Rail transport in Norway

The Norwegian railway system comprises 4,087 km of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) track of which 2,622 km is electrified and 242 km double track. There are 696 tunnels and 2,760 bridges.

Norway
The Bergen Line at Finse, the highest point of the Norwegian railways.
Operation
National railwayVy (Vygruppen AS)
Infrastructure companyBane NOR
Statistics
Ridership73.56 million (2017)[1]
Passenger km3134 million (2017)[1]
Freight34.97 million tonnes (2017)[2]
System length
Total4,087 km (2,540 mi)
Double track242 km (150 mi)
Electrified2,622 km (1,629 mi)
High-speed64 km (40 mi)
Track gauge
Main1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification
Main15 kV  16.7 Hz AC
Features
No. tunnels696
Longest tunnelRomerike Tunnel
No. bridges2,760
Longest bridgeStrømsløpet Bridge
Highest elevation1,237 metres (4,058 ft)
 atFinse
A Class 63 steam engine
The completion of the Bergen Line
A BM 73b at Råde Station

The Norwegian Railway Directorate manages the railway network in Norway on behalf the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Bane NOR is a state enterprise which builds and maintains all railway tracks, while other companies operate them. These companies include Vy and subsidiaries Vy Gjøvikbanen and CargoNet, Flytoget, Go-Ahead, Green Cargo, Grenland Rail and Hector Rail.

Norway is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Norway is 76.

History
Main article: History of rail transport in Norway
Map of the railway lines in Norway.
— electrified lines
— non-electrified lines
— disused or heritage lines

The first railway in Norway was the Hoved Line between Oslo and Eidsvoll and opened in 1854. The main purpose of the railway was to freight lumber from Mjøsa to the capital, but also passenger traffic was offered. In the period between the 1860s and the 1880s Norway saw a boom of smaller railways being built, including isolated railways in Central and Western Norway. The predominant gauge at the time was 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (narrow gauge), but some lines were built in 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge). The height of the era came in 1877 when the Røros Line connected Central Norway to the capital. In 1883 the entire main railway network was taken over by NSB, though a number of industrial railways and branch lines continued to be operated by private companies.

Three urban railways, in Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim, were started as in 1875 (Oslo), 1897 (Bergen) and Trondheim (1901). Oslo's system, as the only one, started with horse cars, the two other as with electric cars. Electric cars were introduced in Oslo in 1894 and the last horse car operated in 1900.

Bergen closed down its 1. generation system between 1944 and 1965, but (re-)introduced LRT in 2006.

The second construction boom of the main railway arose in the 1910s and included the Bergen Line across Finse to Bergen, connecting Eastern and Western Norway. Also a number of other larger projects were built through the 1920s, including a second line, the Dovre Line, to Trondheim. This period also saw the first electrified railways and a steady conversion from narrow gauge to standard gauge. Norway chose to electrify their network at 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC.

During World War II there was a massive construction by the German Forces as part of creating Festung Norwegen, including large sections of the Nordland Line and the completion of the Sørland Line. After the war the main effort was to complete the Nordland Line (which reached Bodø in 1962) and completing the decision to electrify 50% of the network, a task not completed until 1970. This allowed the retirement of the steam locomotive, being replaced with electric engines like the El 11 and El 13 or the diesel powered Di 3. In 1966 Norway's only rapid transit, Oslo T-bane was opened, but in the same decade the Bergen tramway was closed. In the 1970s and 80s a lot of branch lines were also abandoned.

In 1980 the massive project of connecting the eastern and western railway networks around Oslo was completed with the opening of the Oslo Tunnel and Oslo Central Station. In 1996 NSB was split in the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate, Norwegian National Rail Administration and operating company NSB BA. Since the companies have been split into 10 separate companies and corporations. In 1998 the first new line in 36 years was opened when the high-speed Gardermoen Line was opened to allow travel at 210 km/h between Oslo, Oslo Airport and Eidsvoll. The 1990s also saw the massive introduction of multiple units on passenger trains. In the 2000s the freight segment was deregulated and a number of freight companies have started competing with the NSB partial subsidiary CargoNet.

