Signal work will halt trains on the Svendborg-Odense line for 16 days

Trains between Svendborg and Odense will be replaced by buses for 16 days while work is carried out to prepare a new signalling system, DR reports. The cancellations will run from Friday evening through October 18.

The disruption is another blow for commuters on the Svendborgbanen, the railway line between the two cities, which has a reputation for delays and cancellations. DSB took over the line’s operation on September 1 from GoCollective, after then-Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen lost confidence in the company.

Anders Buch, who travels daily from Ringe to Odense and has young children, said he will have to leave earlier and rely more on his wife during the disruption. “It is really frustrating, but it is the Svendborg line, so you get used to it,” he said.

Susanne Lindharth, who also commutes from Ringe to Odense, said her usual 22-minute journey could take up to an hour by bus. She said the work was necessary if services were to improve, but added that years of poor experiences had weakened her confidence.

Anna Pia Holmgaard, who lives in Svendborg and works at Odense University Hospital, said she had no car and was looking for alternative transport. Her usual 5.53 train is full, she said, adding that she could not understand why the needs of people trying to get to work were being ignored.

DSB apologised for the disruption. Erik Vestergaard Møller, the company’s head of quality and safety at DSB Vores Tog, said maintaining the railway was necessary, even though the operator had a responsibility to get passengers to their destinations.