Joint preparedness exercise "Polyarnaya Zvezda"
On May 14, 2025, Railsupport organized a joint emergency preparedness exercise that dealt with national preparedness for cross-border military transports. Total Defense was the framework for the exercise with participation from the Armed Forces, Bane NOR and 3 freight operators.
Exercise Polyarnaya Zvezda (Polar Star) was a joint table-top and game exercise for the train companies BLS Rail AB, TM Togdrift AS and Railcare AB, and it aimed to review and practice the established emergency procedures to meet the requirements of the Railway Act's §6A national emergency, regulations on national emergency on railways and the safety regulations.
The focus of the exercise was to practice activities related to the railway companies' requirements for fulfilling the central emergency preparedness provisions. This involves planning, cooperation and coordination between the different companies, including how the railway companies fulfill their duties, responsibilities and tasks on each side of the border (Norway and Sweden) and how they fulfill their obligations towards Bane NOR and the Norwegian Transport Administration.
The exercise was an important factor in contributing to the coordination of the companies' contingency plans with relevant actors and authorities. Within the framework of the total defense, the train companies updated their knowledge and practiced routines for interaction with Bane NOR and the Armed Forces in connection with the requisition of cross-border military transports for both personnel and material. There was also a briefing by Lieutenant Colonel Per-Ove Norell from the Swedish National Defense Agency on how the requisition system works in Sweden.
Some main objectives of the exercise were:
- Increased competence related to various roles in national emergency preparedness
- Update routines related to interaction with each other and with relevant authorities and stakeholders in Norway and Sweden
- Evaluate and adjust established emergency preparedness plans
The exercise was coordinated by Railsupport, where we were responsible for planning, facilitating the practical implementation of the exercise and observation. Railsupport also hosted the day with our premises where all stakeholders were present.
A final summary was carried out after the exercise and the feedback from the participants was very good.
Major Henning Richardsen from the Norwegian Armed Forces Logistics Organization is also very satisfied with the exercise. He both noticed the capacity that lies in being able to utilize and combine the companies that have licenses and safety certificates for Norway and Sweden, and the opportunities for collaboration were clearly demonstrated. He also experienced renewed expertise about the capacity that lies in Bane NOR's emergency response organization. They will continue to work on developing this collaboration.
For the train companies, this was a good reminder of the obligations that the companies have, and they were able to test their routines and lay the foundation for improvements.
CEO Anders Brunberg of BLS Rail AB stated the following after the exercise: "BLS Rail is very pleased with the exercise and the constructive approach to training in a very realistic form of preparedness. We got to test our preparedness plan and found out how important a transport line is, to realize immediate critical transport for our countries and for our common interests. To be able to cope with this, cooperation with several train transporters will also be very valuable".
Head of the FRS section in the Norwegian Armed Forces Logistics Organization, Commander Captain Torgeir Westrum, says this about the exercise: – «The exercise was an exemplary example of a well-planned and well-directed table-top exercise, which brought to light very relevant issues and solutions. This contributed to a very good exercise outcome for both participants and observers.».