Author Archives: driveeuropenews

France: road safety gains reversing – Next stop Cappadocia – Gibraltar – Finding Nardo

Last updated 19:30 BST.

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Channel delays: none reported currently.

Weather alerts: Red alert high winds central Norway and amber for the rest of the country. Amber alert low temperatures and high winds north/east Spain, high winds Serbia.

Weather: Unsettled in southern Europe and very windy in the north.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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GIBRALTAR. The British and Gibraltarian governments chose to look beyond the headline finding of the European Commission’s Border inspection team published today: that the enhanced border checks running on and off since October last year do not break EU law. Instead the UK’s Europe minister David Lidington said he welcomed the report’s recommendations, that Spain should build more vehicle lanes to make crossing physically easier, and switch to a risk based approach to reduce the ‘large amount’ of random border checks. Gibraltar First Minister Fabian Picardo said in a GBC Radio interview that ‘after the dust settles we may see some progress.’ The Commission will review the situation in six months.

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Capadocchia

Next stop Cappadocia: the remarkable GREAT British bus tour continues, selling UK business – particularly education – right around Turkey. Here in Cappadochia in the centre of the country yesterday, a place famous for its naturally occurring ‘fairy chimneys’, and latterly its hot air balloon regatta. It’s in Kayseri today with more stops planned in Eskehesir, Adana and Gazientep (right near the Syrian border). Pic via @LeighTurnerFCO.

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FRANCE: road safety gains reversing

For only the second time this year – and the first since the unmarked mobile camera cars were introduced in March – monthly statistics show a rise in the number of fatal traffic accidents.

307 people died on the roads in October 2013 compared to 299 in October 2012, an increase of 2.7%.

Overall, fatalities are still down by 11.4% over 2012, or nearly 350 lives saved. But, from a stellar decrease of nearly 30% in May the trend has been notably downward ever since, apart from September (-9.6%) when it briefly looked as if the tide had been turned.

France is working towards cutting road deaths ‘to under 2,000 by 2020’, down from 3,653 in 2012. It’s currently on course to meet that target but with gains now reversing there must be concerns over whether progress will continue, and a policy which is almost exclusively targeted at speeders.

Earlier this month, police in a Pairs suburb were reportedly being denied time off at Christmas and New Year for not booking enough motorists.

source: Securite Routiere.

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nardo. Mercedes is celebrating 30 years since it set it

NARDO. Mercedes celebrates 30 years since setting its enduring endurance record. Three 190E 2.5-16s covered 50,000km in nine days at an average speed of 248kmh around the eight mile banked oval. But, where is it? And can we have a go? Thanks to Google Maps we can now say Nardo is almost exactly half way down the west coast of Italy’s heel, between Nardo town and Manduria, along SP359. Owned by Porsche since last year it’s not open to private individuals unfortunately though perhaps it’s possible to hear high powered exotica pounding around while lying on that beach?

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roundup: AZERBAIJAN. Following renovations, the narrow streets of Icherisheher, the historic old town part of capital Baku, have been converted to a one-way system. Drivers are being handed maps showing the new arrangements on the in-roads, also translated into English. Penalties apply from 1 December. BELGIUM. Nobody expects rock fall to obscure the carriageway in Belgium but that’s exactly what happened yesterday on the N90 between Andenne and Namur in the Meuse valley. Nobody was injured but the road, the attractive back way between Liege and Charleroi, will be closed for a few days. BOSNIA. It’s switch over day for Winter Tyres. According to the local press, only tyres marked M+S, MS or M&S and the snowflake symbol, plus at least 4mm tread, are acceptable with a penalty 40BAM (£17) fine for noncompliance. BELARUS. President Alexander Lukashenko is demanding that the outskirts of capital Minsk be tidied up. ‘A reasonable approach should be developed when shaping the appearance of the city and its outskirts,’ he said today. It’s less about impressing visiting foreign motorists however than zoning land for development. RUSSIA. President Putin’s former Judo partner has won the contract to build, operate and maintain a significant section of the upcoming M-11 Moscow-St Petersburg motorway. Arkady Rotenburg’s Mostotrest will build 209km between Tver and Novgorod, to open in four years ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

late news: EU transport commissioner @SiimKallasEU tweeted this afternoon, ‘Agreed with Romanian PM Ponta to set up trilateral task force to step-up the development of transport network between Moldova and Romania.’

