FLMJ-Nytt

Edition 15-2, July 2015, £1

Sweden 2015

Projekt Balsalen

And all the usual regulars...

Adnalms Förlag (Järnvägar)

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Edition 15-2

July 2015

Published by Adnalms Förlag (Järnvägar).

Copyright © 2015 to Adnalms Järnvägar. All rights reserved.

“Siljan” | 38 Brookside Park | Farnborough | GU14 9AZ | England +44 (0)1252-377647

ajf@adnalm.org.uk | www.adnalm.org.uk _

EDITOR: Adrian Allum.

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E&OE.

Front Cover: Y6 764 emerges from the tunnel at Månstorp, which is now alongside some new background buildings from Jeco (and the Pola cottage). How much this area will change with the new baseboards remains to be seen.

Photos by A. Allum, unless credited.

Edition Press-stop Published

15-3 1 November 2015 15 November 2015

16-1 1 March 2016 15 March 2016

Next couple of Editions:

Readers are welcome to copy parts of “FLMJ-Nytt” provided that such copies are not used to harm the welfare of Adnalms Järnvägar or any of its associations. Annual Subscription (for 2015) costs £3, post-free to UK addresses. Elsewhere at cost. All views expressed in this publication are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of Adnalms Järnvägar or any of its subsidiaries or associations. All information is published in good faith; no liability shall be accepted by Adnalms Förlag (Järnvägar). This journal is also available online at our website; www.adnalm.org.uk (as PDF).

Contents: 3 Editorial / Infartssignal 4 News about Model Railways and Swedish Railways 8 Sweden 2015 12 Projekt Balsalen 16 DVD Review 18 Flashback 19 FLMJ Stock Reviews and other closing notes 20 And Finally / Utfartssignal

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Infartssignal…

My mood has been lifted a little of late. The first of the new baseboards is now in place, and the entire Siljansnäs area has been pulled up ready for rebuilding. This, and the review of my trip to Sweden fill up this journal. And I think that is reflected in the way that this journal is produced. When the mood is low, there is little to write about and no incentive to spend time on it. Now that things are moving forward, every little detail seems worth writing about. I have been monitoring income and expenditure over the last 18 months and comparing this between my salary and the FLMJ’s budget. Thankfully, I have recently been put on a temporary promotion to a higher grade and this is why we are rebuilding the railway — the money is there, but only just. But, I have had to accept that the Roco Dm3 and Jeco X2000 are out of reach. There are still a few models for sale at the FLMJ, including three Jeco locomotives I have hinted previously about help from a third party with the work that is taking place on the railway. It is good to think outside the box sometimes, and this is what is happening, to keep the layout simple, interesting, and authentic. But the outside support goes further, with the creation of a 2-rail-analogue-friendly signalling control system; but after so many attempts at this, I am not going to get too excited until it is in and working! We are, after-all, still looking for a sensible and simple system of taking the signals in when the railway is not in use.

Adrian Allum Director General

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Svenska Järnvägs Nyheter Sweden's National Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) announced on May 18th that rail operators will be given an extra year to ensure that rail vehicles are equipped with GSM-R filters to prevent interference from 4G public mobile networks. Trafikverket announced on March 20 that all locomotives, multiple units and driving trailers operating on the country's railway network would need to be fitted with filters by July 1st. Any vehicle that did not comply with this ruling would not be allowed to operate on the national network. PTS says that mobile operators and the rail industry have held talks in an attempt to find a solution and this led to a compromise, which has now been formally adopted. Following a period of consultation, PTS has decreed that public mobile operators will not be able to use the 900MHz band, which is closest to the GSM-R spectrum, for 4G services until July 1st 2016. "There are two important societal interests that need to be balanced – better mobile coverage and functionality, and the safe movement of trains," says PTS director general Mr Göran Marby. "The conclusion I drew from the discussions is that the solution is another year of restrictions on mobile operators. The proposals we have drawn up mean that the mobile operators are showing great social responsibility while train operators have a new schedule they must stick to." A new law is to give travellers all over the country the right to compensation in the case of a delay of 20 minutes or more. “It will give travellers a sense of security,” says Minister for Justice, Morgan Johansson who hopes increased pressure on transportation companies will decrease delays. “This will strengthen consumers’ rights,” says Minister Johansson. The new law is to come into effect in April 2016, and will include all transportation companies – both local and regional. Presently, each transportation company decide themselves about what kind of guarantee they want to provide travellers in cases of delay. The