Network

Track

The main railway network consists of 4,087 km of lines, of which 262 km is double track and 60 km high-speed rail (210 km/h). In addition there is 225 km of urban railways, of which 218 km is double track. In addition there are some industrial tracks and minor branch lines and some abandoned and heritage railways. The entire main network is 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge), as are the urban railways in Oslo and Bergen. Of the operational railways in Norway, only the Trondheim Tramway has a different gauge, the Metre gauge, 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in). Some heritage railways, though, operate with various kinds of narrow gauge.

The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line used to be the northernmost railway in the world, but was in 2010 beaten by the Obskaya–Bovanenkovo Line in Russia. Still, Narvik is one of the northernmost towns in the world to have a railway connection, as the terminus for the Ofoten Line. It connects to Kiruna, Sweden, but not to Bodø, the northern terminus of the Norwegian railway network. Kiruna is, however, connected to the Swedish railway network, which again is connected to the Norwegian network at the Swedish stations of Charlottenberg, Storlien and Kornsjø.

Traction

2,622 km (64%) of the railway network is electrified, all of it at 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC with overhead wires. The only sections that are not electrified are the lines north of Mjøsa, with the sole exception of the Dovre Line and the Ofoten Line. On non-electrified sections diesel locomotives are used. All of the urban railways use 750 V DC, via overhead wires on the tramways and via third-rail on the Oslo T-bane.

Future expansion plans

In its plans, Bane NOR (formerly: Norwegian National Rail Administration) will concentrate its expansions primarily on the cramped network around Oslo and the larger cities.

  • Oslo–Ski: New double track, mostly tunneled for intercity trains finished in 2021. Existing doubletrack is used for local- and freight trains.
  • New tunnel under Oslo city center.
  • Vestfold Line: A new alignment between Larvik and Porsgrunn ca 23 km, will cut 22 minutes of travel time. The plan is to make the whole line double tracked from Drammen to Porsgrunn within the early 2030s.
  • Sørland Line: Plans may include between Porsgrunn and Skorstøl, which would realign trains to southern Norway via Vestfold.
  • Østfold Line: The Østfold Line is today double track both north and south of Moss, but in Moss 10 km remains as a single track bottleneck. Plans is to realign the railway through Moss, with double track through two tunnels. Further plans are expanding too double track to Fredrikstad 2024, Sarpsborg 2026 and to Halden within the mid 2030s.
  • Ringerike Line is a planned railway between Sandvika and Hønefoss that will reduce travel time between Oslo and Hønefoss/Bergen by 50 minutes. Construction is planned to commence during 2021 or 2022.
  • Bergen Line: Double track from Bergen to Arna. Later plans calls for double track further east to Stanghelle and Voss.
  • Dovre Line: Expanding the rest of the line between Eidsvoll and Hamar to double track within 2014. Plans also calls for double track up to Lillehammer until the mid 2030s. Realignment of Dovrebanen south of Trondheim may be done together with relocating of Trondheims freight terminal.
  • Nordland Line/Meråker Line: Electrifying of the Meråker Line and the Nordland Line up to Steinkjær is planned to be finished by 2021. Later plans may include double tracking between Trondheim and Stjørdal, and a new tunnel between Stjørdal and Levanger.[3]
  • The Bergen Light Rail was opened in 2010, and extensions are being built.
  • There are discussion as to whether an automated rapid transit from Lysaker to Fornebu outside Oslo should be built. Also the Oslo T-bane will be expanded, as will the Trondheim tramway.
High speed rail
Main article: High-speed rail in Norway

The question about building a high-speed railway between the largest Southern Norwegian cities has been discussed at political level, and a report was ready by the end of 2007. Advocates for rail transport and environmentalists have wanted to build high speed railways, including upgrades to 250 km/h on the Sørland Line, Bergen Line, and Dovre Line while others, including Norsk Bane, have suggested construction of a new line through Haukeli to Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen.

Heritage

There are also several operational museum railways in Norway, including the Krøder Line, Setesdal Line, Urskog–Høland Line, Thamshavn Line, Rjukan Line, Valdres Line, Nesttun–Os Railway and Old Voss Line. The Norwegian Railway Museum is located in Hamar and includes exhibits of train hardware, related objects, as well as document and photography archives.