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Gibraltar: long queues again – Romania: powerful opposition to fuel tax rise

Last updated 21:00 BST.

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Channel delays: P&O Dover-Calais and DFDS Dover-Calais, some sailings delayed 30mins. Eurotunnel freight UK: 30min, high volume of traffic. Brittany Ferries Plymouth>Roscoff, St Malo>Plymouth and Santander>Portsmouth delayed 45-60mins bad weather.

Weather alerts: Amber alert high winds/low temperatures north east Spain and storms Greece.

Weather: Unsettled in the Mediterranean. Rain Italy, dry Eastern Europe.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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Gibraltar: 'Border controls are here to stay!' shouted the local press yesterday

Gibraltar: ‘Border controls are here to stay!’ shouted the local press yesterday following a visit by a member of the Spanish government. The checks are ‘proportionate, flexible, random, and non-discriminatory’ and inline with EU law says Carmen Crespo, acknowledging that queues are around two hours for cars and 30 minutes for pedestrians. Two hours would be relatively mild compared to the delays of the past few days: cars waited 3.5h hours on Tuesday; late last night the queue was 2.5 hours.

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ROMANIA: powerful opposition to fuel tax rises.

Foreign investors have strongly objected to a proposed increase in fuel duty.

Among other measures, the government will increase tax on petrol and diesel by €0.07 per litre next year to pay for (badly needed) major infrastructure projects. According to www.fuel-prices-europe.info, a litre of unleaded 95 currently costs €1.232. Diesel is €1.281.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania called the plans ‘hasty’, adding, ‘they will lead to increases in tax evasion, a sharp decrease of investments, a lower number of jobs and a series of difficulties in the economy.’

The Foreign Investors Council said, ‘Romanian exporters are sentenced to clinical death… the Government is forcing the companies which had the biggest contribution to the state budget to go into the international competitiveness battle without weapons.’

Between them the two are responsible for over $10bn of investment. Prime minister Victor Ponta responded by saying, ‘Romania cannot be El Dorado for everyone.’

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Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in an impressive video for Volvo Trucks called Epic Split. Believe it or not these trucks are actually reversing. The stunt is designed to demonstrate Volvo's new Dynamic Steering system that compensates for road illegularities

Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in an impressive video for Volvo Trucks called Epic Split. Believe it or not these trucks are actually reversing as the Dutch film star straddles the wing mirrors. The stunt was designed to demonstrate Volvo’s new Dynamic Steering system that can compensate for road surface irregularities 2,000 times per second for precision driving.

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roundup: LUXEMBOURG. A section of recently flooded road in Grevenmacher collapsed today, swallowing a fire engine whole. The Moselle breached its banks earlier in the week. Check out the hilarious photos at Wort.lu. MACEDONIA. Contracts have been signed between the Govt and the Chinese Sinohydro construction company to build two new motorways (see earlier report). Work starts in Q1 next year and should finish in four years. BULGARIA/ROMANIA. The Bulgarian prime minister has reportedly floated the idea of a third bridge across the Danube ahead of a meeting with his Romanian counterpart next week. The new bridge would stretch between Silistra (BG) and Calarasi in the east, replacing a ferry service that was anyway suspended last year.

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Turracherhohe: birthplace of legends

Turracherhohe – Turracher Heights, 1,763m – might not actually be that high but it is very, very steep.

This challenging road has been instrumental in the development of at least two motoring legends.

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At 34%, Turracher was once the steepest road in Europe. Porsche, headquartered in nearby Gmund during the 1940s, used this road to test out early prototypes of the 356. In the late 1980s however, just before the steepest parts were trimmed back to the current 23%, Turracherhohe was the birthplace of an equally famous legend.

At 34%, Turracher was once the steepest road in Europe. Porsche – headquartered in nearby Gmund during the 1940s – used this road to test prototypes of the 356. In the late 1980s, just before the steepest parts were trimmed back to 23%, Turracherhohe became the birthplace of another motoring legend.

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In January 1978, Audi engineers demonstrated a revolutionary idea in front of the company’s board of directors: a four wheel drive road car. Previously the preserve of cumbersome all-terrain vehicles - indeed it was the way the 75bhp Iltis military vehicle embarrassed high powered road cars on a previous test in Sweden that sparked the idea in the first place - the way the quattro dealt with the fearsome snow covered Turracherhohe convinced everybody that four wheel drive was the way to go.