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new law would standardise the system, creating one law for all. After a 20 minute delay, travellers will be able to take a taxi or a private car and receive compensation for it, or receive a portion of the price of the ticket. If the delay is at least 20 minutes one can demand half the price back; if the delay is at least 40 minutes, one can demand 75 percent of the price back; and if the delay is an hour, one has the right to the entire price of the ticket. Train leasing company Transitio has awarded Stadler a SEK 3.5bn contract to supply 33 four-car double-deck EMUs for regional services radiating from Stockholm. Transitio has ordered the 105m-long 200km/h trains on behalf of Mälab, a joint venture of local transport authorities in the counties of Örebro, Stockholm, Sörmland and Västmanland. The fleet will be deployed on four routes, which operate under the Mälartåg brand. These include: Örebro – Eskilstuna – Stockholm – Uppsala Hallsberg – Katrineholm – Stockholm Norrköping – Nyköping – Stockholm, and Sala – Västerås – Eskilstuna – Katrineholm – Linköping Regional services on these lines will be expanded significantly after 2017, when the rerouting of suburban services onto the new Stockholm City Line will release capacity on the existing surface line between Stockholm Central and Stockholm South. Mälab plans to launch a new tender for the operation of the enhanced Mälartåg network. The Swedish Transport Administration fails to report many rail accidents involving wild animals, causing them to suffer a slow and painful death. Despite a legal obligation to inform the police about these rail incidents, most of them go unreported, Swedish Radio News reports. "We have suspected this, but had no evidence," police inspector Göran Magnusson says. Only one accident per month is reported to them, while the Swedish Transport Administration registered some 100 incidents with wild animals last year. The situation has been going on for several years, so it is hard to tell how many animals have suffered a

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painful death after being hit by a train. Transport officials say that the negligence has to do with their faulty computer systems, which force them do to the reports manually. According to Anders Sjölund, an ecologist at the Swedish Transport Administration, their computer systems are being upgraded and should start working in 2016. SJ marked the launch of its enhanced services between the Norwegian and Swedish capitals in a ceremony at Oslo Central station on August 10th, which was attended by Norway's transport minister Mr Ketil Solvik-Olsen, the mayor of Oslo Mr Stian Berger Røsland, and SJ CEO Mr Crister Fritzson. SJ announced in January that it would replace the two daily Inter-City services between the Swedish and Norwegian capitals with three X2000 services, reducing the journey time for the 572km trip from 5h 38min to around four-and-a-half hours with intermediate stops at Karlstad and Arvika. In June the plan appeared to be in jeopardy because Jernbaneverket was planning two-and-a-half years of daytime closures on the Norwegian Kongsvinger Line between Lillestrøm and Kongsvinger from mid-2016 for catenary renewals. However, Jernbaneverket subsequently agreed to defer the start of these works until 2018 to allow time for planning alternative arrangements during the closures. SJ previously operated X2000s to Oslo between 2000 and 2004 under its Linx 50:50 joint venture with Norwegian State Railways (NSB). However, competition from low-fares airlines led to a 40% decline in ridership and SJ decided to redeploy the trains on busier domestic routes. SJ says around 1.1 million passengers fly between the two cities each year and it believes rail could ultimately increase its share of the air-rail market on the route to 20%. SJ is offering free Wi-Fi onboard in both first and second class accommodation, with at-seat breakfast, hot drinks, fruit and newspapers in first class. _