Lines

Fully operational lines
Line name Termini Length Power Opened Other info
Bergen Line Hønefoss Bergen 371 km Electric 1909-12-01 Operated route Oslo S–Drammen–Bergen (495 km)
Flåm Line Myrdal Flåm 20 km Electric 1941-10-15 Branch to the Bergen Line
Randsfjord Line Hokksund Hønefoss 54 km Electric 1868-10-13 Operated as part of the Bergen Line
Bratsberg Line Eidanger Nordagutu 47 km Electric 1917-12-17 Operated route Porsgrunn–Notodden (incl. the Tinnos Line)
Eidanger–Skien operated as part of the Vestfold Line
Tinnos Line Hjuksebø Notodden 10 km Electric 1909-08-09 Operated route Porsgrunn–Notodden as part of the Bratsberg Line
Dovre Line Eidsvoll Trondheim 492 km Electric 1921-09-20 Operated route Oslo S–Dombås–Trondheim (553 km)
Rauma Line Dombås Åndalsnes 115 km Diesel 1924-11-30 Operated as branch to the Dovre Line
Drammen Line Oslo S Drammen 42 km Electric 1872-10-07
Asker Line Sandvika Asker 15 km Electric 2005-08-01 Parallel line to the Drammen Line
Spikkestad Line Asker Spikkestad 12 km Electric (1872-10-07)
1973-06-03		 Branch to and originally part of the Drammen Line
Operated route Spikkestad–Oslo S–Lillestrøm
Gardermoen Line Etterstad Eidsvoll 64 km Electric 1999-08-22 Operated route Oslo S–Lillestrøm–Gardermoen/–Eidsvoll
Gjøvik Line Oslo S Gjøvik 123 km Electric 1902-11-28
Hoved Line Oslo S Eidsvoll 84 km Electric 1854-09-01
Kongsvinger Line Lillestrøm Charlottenberg 116 km Electric 1865-11-04 Operated route Oslo S–Lillestrøm–Kongsvinger/–Sweden
Continues as Värmlandsbanan
Meråker Line Hell Storlien 70 km Diesel 1881-10-17 Operated route Trondheim–Hell–Meråker–Sweden
Continues as Mittbanan
Nordland Line Trondheim Bodø 734 km Diesel 1962-02-01
Ofoten Line Narvik Bjørnfjell 43 km Electric 1902-11-15 Continues as Malmbanan
Røros Line Hamar Støren 382 km Diesel 1877-10-17 Operated route Oslo S–Hamar–Røros–Trondheim
Sørland Line Drammen Stavanger 549 km Electric 1944-03-01 Operated route Oslo S–Kristiansand–Stavanger (588 km)
Arendal Line Arendal Nelaug 36 km Electric (1910-12-18)
1938-06-22		 Branch to the Sørland Line
Originally part of the Treungen Line
Vestfold Line Drammen Eidanger 138 km Electric 1882-11-24 Operated route (Lillehammer–)Oslo S–Skien
Østfold Line Oslo S Kornsjø 171 km Electric 1879-07-25 Operated route Oslo S–Halden/–Sweden
Continues as Norge/Vänernbanan
Østfold Line, Eastern line Ski, Norway Rakkestad 54 km Electric 1882-11-24 Operated route Oslo S–Rakkestad

Freight only lines
Line name Termini Length Power Opened Other info
Alnabru–Grefsen Line Grefsen Alnabru 4 km Electric 1901-01-20 Connecting the Hoved Line and Gjøvik Line
Brevik Line Eidanger Brevik 9 km Electric 1882-11-24 Branch to the Vestfold Line
Dalane–Suldal Line Dalane Suldal 1 km Electric 1943-05-15 Bypass to the Sørland Line
Loenga–Alnabru Line Loenga Alnabru 3 km Electric 1907-05-01 Connecting the Hoved Line and Østfold Line
Roa–Hønefoss Line Roa Hønefoss 34 km Electric 1909-12-01 Operated as branch to the Bergen Line
Skøyen–Filipstad Line Skøyen Filipstad 2 km Electric (1872-10-07)
1980-06-01		 Branch to and originally part of the Drammen Line
Solør Line Kongsvinger Elverum 88 km Diesel 1910-12-04 Connecting the Kongsvinger Line and Røros Line
Stavne–Leangen Line Stavne Leangen 6 km Diesel 1882-11-24 Connecting the Dovre Line and Nordland Line
Østfold Line, Eastern line Rakkestad Sarpsborg 26 km Electric 1882-11-24 Alternate for the Østfold Line

