EØS watchdog says Norway violated treaty by awarding rail contract without tender

The European Economic Area Surveillance Authority (EØS) has issued a statement alleging that Norway breached the EØS treaty by awarding Vy a temporary passenger-train contract for the Sørlandsbanen, Jærbanen and Arendalsbanen routes without conducting a competitive tender. Under the treaty, passenger-rail contracts are normally required to be awarded through a bidding process. One outlet operator, Go-Ahead, will run the services on the Sørlandet region until 2027, after which Vy was announced to receive a two-year provisional contract with an option to extend.

Norwegian officials justified the temporary award as necessary while they assess the composition of traffic packages and consider measures to optimise public transport. The EØS authority has sent a reasoned statement to Norway and set a two-month deadline for a response before it may refer the case to the EFTA Court.