• 17. October 2018
  • By:Eirik Norstein Danielsen

News

Go-Ahead is the winner!

Proactimas project manager Cathrine Elgin was pleased when it was announced that Go-Ahead is the winner of the contract for operating the three important railways Arendalsbanen, Sørlandsbanen and Jærbanen.

For the first time the British company Go-Ahead has signed up for the competition to operate railways in Norway. Now the company is thus responsible for operating the three stretches covered  in “Pakke Sør”. Cathrine Elgin works in Proactima and is the project manager for Go-Ahead`s tender process. In addition to Cathrine, there are more team members from Proactima and also from other  companies.

“This is a breakthrough for Go-Ahead here in Norway,” says Elgin, who added that the thrill was to take and feel before the decision was announced. She also emphasizes the good cooperation in the process, both internally in the team and with stakeholders involved.

The process

The tender competition was published in November 2017, but even earlier, Cathrine was well in process of preparing for Go-Ahead; an input that was part of the strategic decision to participate in the Norwegian competition. When the tender was issued, Cathrine and the rest of the team, all with solid and relevant competence, started working on the offer.

“In addition, we have had a good dialogue and support from Go-Ahead`s Nordic office in Malmø as well as the company`s office in London,” says Elgin, who is located in Proactimas Oslo office, together with the rest of the team.

What happens now?

Immediately, a mobilization team will be established, which will also be led by Elgin. This team has a good year for planning and facilitating the start-up, which is set for December 2019.

The three companies in the run-up were NSB, Swedish SJ and Go-Ahead.

This is Go-Ahead:

Go-Ahead is one of the UK`s leading public transport providers. The company operates both bus and rail services enabling over one billion trips each year. In the United Kingdom, Go-Ahead accounts for about 30 percent of all train journeys. In London, the company is the largest provider of bus travel, as well as approximately 11 percent of the regional bus journeys being delivered by Go-Ahead. The company also operates bus services in Singapore and in Ireland.

This is the first time Go-Ahead is participating in a tender competition for operation of rail services in Norway.

The company has 29,000 employees and is headquartered in Newcastle.