Private railways of Norway

Private railways in Norway consist of industrial and public railways. Industrial railways were used to transport ore or other industrial products to ports, although they have, particularly to begin with, also operated passenger and cargo services. The other nine private railways have been public and operated as mixed passenger and freight services.[1] Of these, four were later taken over by the Norwegian State Railways (NSB). Only five non-industrial railways were never nationalized, although all have been closed. There were the Nesttun–Os, Holmestrand–Vittingfoss, Lillesand–Flaksvand, Tønsberg–Eidsfoss and the Lier lines.[2] No industrial railways remain in operation, although one former private railway, the Trunk Line, Norway's first railway, is still in use.[2]

The former industrial Thamshavn Line also featured passenger transport, and has been converted to a heritage railway

The division between private and publicly owned railways is related to operation rather than ownership. All non-industrial private railways received state grants for construction, while many of NSB's railways were at first organized as limited companies with private owners, although NSB was responsible for all operations and maintenance of the line and rolling stock. For both NSB-run and private, non-industrial railways, municipalities and counties were often the largest owners. Eventually, all the private, non-industrial railways started losing money, and unless they received subsidies, were forced to close. However, the state and municipalities often provided subsidies to keep them operational. The last private railway to close was the Lillesand–Flaksvand Line, in 1958.[2]

List

The following is a list of the private railways in Norway. It includes the line, type (industrial or public), the owner at the time the railway was closed, the longest length of the line, the gauge, the date the line opened, was nationalized and was closed for passenger and cargo, if applicable. The list only contains industrial railways which at some point had regular passenger transport.[3]

LineTypeOwnerLength
(km)
Length
(mi)
GaugeOpenedNationalizedClosed
(passengers)
Closed
(cargo)
DunderlandIndustrialDunderland Iron Ore Company22.0 13.71,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)1 November 1904
GrimstadPublic22.1 13.71,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)15 September 190724 January 19121 September 19611 September 1961
Holmestrand–VittingfossPublicVestfold Privatbaner24.4 15.21,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)2 October 190227 September 19311 June 1938
LierPublic20.6 12.81,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)2 October 190423 October 19321 January 1937
Lillesand–FlaksvandPublic16.6 10.31,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)4 June 189415 June 195315 June 1953
Nesttun–OsPublic26.3 16.3750 mm (2 ft 5 12 in)1 July 18942 September 19352 September 1935
RjukanIndustrialNorsk Transport46.0 28.61,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)9 August 19091 July 1991
SolbergfossIndustrialOslo Lysverker7.9 4.91,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)19184 January 1965
SulitjelmaIndustrialElkem38.5 23.91,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)13 October 189215 June 1915
ThamshavnIndustrialSalvesen & Thams25.3 15.71,000 mm (3 ft 3 38 in)15 July 190830 May 1974
Tønsberg–EidsfossPublicVestfold Privatbaner48.0 29.81,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)21 October 19011 June 19381 June 1938
TrunkPublic67.8 42.11,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)1 September 18544 March 1926
Urskog–HølandPublic56.8 35.3750 mm (2 ft 5 12 in)14 November 18961 July 19451 July 19601 July 1960
ValdresPublic108.6 67.51,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)1 September 19021 January 19371 January 1989
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References

  1. Aspenberg (1994): 12
  2. Aspenberg (1994): 14
  3. Aspenberg (1994): 13–14

Bibliography

  • Aspenberg, Nils Carl (1994). Glemte spor: boken om sidebanenes tragiske liv (in Norwegian). Oslo: Baneforlaget. ISBN 82-91448-00-0.
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