In January 1978, Audi engineers demonstrated a revolutionary idea to the company’s board of directors: a four wheel drive road car. Previously the preserve of cumbersome all-terrain vehicles – like the 75bhp Iltis military vehicle that embarrassed high powered road cars on a previous test in Sweden – the way the first quattro dealt with the fearsome snow covered Turracherhohe convinced everybody that four wheel drive was the way to go. Note the snow chains road sign on the right. It says they must be used apart from light vehicles with all wheel drive, or winter tyres with spikes. Legend has it the quattro made the run on summer tyres though given what we know these days, that summer tyres are useless on snow even on four wheel drive cars, perhaps that one should be put down to hype.

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Turracher Strasse – route 95 - starts from north west Feldkirchen, but Turracherhohe – Turracher Heights – picks up after the Nockalm Road, see below, outside Reichenau. It tops out at Turracher village which straddles the boundary line between Austria’s Carinthia and Styria regions, beside the vast Turrachsee.

Turracher Strasse – route 95 – starts from north west Feldkirchen in south central Austria. But Turracherhohe – Turracher Heights – picks up after the Nockalm Road (see below) outside Reichenau. It tops out at Turracher village which straddles the boundary line between Austria’s Carinthia and Styria regions, beside the vast Turrachsee.

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Gradient apart, Turracherhohe is not a typical hairpin strewn mountain pass road. @ParaboliqueUK who drove it earlier this year on an epic 4,000 mile trip around central and west Europe describes this road as, ‘arguably the finest of the whole trip… mindblowing and very, very fast. The uphill section is wonderful and the downhill mile upon mile of fast sweeping S bends.’ All in all it sounds like Turracherhohe is worth putting on the list.

Gradient apart, Turracherhohe is not a typical mountain pass road, strewn with hairpin bends. @ParaboliqueUK, who drove it earlier this year on an epic 4,000 mile trip around central and west Europe, describes this road as, ‘arguably the finest of the whole trip… mindblowing and very, very fast. The uphill section is wonderful and the downhill mile upon mile of fast sweeping S bends.’ All in all it sounds like Turracherhohe is definitely worth putting on the list.

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Pictures courtesy of Audi AG/Audi AlpenTour 2013. For the (privately owned) Porsche Museum at Gmund, just off the A10 five miles north of Spittal, see www.auto-museum.at

Next up: The Solk Pass. Previously: The Nockalm Road.

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Porsche transScandinavia + news in brief: Finland, Portugal, Latvia and Russia

Last updated 21:30 BST.

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Channel delays: none reported currently.

Weather alerts: Amber alert high winds/rain Greece.

Weather: Unsettled for much of Europe, heavy showers in the South.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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An exhibition devoted to the iconic Martini racing car

An official exhibition devoted to the iconic Martini Racing cars of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s kicks off this week at the Giovanni Agnelli National Car Museum in Turin. It lasts until 26 January 2014. Including cars and memorabilia from all the manufacturers sponsored by the Italian drinks giant – Porsche, Lancia, Brabham, Lotus and Ford – split into Endurance, Rally, Formula 1 and Touring Cars. Price €8. For more info see www.museoauto.it or www.martiniracing.com

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News in Brief: FINLAND. The final gap in the E18 Helsinki-Russia border motorway will be plugged by an ‘innovative financial instrument’. For the first time, the European Commission roads agency TEN-T hopes to use financing methods allowed under the new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to fund construction and operation. The 32km stretch runs between Hamina and Vaalimaa. We previously reported on this project, part of the ‘Nordic Triangle’ roads upgrade. PORTUGAL. An annualised inflation rate of -0.27% means motorway toll rates should not increase in 2014 says The Portugal News. LATVIA. Car sales jumped 43% from July to September compared to Q3 2012 as drivers anticipate price rises when Latvia joins the Euro on 1 January 2014. Read this interesting analysis of the car market in the Baltic States which in Latvia is dominated by cars aged 6-10 years. FERRIES. We’re not ship spotters – yet – but even so it’s heartbreaking to hear about the fate of the former P&O Pride of Calais via @DoverFerryInfo. Her final voyage ended at 11:58GMT today when she beached at Aliaga, western Turkey. RUSSIA. Heartening news: child road accident fatalities are down 10% so far this year according to Natalia Agre, President of Road Safety Russia (@AGRE_RoadSafety). One of the organisation’s major campaigns currently is about kid’s car seats.

