ABSTRACT
This chapter explores to fill part of this gap with an ethnographic case study of communication at local public meetings concerning the Hallandsas railway tunnel project in southern Sweden. The Rail Administration to assess the environmental impacts of the tunnel project and composed of experts in hydrogeology, chemistry and ecology. The Rail Administration did not arrange any meetings or information activities for the local public. During the meetings a variety of people spoke, argued, explained and made slide presentations. The decisions and their alternatives were demonstrated and explained by experts and then discussed, questioned and criticised by the audience. After coffee, the meeting re-assembled for the concluding part. The first part of the statement consisted of a summary of the concerned stakeholders' experiences of the tunnel project. In this way the stakeholder group effectively renounced their patiency to the Rail Administration's agency as the decision makers. So, the subsequent meetings lost legitimacy as a consultation forum.