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Modell Järnvägs Nyheter

Brekina has announced a new set of road vehicles, Article 90432 “Alter Schwede” featuring Volvo 145 ’Polis’, Volvo 144, Volvo P210, and Saab 96. The set is being advertised in Brekina’s leaflet at 35€ (normally 44,60€). Roco has announced a 2-axle tank wagon with SOAB markings (Article 542905), suitable for Epoch 3. The prototype was built in 1938 by Waggonbau Wismar, given the number 21207 and operated in Sweden by Svenska Oljeslageri AB. The new Rc2 from Roco has arrived and a sample is due at the FLMJ, pending a full review in our next edition. As advertised, it has the first logo at the ends, the original style of (unheated) mirrors, and the A-end markers painted onto the roof. Being in this condition, it also has the older style cab end windows and original roof profile. Given Roco’s merger with Fleischmann, we wonder how much of the latter’s influence went into the production of this model? The advertising for it does boast driving on all four axles, so that indicates more Roco influence. Roco and NMJ have released their ’Mas’ ore wagons, and the FLMJ has decided to purchase some for variety, interest, and to increase the length of the ore train here; though mixing these with ’Uad’ wagons might not be so common (but has been witnessed)! We hope to have space for a review in our next edition. Jeco’s eagerly awaited Z65 / Z70 models have been delayed due to the regular production problems in China. Whilst production in China does ensure affordable models with good quality, it seems that they (the businesses) have reliability issues; and there is only faint hope that the models will appear in time for the winter fairs (Hobbymässan Oct 31st & Nov 1st; and Hjulmarknaden Nov 28th). Still with Jeco, more buildings have been announced. JE77880 is a small yellow villa, and JE77881 is the same house in traditional red/brown. Both are expected to sell for 349:- SEK. JE77885 is a small goods shed (similar to the one produced by Heljan for many years), and is expected to sell for 289:- SEK. We are also still waiting for JE77666, an urban house, expected to sell for 695:- SEK. _

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Sweden 2015 By Adrian Allum

This year marks 25 years since my first visit to Sweden. It was in May 1990 that I made my first ever trip abroad, and timed the holiday to be away for my 25th birthday. I was actually prompted to make this visit for other personal reasons; and there was no consideration for an interest in the railways of Sweden; though rail travel was the most logical and easy to understand. It seemed natural, therefore, to have my 50th birthday in Sweden, and to retrace my steps. This latter desire did not come about, partly because a civil servant’s salary does not allow for

such mediocre extravagance, but also because even if it did, one of the hotels is now prohibitively priced, and another, although still open, has fallen to disrepair! But all was not lost; this was a trip to remember. Moving away from the railway aspect briefly, I had three events to mark my ageing achievement, two on the day itself, and one on the following Saturday. I was also treated to a day on the Göta Kanal, something that I have wanted to do for a long time. The section that we sailed on enabled us to pass Norrköping on route, so we also had a brief look at the tram system there!

But the holiday started at Gävle, for a revisit to the Railway Museum, or as it is now, the Transport Museum. Some of the halls have had the trains taken out and replaced by cars and other modes of transport. In fact, the relics in the sidings outside were more interesting, and generated more photo opportunities than inside. I bought separate tickets for the journeys to and from Gävle; SJ all the way northbound, and UL and SJ southbound. The northbound journey was about three times the price of the southbound, yet the only difference was northbound from Arlanda, southbound to Märsta.

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As usual, observations were made in and around Stockholm, assisted by some commentary from my host. When the new "Citybanan" is opened, it will spell the end of service with the X10 trains because they will not manage the gradients; but we have to wait another two or three years. In order the cover the loss of the X10, more X60 units have been ordered, but the new units will be different and incompatible. So there will be two different train types operating on the Stockholm suburban routes, and there will need to be enough of both types to cover maintenance, repairs, and write-offs. Another incompatibility problem exists with the Tvärbanan, Stockholm's semi-circular tram route. The Alvik to Sickla route has been opened in stages and has transformed (in a good way) the areas that it serves. However, the continuation from Alvik to Solna is disappointing. It is in effect a different system (different technology, again); and passengers wishing to continue their journey have to change from one to the other. The same problem has occurred to the Lidingöbanan, which has been completely closed for rebuilding. Line-of-sight working (as used on the Tvärbanan) is not possible here because too much of it is bi-directional single-line! On a more positive note, MTR has started operating trains between Sweden's two largest cities. These are red and black 5-car trains (they look like a Norwegian livery, and I understand that NSB has a stake in their operation), but the curious thing about the trains is that only three of the four joins are articulated. Also, they are more punctual and affordable.

