An example of timetable planing from the north of Norway

[whole diary]

[grahame]

If I said "I was woken by my alarm at 03:45 this morning, hopped out of bed even before it got light and have enjoyed every minute since" I would be lying.

My alarm did go off at 03:45 (uk time) which was 04:45 in my hotel in Svolvaer. It was already light, this being high summer in the Arctic.  It is never really dark here at this time of year, and so I could look out from my window in the half light and though I overlooked the main road saw that nothing was yet moving on it.  And I cursed at the early hour a little, or rather at the [redacted] transport planner who's bright idea it was to have the only fast ferry to the mainland leave at 06:00, and his colleague who put the web site for booking together in Norwegian only; the net result was a very early rise - my guide the previous day had phoned in to the operator, checked that it wasn't sold out, but advised me to get down to the quayside early to be sure of getting on.

And as I let myself out of the hotel soon after 05:00, I noted another person with a big backpack also walking down the road towards the town centre, otherwise the place mouse-quiet where I has seen milling throngs the previous morning - a bit later - and evening.  But rounding the corner to the fast cat berth, a little knot of people which grew until at about a quarter to six, a member of the ship's crew came down the gangplank, opened the gate, and started checking people on. I was - relieved - that the crowd looked small for the size of vessel and that the crew ,member had a credit card machine around his waist like a waitress might.  He was checking people who had booked online through, and asking the unbooked - turned out there were about 20 of us - to complete a line on the ship's register prior to selling us tickets.

Sharp at 06:00 we set off, and an opportunity to visit the buffet counter for a coffee and a cheese and ham toastie.  As a high speed catamaran, we were bouncing around a bit, but no spillage and I was belatedly joining the land of the living.  "Plan B" if I had failed to get on the boat - two buses totalling a 2 hour journey, a 2 hour wait, and 3 hours on a ferry shared with cars, was mercifully abandoned.

As it often turns out, that 06:00 departure was not such a stupid thing after all.  It way have moved fast, but the high speed cat pulled into a number of little harbours and jetties and at each of them picked up more people; backpackers and people travelling a long way (based on their luggage and the fond farewells) dominated from Svolvaer, but as we called at other piers there was a proportion of none-tourist traffic - mums with children, folks who looked like they were headed for work, and indeed was probably the case - what turned out to be the daily boat for these people into that great metropolis of Bodoe arrived there just after quarter past nine, the people who had joined for business there clearly knew exactly where they were headed, and the tourists went into the information centre or wandered around looking at signage.

To complete the story of the timing, the boat does a further set of journeys from Bodoe to different destinations in the summer, then return in the late afternoon and into the evening - quite late by the time it reached Svolvaer.  Thus allowing for people to work, have meetings, visit the doctor, do their shopping. And the icing on the cake is that people who come over on the boat should be in good time to catch the daytime train to Trondheim which leaves at lunch time and takes 10 hours - Norway is a very long country; the train coming the other way leaves Trondheim in the morning, and has a similar generous connection at Bodoe onto the fast ferry to Svolvaer.  It all fits together, and when you see the whole picture the timing is - understandable.

I was connection off the high speed ferry onto the train, headed for Mosjoen which is about half way.  But when I got to Bodoe station it was flagged up CANCELLED.  And that's where the second part of my "not all enjoyed" starts.  Spoiler alert - I AM in my hotel though very tired and will continue the story in the morning.

[grahame]

Pictures from yesterday's boat ride ... story of the train being written up ...

[grahame]

I am perverse. Or, rather I am on a tour which includes learning about public transport away from home territory - lessons about what can be done and what should not be done in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).  So when something goes wrong, it may be frustrating but it is also a learning experience.

There are two passenger trains a day on the line down the coast of Norway from Bodoe above the Arctic Circle to Trondheim - the day train at 12:27 and the overnight train at 21:09, taking 10 hours each to complete the journey, though my European Train Timetable shows the overnight train as cancelled until further notice due to a shortage of locomotives.  So it was - err - disappointing when the departure board at Bodoe flashed up to tell us that the 12:27 was cancelled an hour before it was due to leave.

There are some local trains from Bodoe to Fauske and Rogan - about an hour out from Bodoe, and a couple of those sat in the platform. Little 2 carriage units designed and great for these shorter runs (80 kms in this case) you'll find in Sweden and Norway.  And crowds gathering.  The solitary semi-visible official told me that there would be buses to Trondheim - 730 kms away - from the front of the station.  I suggest to him that one of the two little local trains could at least help out, but he came back with "don't know - not up to me to sort out" and a few minutes later one of them escaped up the track - took off unannounced and disappeared around the corner.  And the crowd grew. Not just people, but serious baggage people had in this far north location for the cold weather.

A new rumour started that the remaining baby local train would take us to Fauske where we would transfer to - it wasn't clear - coaches or the northbound day train which would terminate there.  People with bicycles were concerned at how they would get them on the coaches, but were reassured by the official "we will manage it somehow". 

More joined the crowd on the platform - The AIDA Bella, which can carry over 2,000 passengers, was visiting the town and one of the tours they were offering was a train trip up to Fauske and then onwards (or perhaps back) by coach.

Oh dear ...

And then as if by a miracle, the little two car train that had slipped out re-appeared, now attached to another similar 2 car train making a 4 car ensemble, and the board showed the 12:27 as re-instated.  Even with 4 cars, it looked like it was going to be trying to get a gallon into a pint pot, and after the universally traditional procedure of waiting to open the doors and let people on just a handful of minuted before departure the doors were opened ... or at least one set was, to the tour guide and tour groups who were allowed on first; the rest of us were then admitted, reserved seats totally to pot (wrong type of train, and way too short) but miracle of miracles, we all got seated. And we left on time - really not sure how far the train was going, but feeling re-assured that there were so many of us that we would be helped onwards and a train part of the way then a bus is so much better than a bus for 500 miles.   The Proclaimers said they would walk 500 miles ... but better a bus, and even better a train. And, yes Lisa, I would walk the 500 miles.  I digress.

A Norwegian, a Dutchman, a French couple, a German couple and myself - 7 of the 8 seats in the bay occupied - and we set off on the journey.   The train manager came around working out who she had on board, and the other 6 all said they were headed for Trondheim.  I was headed for Mosjoen - about half way as after my early start to get to Bodoe I did not want a late finish as well. I'm in Mosjoen now for a couple of days.

A fascinating study of the mixes of people on the train and in our grouping and how they all come together to make mass and efficient transport possible. And also a note of how the transport system sorts things out.  I was on that 4 car local unit all the way to Mosjoen where I said "goodbye" to my french and dutch friends.  The Germans had been exceptionally uncommunicative - really outside their comfort zone, I think, and part of the cruise party as the left us at Fauske, and the Norwegian lady kept to herself, again I suspect less that thrilled with all the tourists on the train.

The journey was beautiful - but today this is about the journey and what was done when the things went gloriously wrong.  The train has heaters but limited AC^▸ (Air Conditioning, or Alternating Current (electricity), depending on context) (well - it's a long way north) and the train manager brought around water; 10 hours was going to be a very long trip and I'm glad I left just before half way. And it fair bucketed along with the sort of swaying journey you get in so many local trains the continent over.