Lines with no regular traffic
Line name Termini Length Power Opened Discontinued Other info
Nesttun Line Bergen Minde 4 km Electric 1883-07-11 1965-02-01 Branch to the Bergen Line
Hardanger Line Voss Palmafoss 3 km Electric 1935-04-01 1985-06-01 Branch to the Bergen Line
Kragerø Line Neslandsvatn Merkebekk 6 km Diesel 1927-12-02 1989-01-01 Branch to the Sørland Line
Namsos Line Grong Namsos 52 km Diesel 1933-11-01 1978-01-01 Branch to the Nordland Line
Numedal Line Kongsberg Rollag 48 km Diesel 1927-11-20 1989-01-01 Branch to the Sørland Line
Treungen Line Nelaug Simonstad 8 km Diesel 1910-12-18 1967-01-01 Branch to the Sørland Line

Heritage railway
Line name Termini Length Power Opened Discontinued Other info
Old Voss Line Tunestveit Midttun 22 km Steam 1883-07-11 1964-08-01 Connection to the Bergen Line
Krøder Line Vikersund Krøderen 26 km Steam 1872-11-28 1958-01-19 Connection to the Bergen Line
Tinnos Line Notodden Tinnoset 30 km Electric 1909-08-09 1991-07-05 Connected by ferry
Connection to the Bratsberg Line
Rjukan Line Mæl Rjukan 16 km Electric 1909-08-09 1991-07-05
Setesdal Line Grovane Røyknes 8 km Steam 1896-11-27 1962-09-02 Connection to the Sørland Line
Urskog–Høland Line Sørumsand Fossum 4 km Steam 1903-12-07 1960-07-01
Thamshavn Line Bårdshaug Svorkmo 22 km Electric 1908-07-15 1974-05-30
Valdres Line Eina Dokka 47 km Diesel 1902-11-28 1989-01-01 Connection to the Gjøvik Line

No traffic allowed
Line name Termini Length Power Opened Discontinued Other info
Flekkefjord Line Sira Flekkefjord 17 km Diesel 1904-11-01 1991-01-01 Branch to the Sørland Line
Kragerø Line Merkebekk Sannidal 12 km Diesel 1927-12-02 1989-01-01 Branch to the Sørland Line
Numedal Line Rollag Rødberg 45 km Diesel 1927-11-20 1989-01-01 Branch to the Sørland Line
Valdres Line Dokka Bjørgo 43 km Diesel 1903-11-01 1989-01-01 Branch to the Gjøvik Line

Urban railways

Sweden is the only country with which Norway shares railway borders. Sweden and Norway share gauge, loading gauge, signaling system, electric system, GSM-R and automatic trains stop systems. Most rolling stock can cross the border. There are four border crossings: the Østfold Line–Norway/Vänern Line, the Kongsvinger Line–Värmland Line, the Meråker Line–Central Line and the Ofoten Line–Iron Ore Line. All crossings have electric traction on the Swedish side, but the Meråker Line lacks it on the Norwegian side. There have previously been operational train ferries to Denmark.

There are proposals to connect Northern Norway to Finland (the planned Arctic Railway) and Russia. At Kirkenes, the Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line is proposed to be connected to Russia's Murmansk–Nikel Railway,[4] and the line is also proposed for connection to the Finnish network in Rovaniemi (there has been a line between Rovaniemi and the Murmansk railway).[5][6] Russia has generally dismissed this proposal in favour of using Russian ports instead of Kirkenes. Another proposal has been to build a line from Kolari to Skibotn and Tromsø,[7] even if connecting to the existing line to Narvik is the main suggestion.