Left Upper: Adrian alongside the Göta Kanal. Left Lower: A wooden-bodied D-loco at Gävle. Above Right: An X10 train departs from Sollentuna on route to Märsta. A sight to cherish; they won’t be around for much longer! Right: MTR electric unit waits at Stockholm Centralstation before its journey to Göteborg.

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Shortly before my holiday, I had ordered some models from Sweden, which had arrived, and among them was a model of the Solaris Urbino 12 bus in SL livery. I decided that whilst I was in Sweden, I should try to get a photo of the real thing. Unfortunately, they had all been returned to Poland because they were not up to the job. Whilst we were there however, we observed and then travelled on a new Volvo Hybrid-Electric bus. A roadside device looking like an over-sized lamp-post has a pantograph, which comes down and makes contact with pick-ups on the bus roof.

Whilst I am awaiting Jeco's new Z65 / Z70 shunting locos, there was nothing big to spend my money on (which is nice because I don't have a lot of money these days)! However, I have been mulling over the idea of one more Y6/Y7 railbus, of the original type (no panoramic window, and earlier ventilation and exhaust), and so that was my big purchase. Y6 764 is now on the stock register; but it is accompanied by UFV 2051 because there are quite a few of these models remaining in stock, and it will be used certainly whilst 2048 is in for repair! The Z65 etc has been delayed due to production issues in the far east; they are likely to appear at the end of the year at the earliest.

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Modern Sweden is quite well catered for in H0 scale with lorries. It seems that the main manufacturers are keen to stay up-to-date, and Swedish liveries do appear on a number of tractor-trailer combinations. Also, of course, both Scania and Volvo have large slices of the truck market so models of these are not ignored. But these are no longer desirable at the FLMJ. Whilst the FLMJ is "Heritage" and so modern artefacts can appear, it is desired that even the road models are of a heritage status. So Brekina's recent Scania L110 and Volvo N88 models are very welcome, and at least three Volvo lorries were purchased, including, naturally one in ASG livery. _

From top left to right, down and this page: A Solaris Urbino bus in SL livery—only as a model now; a Volvo Hybrid Electric bus at Ropsten; a Z65 (model awaited from Jeco); the Y6 and trailer purchased in Sweden; five heritage lorries at the FLMJ; the Göta Kanal; the Birthday Smörgåsbord; a view from a Stockholm canal; Rc1 1007 is now a heritage loco; Saltsjöbaden with a local train.

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Projekt Balsalen The name “Projekt Balsalen” has now been given to the complete overhaul of the railway. This is because the work started with the Ålunden shed (where the railway had to be closed in order for that replacement to be made), and that is where the project shall probably end (because track height cannot be determined until the rest of the repairs have been done)! “Balsalen” roughly translates as “Ballroom,” an observation made of it (somewhat cynically) after it had been built! The project has suffered a number of setbacks, not just the British weather, but also the issue of the base under the shed which was not level, and the whole thing had to be dismantled and started again. This work was done on June 6th, but it was not until July 18th that work was formally started on baseboard replacement.

One of the key elements is that we are keeping the whole infrastructure as simple as possible. We had created multi-layered boards to assist with the development of the scenery, but this is too messy out of doors, so this time we are using conventional boards, square-cut, and very much in the way that we started over 20 years ago. Whilst an amount of plastic is still being used, some elements

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have gone back to being of timber construction, but suitably treated to reduce combustion in the event of a fire. This decision was taken to improve strength, stabi l i ty, appearance, support and morale. The biggest and most severely ‘damaged’ area during the work on the Ålunden shed is Siljansnäs. This was also the messiest area, having been subjected to an essential modification soon after being built, but which was never really completed or protected. After some deliberation, the whole area was cleared, completely. New boards have been made and these will run alongside the fence, giving a larger standing area in front of it. They will also be higher, so that the Siljansbanan is level. The Södra Stambanan will also, therefore, be higher, and the narrow boards to carry this, will be above the back of the wider Siljansbanan boards. Siljansnäs station will have a simplified layout (yes, that is possible), but the point to the industrial siding will be joined to a second point to a second industrial area, which will be located alongside the end of the Home.

