Halsnæs mayor demands action over prolonged rail disruption

Local train services in North Zealand will remain disrupted, with the operator expecting normal service to resume in April next year. Halsnæs Mayor Steffen Jensen has criticised the delays, DR reports.

The emergency timetable has been extended through December. Jensen says he has been told that express trains on the Frederiksværkbanen, which connects Hillerød and Hundested, are not expected to return to their usual service until after 2029.

Four of North Zealand’s five local rail routes have been running reduced services since an accident on the Gribskovbanen. The disruption is partly due to continued high sick leave among train drivers and a shortage of carriages after two trains were damaged in the accident.

Jensen, of the Social Democrats, wants politicians on the Capital Region’s council to look into finding additional train sets, including buying used trains or sourcing them elsewhere in Denmark or Europe. He also criticised the region for prioritising battery trains for other routes with far fewer passengers.

Capital Region chair Lars Gaardhøj agreed that waiting two years for normal service on the Frederiksværkbanen was too long, but said responsibility for restoring normal operations lay with the route operator Lokaltog and transport company Movia.

Lokaltog’s operations director, Stig Allan Nielsen, said the company understood that the reduced service was disappointing and frustrating for passengers and apologised. Movia traffic director Jeppe Gaard said Movia and Lokaltog would discuss with the region what could be done for passengers on the Frederiksværkbanen during the busiest periods.