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Oslo to buy more subway cars from UN-blacklisted company
🇳🇴 Norway /Economy & Trade

Oslo to buy more subway cars from UN-blacklisted company

From Aftenposten · () Norwegian

Translated from Norwegian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • Oslo's city council voted to purchase more subway cars from CAF, a Spanish company blacklisted by the UN.
  • The decision was made despite considering alternative suppliers, as breaking the contract could cost the city 11 billion kroner and cause a five-year delay.
  • While acknowledging issues with CAF, city officials stated the purchase is necessary for a major subway expansion project.

Oslo's city council has approved the purchase of additional subway cars from the Spanish company CAF, despite the firm being blacklisted by the United Nations. The decision, made by a majority vote, came after consideration of changing suppliers.

According to Vårt Oslo, only the Rødt and SV parties voted against the proposal. Marit Kristine Vea, Oslo's vice mayor for environment and transport, defended the decision by stating that breaking the existing option agreement could cost the municipality 11 billion kroner (approximately $1 billion USD) and result in a five-year delay. In December, Sporveien, the public transport operator, estimated these costs and delays if a supplier change were pursued.

This has not been easy, but it is nevertheless the right thing to do

— Marit Kristine VeaJustifying the city council's decision to proceed with purchasing subway cars from CAF.

"This has not been easy, but it is nevertheless the right thing to do," Vea said, acknowledging the complexities. She emphasized that the city is aware of the issues surrounding CAF and had explored options to exit the contract. "We know how the situation is in the West Bank and Gaza. We take our responsibility as a purchaser very seriously. But then we are in the middle of a historic subway upgrade," Vea added.

CAF was placed on the UN's list in September 2025 for contributing to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian land on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. SV and Rødt argued that the city council and Sporveien had not sufficiently documented the impossibility of finding alternative suppliers. Sporveien has already ordered 20 train sets from CAF, and the council's approval on Wednesday was for an additional 24.

We know how the situation is on the West Bank and in Gaza. We take our responsibility as a purchaser very seriously. But then we are in the middle of a historic T-bane lift

— Marit Kristine VeaAcknowledging the UN blacklist while explaining the necessity of the purchase for Oslo's subway expansion.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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