The railway reform exploded in the use of consultants

The state has spent NOK 3 billion on consultants related to the railway reform. Shows figures from the Ministry of Transport.

The Central Party has asked the Ministry of Transport and Communications how much the companies have spent on consulting services.

The Ministry responds that Bane Nor SF, Norske Tog AS, Entur AS, Vygruppen AS, Mantena AS and the Norwegian Directorate of Railways have spent around NOK 3.3 billion since 2013.

They are all state-owned companies.

Three billion have been spent after 2016.

– It costs to be exposed to the competition. This is money that could have been spent on other things, says Sp Parliamentary Leader Marit Arnstad.

– Three billion are the costs of electrifying the Meråker line and parts of the Trønder line, explains the SP politician.

The Center Party opposes the rail reform. Vy (formerly NSB) has only accounted for around 400 million. The Norwegian Railway Directorate has spent the most.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications writes that the use of consultants is “mainly related to the support of strategic processes.” But consultants are also used in “restructuring and improvement processes, as well as financial and legal assistance.”

For the rest of the companies, it is especially “IT consultants, legal advice and consultants for strategic development”.

EU requirements and flag issuance

Competition on the railroad has been the Solberg government’s flagship theme. Vy has lost the exclusive right to rail transport in Norway. Swedish and British companies now operate trains in Norway.

The policy is a response to the rail packages adopted by the EU.

Norway has accepted them through the EEA agreement. Now there is a dispute over a fourth package. It allows for further privatization or exposure to competition. That case creates controversy in the Storting.

Here is an overview of using consultants.

Must come to light

– We talk little about these reorganization costs and competitive bidding, says Arnstad.

– Money earmarked for the transport sector should be used to build, not buy consulting services, he believes.

She places the responsibility in the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

– But is it sometimes worth using consultants?

– In some cases it may be correct, but in this case the figures show that exposure to competition has great costs that rarely appear in the debate on cases, he replies.

Use your own experience

The state-owned company Entur was created to offer ticketing and sales solutions for the rail sector. A sector where there are now several players. Entur has spent more than 600 million on consultants to develop the service. Arnstad reacts to this.

– There are those who have sold tickets in Norway before Entur was established. Regarding the rest of the companies, the main experts in railway operation and investment are in these same companies, he emphasizes.

– The huge use of consultants is not only a problem in the railway sector. We see it in various areas where you have to expose the competition or reorganize public activities, he believes.

The SP politician criticizes the government for dividing NSB, then VY, and depriving the company of tasks.

– Has become one of several players. Vy has used many consultants because the company has been heavily restructured by the government, he says.

Defend the use of consulting

Jon Georg Dale (Frp) was Minister of Transport from 2018 to 2020. He implemented important parts of the rail reform.

In an email, Dale writes that “the consultants were chosen in part because they could reduce resource usage later.”

This was better than building a “bureaucracy through more employees in new companies.”

Dale further writes that “in the period in which the use of consultants has increased, the allowances for rail purposes have also roughly doubled” relative to what Sp would use when the party was in government.

It points out that this rapid growth “would not have been possible without the purchase of services from third parties.”

Modernization Consultants

Entur has spent more than 600 million in recent years.

– Since its inception in 2016, we have carried out a much-needed modernization of the digital infrastructure, writes service manager Rune Sperlin in an email.

Sperlin writes that the company aims to increase the number of permanent employees.

But the battle for competition is fierce. And Sperlin writes that the company must buy services from the Norwegian tech industry.

If the company will spend the same amount on consultants next year, Entur will not respond. The reason is that the budget is not ready.