Operation

Railway companies

Traditionally, all trains were operated by Vy (formerly NSB), but the deregulation in the 2000s has led to the introduction of a number of new freight operators, including CargoNet, Hector Rail, Tågåkeriet and Ofoten Line. The conservative-liberal government tried to introduce public service obligation bids on subsidized passenger routes in 2005, but the contract was won by the NSB subsidiary NSB Anbud and the following red-green government has cancelled further PSO contracting. Also the Airport Express Train has been made a separate company.

In 2017 Norway's Ministry of Transport and Communications decided to develop tenders for the operation of passenger rail services. On 4 February 2018, it launched a tender to deliver Traffic Package 1 that will commence on 15 December 2019, comprising long-distance services on the Sørlandet Line from Oslo to Stavanger.[8] In October 2018 this package was awarded to Go-Ahead Norge.[9]

In March 2018, the Norwegian Railway Directorate launched tenders for Traffic Package 2, passenger services on the Røros Line, Meråker Line, Rauma Line, and Nordland Line, plus regional services in Trøndelag county.[10] SJ will commence operating the package on 7 June 2020.[11]

On 21 December 2018, the Norwegian Railway Directorate launched tenders for Traffic Package 3, passenger services on the Oslo to Bergen line starting on 13 December 2020.[12]

Passenger rolling stock

Until the 1990s only commuter and regional trains were operated with multiple units, but since then Vy has ordered numerous multiple units for its regional and express lines. Express trains are operated with 16 BM 73 units with tilting technology, regional trains with 16 BM 70, 6 BM 73b (both electric) and 15 BM 93 (diesel) units while the local trains are operated by 71 BM 69 and 36 BM 72 (both electric) while the local trains around Trondheim, Trøndelag Commuter Rail, uses 14 BM 92 diesel multiple unit. The Airport Express Train uses 16 BM 71 and NSB Anbud operates 9 BM 69g units. The Ofoten Line operates three BM 68 electric multiple units.

Vy still uses locomotive hauled passenger trains on a few of the long-distance lines. For this task they use 22 El 18s and 5 Di 4s in addition to six El 17 on the Flåm Line. Most of the cars are B7 on long-distance services and B5 on regional services. Most of the locomotives have been transferred to the freight division CargoNet.

Freight rolling stock

CargoNet uses a combination of 30 El 14, 15 El 16, 19 Di 8 and 6 CD66. The other companies use stock retired by NSB, including the Ofoten Line's 7 El 13, 5 Di 3 and 2 T43, HectorRail's 6 El 15 (now known as 161) and Tåkåkeriet's Rc2.

Abandoned railways

See Chronology of Norwegian railway lines.

Abandoned urban railways
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gollark: Just break into a random factory farm and give them all immunosuppressants then.
gollark: Yes. Costly though.
gollark: Just sequence all the virii you find and print out random mixes of the genes as RNA.
gollark: I guess that's true. Not sure what happened there. Apparently it's a really different evolutionary path.

See also

References
  1. "Passenger transport by rail" (in Norwegian). Ssb.no. 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  2. "Transport of goods by rail" (in Norwegian). Ssb.no. 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  3. Jernbaneverket. "Prosjekter" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  4. "Kirkenes RailPort May 2003" (PDF). World Port Kirkenes. 2003. pp. 27–33. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 May 2004. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  5. "Jernbane Kirkenes - Rovaniemi?". Finnmarken (in Norwegian). 4 September 2009. Archived from the original on 7 September 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  6. "Forstudie Jernbaneforbindelse Kirkenes – Rovaniemi" (PDF). Sør-Varanger Municipality. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  7. Mortensen, Martin; Nilsen, Kari Stokke (20 September 2011). "Finland positiv til jernbane". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  8. Barrow, Keith (4 February 2018). "Norway launches tenders for passenger services". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  9. Burroughs, David (2 November 2018). "Go-Ahead Nordic signs historic contract in Norway". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  10. Barrow, Keith (15 March 2018). "Tendering begins for train services in northern Norway". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  11. SJ wins north Norway operating contract Railway Gazette International 17 June 2019
  12. Barrow, Keith (7 January 2018). "Norway launches tenders for Oslo - Bergen operating contract". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  • Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936), "Railroads of Norway", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 407–414 illustrated description of Norwegian railways in the 1930s
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