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GTPorsche magazine tells the story of the unique 911 S/T on a road trip across Scandinavia. Issue out now, or register for a free preview copy at GTPorsche magazine tells the story of the unique 911 S/T on a road trip across Scandinavia. Issue out now, or register for a free digital copy at http://bit.ly/1eEQvj5 or see www.GTPurelyPorsche.com

GTPorsche magazine tells the story of the unique motorsport-derived 911 S/T on a road trip across Scandinavia. Issue out now. Register for a free digital copy at http://bit.ly/1eEQvj5 or see www.GTPurelyPorsche.com

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Talks on German ‘foreigners’ road toll’ stumble – Poland A1 upgrade

Last updated 20:30 BST.

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Channel delays: up to 20min delays DFDS Dover-Calais some services due to port movements.

Weather alerts: Amber alert high winds Slovenia and Croatia and for storms Italy and Greece.

Weather: Strong winds, showers central Mediterranean/Adriatic. Dry and sunny Iberia/South of France.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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GERMANY – talks on foreign road toll falter.

It looked almost certain last weekend but suddenly the ‘road toll for foreigners’ idea looks to have skidded if not crashed completely. According to Reuters, Coalition negotiations on the issue yesterday failed to reach agreement. The parties have apparently decided to postpone further discussions until the final round of talks. Reuters doesn’t speculate on the reasons apart from to say support from the ruling CDU party is fading. Other German media says the problem is Angela Merkel herself after she promised, during the leaders’ debates before the election, ‘with me there will be no car tax’. It seems that promise might extend to foreigners as well.

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EV touring:

Beyond Range Anxiety: a German couple will attempt to prove that electric cars have evolved to the point that long distance trips are feasible. Driving a Renault Zoe, they set out from Munich this Friday, aiming for Barcelona by the next evening. That’s 1,375km. They say the electricity will cost €51.50. Presuming it all turns out as planned, they intend to follow up with a more ambitious tour next May: 9 capitals in 9 days, 4,200km in all and open to other teams. See www.eTourEurope.eu for more.

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POLAND. Stretching 560km from Gdansk on the Baltic to the Czech border near Ostrava, the A1 is Poland’s busiest road. A new €350m loan from the European Investment Bank will see 144km between Torun and Strykow (connecting to the A2 to Warsaw) fully upgraded to motorway standard. It will also complete the section from Gdansk to Lodz. Work starts on the remaining 275km south via Katowice in 2015. Ultimately the 490 mile road – E75/65 – will run from the Baltic to Vienna via Brno.

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drddrrr

Random daily pic: Kite surfing at Hoek van Holland. Krazy. Pic via @Burger_Ferry/@PortofRotterdam.

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Roundup. GERMANY. Falling fuel prices, down 6% on October last year, are credited with the lowest monthly inflation rate (of 1.2%) since August 2010. According to www.fuel-prices-europe.info, a litre of unleaded 95 currently costs €1.598, and diesel €1.378. GIBRALTAR. A man on his fourth drunk driving charge has been sentenced to three months in jail for failing to provide a specimen and criminal damage in the police station – also fined £95 and banned from driving for 12 months. SERBIA. A 24 year old driver, not wearing a seatbelt, didn’t close the door properly, fell out and was crushed to death under his own wheels near Majdanpek yesterday. TESLA. The Model S will cost considerably less than thought in the UK. Prices start from £49,900 – around £10,000 lower than on the Continent – rising to £68,700 for the fastest P85 Performance version.

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New Venice-Rome motorway + troubled A65, France.

A major motorway project between Venice and Rome gets the go-ahead, while there are conflicting reports about the health of A65 in the south west of France.

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ITALY: transItalia ‘Or-Me’ motorway is go.

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In a move that is sure to be highly controversial, the long planned E45 motorway between Venice and Rome finally got the go ahead on Friday.

In a short statement, CIPE – the state Inter-ministerial Committee for Economic Planning – said it had approved the ‘preliminary design requirements’ of the E45/55 Civitavecchia-Orte-Mestre motorway.

The 396km road will run pretty much north-south – from the Adriatic Sea to the Tyrrenhian Sea – between Mestre (just outside Venice) to Orte (north of Rome), with an off shoot to Rome’s port, Civitavecchia. It also takes in both Ravenna and Perugia.

