Norwegian State Railways has changed its brand name from NSB to Vy. The new name means vista or prospect in Norwegian. The term also means having ambitions or a vision for the future. The rebranding was launched in order to adjust the company’s strategy with the liberalisation of the railway market in Norway.

The new brand was implemented on 24 April. The company changed its logo, website, mobile application and the names of most of the entities within the group. The NSB holding was renamed to Vygruppen, passenger rail operator NSB to Vy, bus company Nettbuss to Vy Buss, carsharing provider NSB city car to Vy city car and the rail passenger operator on the Gjøvik Line NSB Gjøvikbanen to Vy Gjøvikbanen. The only exception was made for rail freight company CargoNet that remained the current name.

Transitional period

The transition to the new brand will be gradual. The company has provided some provisional period for transformation. Thus, the most time-consuming and costly part of the process is the colouring of automobiles, buses and trains in green and grey. 250 automobiles of the Vy city car service will be rebranded during May. The bus repainting will take one year. The rebranding of Vy trains will start this summer and will go on two-three years. Moreover, Vygruppen will develop a new uniform for around 8,000 employees working in bus and train companies.

Inadequate name

The NSB board considers the old name as inadequate to its business.  “NSB is now just one of several train operators who are competing to provide rail services in Norway. We do not own the track, signals, stations or even the trains themselves, but we do work hard every day to provide our passengers with a good journey. A new name will strengthen the competitiveness of both our rail and bus services,” said Dag Mejdell, chairman of the board.

Combined product

Currently, the rail operator works in four areas: rail passenger services, bus services, freight transportation, mobility & tourism. The company intends to develop these areas offering a new combined service. “Vy reflects the fact that we have a vision on behalf of society and our customers. We aim to create the transport solutions of tomorrow by bringing together both our bus and train services, developing new digital solutions and exploring additional means of transport,” noted Geir Isaksen, CEO of the Vygruppen (former NSB Group).