Far Left: The rebuilt and enlarged base for the Ålunden shed. Left: The new board for the Locoshed with the projected route drawn on. Top: A railbus calls at Siljansnäs station in 2013. The forever untidy area in the foreground was intended as a Folk-park, but we needed to cut into the baseboard so that we could reach behind! Above: Toraberg has also been removed; but will be rebuilt in a different manner.

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Toraberg was another area badly damaged during the work at Ålunden (well, it had to be removed completely), but this will be a later repair. Gärde has become an isolated railway section, and being thankful that the isolation switches were never connected properly, we are using this to our advantage to run “Railbus Tours” of the station area. This is rather like a newly formed preservation group raising money within the confines of the small station area that they have fit for the purpose. We have even made up a poster to promote this!

The split boards alongside the front of the Home will be replaced as a matter of urgency. Using standard baseboard materials, this will give us a small gap to the one flat board in the Månstorp station area. We will use an off-cut of redundant material to fill that gap and then work on the gradient section back to Ålunden. Whilst that is taking place, track laying can commence. Because of the new location of Siljansnäs, the track layout here will be changed, but there is scope for a second industrial area! The existing one (or rather, the recently removed one that will be rebuilt) will serve oil and gas related industries (as they will be near the real but

Above: Newcomer to the FLMJ, Y6 764 is seen at Gärde providing tourist trips on the infrastructure in the Gärde station area. (See the poster for this on the back cover.) Right: DSB EG 3112 brings a goods train along the Södra Stambanan from Månstorp to Ålunden. It can be appreciated that the line hardly rises at all to go over the Siljansbanan (seen on the right) because its elevation in relation to the white board to the left is virtually the same at Månstorp!

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redundant LPG tank). The new one could serve grain and cement industries. Both of these areas give ‘destinations’ for some of our wagons. There might even be room for a third industry at the first area, but well see how well the infrastructure goes together first. The track layout in the first area will be copied (but very slightly modified) from a plan given in a recent edition of ‘Modelljärnvägsmagasinet’. The next phase, through the rest of Månstorp and Kopparberg to Lövhöjden will be done either later this autumn or more likely early next spring; depending on the weather, morale and funds! Everything here will be replaced like-for-like, except that there might some slight variation in baseboard widths in some of the areas. The Norra Stambanan reconnecting to Gärde and then on to Fjällnäs will be next year! The Toraberg curve will be closer to both stations, which means that it will be in a slightly wider part of the garden and thus the radius can be eased a little. There will be a redundant area where the curve meets the boards leading to Gärde, and it is proposed that a small scenic area here will make up the new Toraberg; but built as a cameo-scene and could be quite effective! But there is a strong intention for the continuation to Fjällnäs to actually be a part of this work. _

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DVD Review

Med gt 48801 Hallsberg—Mjölby och Mjölby—Stockaryd sett från förarplats Bild-Dressinen; Ängsgatan 9, 521 30 Falköping, Sweden. Email: bilddressinen@tele2.se DVD-R, 85 + 95 minutes on 2 discs, no narration. © 2012. Colour.

Goods train 48801 is apparently, a timber train, and in this video, it is hauled by a Norwegian (NSB) El.18 locomotive. However, the program starts with a railbus trip south-eastwards from Hallsberg station onto the line to Motala, but this ends as the route joins the south-westwards line from Hallsberg’s goods yard. So the journey restarts, this time with the El.18 along the goods line. The route down to Mjölby is mostly single track with passing places. Traffic is light, but we do pass a Reginatåg along the way. At Motala the film is interrupted for a look at some shunting operations in sidings

adjacent to the running line, and then we are treated to a short ride looking from the cab of presumably the Z65 that is seen moments earlier. Then, we resume the journey to Mjölby. From Mjölby, this is the Södra Stambanan; the mainline between Stockholm and Malmö. It is double track throughout and we pass an assortment of trains including X2000, goods trains and a short ‘works’ train. Our train gets stopped for what seems without reason, but after restarting, and passing a train in the opposite direction, we find that the up line is closed (with various rail-mounted plant in operation) and the down line is being used for bidirectional running. The bidirectional theme returns as the train covers its last few kilometres; we are moved to go down the up line. But as we slow down for entry to the Stockaryd goods terminal, a southbound X2000 passes us at full speed. Such is the benefit of bidirectional signalling!