There’s no word yet on a start date but it will cost at least €9.8bn.

Opposition is already well established since the plan was first seriously mooted in 2007. The ‘Stop Or-Me’ campaign is also networked with other anti-major infrastructure organisations, notably NoTAV against the Lyon-Turin high speed rail line which has already been involved in violent clashes with police.

‘Or-Me’ is one of two major roads in progress. The A35 BreBeMi, between Brescia and Milan, opens next year.

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FRANCE: Is A65 in trouble or not?

A65 southbound, heading towards Pau and the Pyrenees.

A65 southbound, heading towards Pau and the Pyrenees.

As Spain’s motorways show some signs of reviving, attention switches to the normally rudely healthy autoroutes in France.

The A65 – running 150km north-south between Pau and Langon near Bordeaux in the south west, opened in 2010 – is reportedly carrying 50% less traffic than originally forecast.

The only French motorway built entirely from private investment, operated by A’lienor – a joint venture between major construction company Eiffage and Sanef, France’s biggest autoroute operator – the toll is €21.60 for cars and €65 for HGVs.

This makes ‘Autoroute de Gascogne’ the most expensive road in France. Understandably traffic is said to be diverting to parallel Route Nationales.

However, Eiffage’s latest quarterly accounts published on Friday say traffic on A65 recorded ‘another increase’ – up 5.5% for HGVs – with overall revenues growing by 11% so far this year.

Whatever the truth, the prospects for A65 would undoubtedly improve dramatically with the Ecotax truck toll system, designed to encourage freight onto motorways by also tolling main roads. But, following more protests over the weekend, it is reported today that Ecotax has been postponed until next summer.

Similarly, A65 would benefit from the originally-planned extension south to Oloron, setting up a direct central trans-Pyrenees route to Huesca in northern Spain. But of that there is definitely no news.

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Bucharest parking – Valais victory

Last updated 21:00 BST.

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Channel delays: technical hitch DFDS Dover-Calais 50min delay 21:15 and 00:30. Eurotunnel freight 30min delay UK, high volume of traffic.

Weather alerts: Red alert high winds Croatia. Amber alert high winds west Norway; high winds north east Spain and Slovenia; storms and high winds Italy and Greece.

Weather: Storms central Mediterranean, strong gales and heavy rain. Snow Austria. Fine and dry Iberia.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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Parking discipline:

Parking discipline: leave the car somewhere silly in Sector 6, west Bucharest, and you’ll find a picture of your vehicle posted up on the police website for the world to see. But, rather than old secret service Securitate-style ‘education by humiliation’ – the number plates are blanked out – this is teaching by example. In a city overwhelmed by new cars in the past decade, parking culture is yet to take hold.

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ERC Valais: rising Finnish rally star Esapekka Lappi won his maiden European Rally Championship round yesterday on the Rallye du Valais in south west Switzerland yesterday.

ERC Valais: rising rally star Esapekka Lappi won his maiden European Rally Championship round yesterday on the Rallye du Valais in south west Switzerland. The victory was all the more remarkable because the Skoda S2000 driving Finn had won the China Rally Longhou six days previously. A hot tip for future WRC glory. Photo via @FIA.

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The Quick and the Brave – New road to Lesnovo

Last updated 18:00 BST.

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Channel delays: Brittany Ferries Portsmouth-Bilbao delayed until 22:30 by bad weather.

Weather alerts: Amber alert high winds and rain Switzerland/Italy and north east Spain.

Weather: Windy, unsettled. Dry Iberia, southern Baltic. Mistral South of France. Showers Mediterranean.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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Evoque convertible:

For the brave, and the quick: it’s either a nightmarish, mutant hybrid you wouldn’t be seen dead in – or – the apparently upcoming Evoque convertible is every kind of car you could possibly ever want, all wrapped up in one neat vehicle. A compact 4×4, with real off-road ability, practical, comfortable, stylish with a small s, a heritage that makes you want to push further and a badge that wouldn’t look out of place in Casino Square. And potentially now completely open to the elements too. A real go anywhere, do anything car. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t care what other people think, you only want the best tool for the job, it’s time to getting moving: despite not being confirmed for production yet, according to the Land Rover dealer we spoke to yesterday, eager customers are already putting deposits down.

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NEW ROAD TO LESNOVO.

