safety measures that disappeared completely along the way during the modernization process. ( Dagbladet) We can imagine the excuses we will be hearing now: the politicians have not understood the problems, and the economic framework has been restricted too severely. This is most likely the case. Nevertheless, the decisive factor is that trains have been allowed to run under this type of safety system. Nobody sounded the alarm or pulled the emergency brake. ( Nationen) We feel certain that the investigating commission has done everything in its power to clarify the circumstances surrounding the accident. Now it is up to the Government to ensure that the report has consequences, so we can feel more secure that the Rail Administration is operated and managed responsibly. Nineteen lives lost are nineteen lives too many. The system must be cleaned up, and thoroughly. ( Verdens Gang)

N O R E G