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Saltsjöbanan med gamla vagnar Trafik-Nostalgiska Förlaget; Web: www.tnf.se DVD, 35 minutes, Swedish narration. © Ingvar Puke. Colour. There will come a time in the not too distant future when the familiar blue trains that serve the Saltsjöbanan will give way to something newer. And so it seemed appropriate to look at this program about the trains that pre-date the current stock; with footage taken in the 1970s. Ingvar Puke wanted to document the traffic on the commuter line in the mid-1970s. Traffic was operated even then with the very old carriages which in some cases, has been in use since the line was opened in 1893. The cars were rebuilt in the course of track electrification. The film shows the daily traffic along the entire course and also at this time quite extensive freight traffic. Sydsvenska Tåg 1991-1995 LEG Video, Citronvägen 4, SE 293 33 Olofström; Web: www.legvideo.se; Colour; format 4:3. DVD, 130 minutes, Swedish narration. © 2014. A quick mention of a special release, especially if you missed the first films from LEG; like the current “Svenska Tåg” series but focussing on southern Sweden only. These were made over a five year period (one per year) and 1994’s VHS was reviewed in these pages many years ago. A very interesting reminder of the Swedish railway scene 20+ years ago! _

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FLASHBACK

Two historical views: the start of a garden railway with Köpingsvik on the KRBJ (now FLMJ); and the celebrated picture of the train that celebrated the owner’s 40th birthday!

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Onto the Register For the last seven or eight years, the FLMJ has operated the Roco model of Rc5 1323; which has been on loan from friend, Patrick Grace. Patrick decided that it was time to sell the model, and the FLMJ was given first-refusal, which was taken up; so it is now a wholly owned loco. At a similar time, we purchased from Patrick his Hornby model of Z65 555, which we had also been loaning but seldom ran because of its Kadee couplings. Now owned, it is being modified. _

Stock RevisionsStock RevisionsStock RevisionsStock Revisions SJ Rc5 1323 Loaned loco officially onto FLMJ Register July 14th (Roco) SJ Z65 555 Loaned loco officially onto FLMJ Register July 14th (Triang) SJ Y6 764 Railbus delivered May 12th (Jeco) SJ UFV 2051 Railbus trailer delivered May 12th (Jeco) SJ R3 4413 Restaurant coach retrofitted with NEM couplings June 2nd (Lima) SJ WL2 4476 Sleeper coach retrofitted with NEM couplings June 30th (Lima) SJ WL2 4477 Sleeper coach retrofitted with NEM couplings June 16th (Lima) SJ Qab 30 74 945 4 229-2 Service vehicle (ex F5-L) delivered July 14th (Heljan)

Travelling to Sweden

Following the unsurprising demise of the DFDS ferry services between the UK and Sweden, we have heard that the Tilbury-Göteborg Freight Ferry Route is not operating this year. Only the Immingham-Göteborg service offers a direct route. Regina Line, however, has written to interested parties to say, "We regret to inform you we can not start the Esbjerg-Harwich route before spring 2016. We take over our ship M/S REGINA in early February 2016 and the first departure from Esbjerg is Friday 11 March 2016 at 18.00, and first departure from Harwich Saturday, March 12 2016 at 18.00. Then there's departure from Esbjerg every Friday, Monday and Wednesday at 18.00. Departure from Harwich is on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday at 18.00. Our ship M/S REGINA is a large cruise ferry which can accommodate 1,800 passengers, 325 cars and 40 trucks / trailers. The ship is 168 meters long and has 3 restaurants, cafeteria, pub, nightclub, disco, cinema, conference rooms, sauna, shops, playground, information and bank."

Utfartssignal…