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Macedonia. The renovated road between Sveti Nikole and Probistip opened today brings the famous Lesnovo Monastery in much easier reach. Lesnovo is the largest and best preserved 14th century Byzantine building in the Balkans. Sveti Nikole lies along the main road between Kumanovo and Shtip in the centre of the country. The new road cuts 25km off the journey but, most importantly, makes it much safer to drive.

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What is the Zipper Method designed to prevent?

Belgium mulls new traffic control methods.

update 14 February 2014: the new Late Merging rule becomes law in Belgium on 1 March 2014.

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'Reißverschluss erst in 200m' - Zip only at 200m

Germany: ‘Reißverschluss erst in 200m’ – Zip (merge) only at 200m

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ANXIETY about whether they’ll be left out in the cold leads many drivers to merge well before lane closures. The problem is that ‘early merging’ leads to unnecessary congestion as traffic backs up further and further down the road.

‘Late merging’ – the Zipper Method – where traffic mixes just before the lane closes reduces queues by up to 50% apparently (though it doesn’t actually improve throughput).

‘Reißverschluss’ is already law in Germany (sign above) and Austria (sign below). Now Belgium wants to get in on the act.

Transport minister Melchior Wathelet is looking to introduce a €55 fine for drivers failing to obey late merge rules. The method also depends on traffic in all lanes adopting the same speed some 300m before the lane closure.

The fine will apply not just to drivers in the closing lane merging early but also those in the free moving lane not letting others into the queue.

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Late merging in Austria

Late merging in Austria

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Norwegian Seaways serious about new UK-Norway ferry

A new ferry route from Newcastle to Bergen and Stavanger in western Norway puts the Atlantic Road and the Laerdal Tunnel in easy reach of the annual fortnight.

Update 1 MAY 2014: IMPORTANT, NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS STORY

Update 30 July 2014: see the latest on Norwegian Seaways.

Update: on 21 January 2015 Norwegian Seaways announced it will launch a UK-Norway ferry service in March 2016. See more here.

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Bergen harbour. Photo courtesy of Bergen Tourist Board/Per Nybo. For more see www.visitBergen.com

Bergen harbour, Norway. Photo courtesy of Bergen Tourist Board/Per Nybo. For more see www.visitBergen.com

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New route announcements are not uncommon in the ferry industry. Far rarer are services that actually get off the ground (or rather into the water).

Who can forget the eco-ferry due to set sail – literally – from Totnes to St Malo in 2010? Or the high speed Euroferries boat we were supposed to watch via GPS on its voyage from Australia this year before it took up the route between Ramsgate and Boulogne? Both sank without trace.

Yesterday’s reports of a new service between Newcastle and Bergen and Stavanger in Norway, set to start on 14 April 2014 despite the lack of firm financial backing or a boat to show off, looked initially like more empty promises.

But there are several reasons why this new service should be taken seriously.

Crucially, it turns out that the company behind the service, UK-based Norwegian Seaways, has not in fact set a firm start date.

Chief Operating Officer Paul Woodbury told DriveEurope yesterday via email, ‘At this stage we are not in a position to announce a commencement of service. The reports in the Norwegian press are inaccurate and in no way reflect an official statement from Norwegian Seaways.’

Also, a direct Norway ferry link was defined in the recent North East Independent Economic Review by Lord Adonis as an ‘immediate priority‘.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership confirmed to DriveEurope yesterday that Norwegian Seaways had applied for funding, described negotiations as ‘positive’ and said a decision was due ‘within the next month or two’.

The two are also working together on funding from other bodies.

Finally – if press reports are to be believed in this respect – there was a fair degree of enthusiasm in Norway when plans were revealed on Thursday.

Chief Commercial Officer Peter Iles told local TV afterwards – in English – that Norwegian Seaways will work with tourism organisations to extend the season and, ‘look to develop Norway as a skiing destination for British people’.

Since DFDS withdrew from the Norway route in 2008 there has been only one direct ferry service between the UK and Scandinavia, DFDS Harwich to Esbjerg, Denmark.

Limited passenger places are available on DFDS Freight ships between Tilbury/Immingham-Gothenburg/Brevik but otherwise, to reach Norway, drivers have to catch another ferry from northern Denmark, or cross into Sweden via the Oresund Link.

update 16.01.14: Norwegian Seaways has announced the ferry route will not start in time for Summer 2014. Click here for the full story.

update 01.05.14: Norwegian Seaways is still working on its UK-Norway ferry plan.

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