Go-Ahead confirms it is leaving Norway
NORWAY: Go-Ahead’s rail division has confirmed it will not continue in Norway after 2027, ending the country’s first experiment with a foreign passenger operator.
Patrick Verwer, the Go-Ahead group’s managing director for rail, told Stavanger Aftenblad on 8 June that Go-Ahead has no plans in Norway beyond 2027. He said the company would likely not extend its contract even if offered the chance.
Verwer described operating conditions in Norway’s current market as very difficult. State operator Vy is set to take over the routes from 2028.
Verwer points to operating conditions
Verwer called the exit quiet and seamless. Go-Ahead has run the Sørlandsbanen, Arendalsbanen and Jærbanen lines since December 2019, the first time a foreign operator held a passenger rail contract in Norway.
Go-Ahead Nordic is the Norwegian arm of the UK-based Go-Ahead Group, which is headquartered in Newcastle and primarily operates buses and trains in the UK, alongside operations in Sweden, Ireland, Australia and Singapore.
The handover to Vy follows a direct award decided in autumn 2024, without a tender process. The European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority (ESA) is examining whether that direct award complies with the fourth railway package’s exemption rules. No ruling has been issued.
A loss-making run
Go-Ahead has lost EUR 48m on its Norwegian operation. More than 1,000 departures were cancelled between September 2025 and February 2026 due to faults on trains running the Sørlandsbanen and Jærbanen.
A maintenance inspection in November 2025 found more than 2,000 deviations, 83 of them classified as serious.
Go-Ahead’s exit places Norway alongside other European markets where private operators have stepped back amid what they describe as unpredictable regulatory conditions — RegioJet’s withdrawal from Poland followed a similar pattern.