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Drammen Line
NSBClass 69 local train units are used on the Drammen Line, here shown atOslo S, theterminus of the line.
Overview
Native name	Drammenbanen
Owner	Bane NOR
Termini	Oslo S Drammen
Stations	17
Service
Type	Railway
Operator(s)	Vy Flytoget CargoNet
Rolling stock	Class 69,Class 70,Class 71,Class 72,Class 73
History
Opened	7 October 1872
Technical
Line length	52.86 km (32.85 mi)
Number of tracks	Double
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Old gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	15 kV  16.7 Hz AC
Operating speed	Max. 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph)
Route map Legend km Year or length inm Trunk Line toEidsvoll 0.27 Oslo Central 1854 Oslo Tunnel 3,632 1.40 Nationaltheatret 1980 2.29 Elisenberg (1980) (0.00) Oslo West 1872– 1989  (1.58) Filipstad 1989 (1.90) Skarpsno 1882 Skøyen–Filipstad Line 3.00 freight line to Skøyen 3.38 Skøyen 1872 Asker Line 4.31 Bestun Oslo 1884 County boundary 6.02 Lysaker Akershus 1872 Asker Line 2011 7.30 Myra 1931 7.96 Stabekk 1884 8.74 Strand 1931 9.74 Høvik 1874 10.40 Ramstad 1931 11.27 Blommenholm 1910 13.19 Sandvika 1872 Ringerike Line planned Asker Line 2005 14.42 Jong 1959 14.84 Slependen 1873 Billingstad tunnel 372 16.72 Billingstad 1919 Åstad tunnel 106 Solhaug tunnel 253 Solstad tunnel 52 55 19.25 Hvalstad 1872 Hvalstad tunnel 183 29 Hvalstad tunnel 144 20.32 Vakås 1957 21.37 Høn 1930 Asker tunnel 410 23.16 Asker 1872 Spikkestad Line Lieråsen Tunnel 10,723 Akershus former Drammen Line Lier Buskerud 1973 Lierstranda lumber terminal Brakerøya 1873 Holmen Bridge overDrammenselva 546 Holmen Port Holmen Bridge overDrammenselva 451 Tollbukaia Drammen 1866 Vestfold Line Sørlandet Line km Year or length inm This diagram: view talk edit

TheDrammen Line (Norwegian:Drammenbanen) is a 52.86-kilometre (32.85 mi) railway line betweenOslo andDrammen,Norway, which was opened on 7 October 1872. It serves all trains west ofOslo Central Station and is owned byBane NOR.

The line opened as a1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)narrow gauge railway, and rebuilt tostandard gauge between 1913 and 1922.^[1] In 1922, it became the first line on the national network to be electrified. TheLieråsen Tunnel shortened the line in 1973, and in 1980 theOslo Tunnel was built, allowing the line to connect to the new Oslo Central Station. TheAsker Line runs parallel to the Drammen Line, mostly in tunnels.

At Drammen, theVestfold Line branches off to the south while theBergen Line and theSørlandet Line continue together toHokksund along theRandsfjorden Line. The entire line has double track due to the heavy traffic on the line. The longest Norwegian railway bridge is just before Drammen where the line crosses theDrammen river. That bridge is 454 metres long.

Both Drammen and Oslo were important ports serving Eastern Norway, and both had by the 1870s their own railway lines. Oslo was connected toRomerike by theHoved Line and to Sweden by theKongsvinger Line, while Drammen was connected toRingerike by the Randsfjorden Line. The most important use of the lines were shipment of lumber to the respective ports for export, but the lines also saw an increasing passenger traffic. Due to the cheap and quick construction method propagated by NSB at the time, the Randsfjord Line was built in narrow gauge; the lines connecting to Oslo were on the other hand built in standard gauge, to ensure compatibility with theSwedish railway network. There was a considerable feeling of rivalry between the two cities at the time, and particularly in Drammen there was skepticism of building a line that could dilute the cities regional influence on behalf of the capital.

Radical forces eventually succeeded in changing the tide of opinion, and Drammen politicians allowed the construction of the line. The rail gauge issue still created a problem, as did the location of the railway station in Oslo; Oslo East Station was located at the then east end of the city, and a line from Drammen—located to the west of Oslo—would either have to take the long trip around the north of the city, or terminate at a separate station on the west end. The latter solution was chosen, and Oslo West Station was opened along with the new line.

Built as a narrow gauge railway, the Drammen Line was converted to adual gauge railway between 1917 and 1920. On 13 November 1922 the dual gauge was removed. The line from Oslo V toBrakerøya was electrified on 26 November 1922 while the line from Brakerøya to Drammen was electrified on 6 May 1930. The Drammen Line was the second railway line in Norway to be rebuilt to double track. The line from Oslo V toSandvika was opened with double track on 26 November 1922 while the line from Sandvika toAsker was extended in three steps:Billingstad–Hvalstad on 24 July 1953, Hvalstad–Asker on 29 November 1955 and Sandvika–Billingstad on 9 November 1958. Double track further to Brakerøya in Drammen opened with the Lieråsen Tunnel, while the last part over the bridge intoDrammen Station was finished in 1996.

The most significant shortening of the line came with the opening of the 10.7-kilometre (10,700 m) longLieråsen Tunnel on 3 June 1973,^[2] part of a new 15.2-kilometre (9.4 mi) line from Asker to Brakerøya. This concluded the double track to Brakerøya in Drammen, and shortened the railway by 12,438 metres (40,807 ft). Part of the old line, from Asker toSpikkestad, has been kept as the single-trackedSpikkestad Line, used by commuter trains.

After decades of planning, the 3,632-metre (11,916 ft)Oslo Tunnel opened in 1980, extending the Drammen Line from Skøyen to the newOslo Central Station, that replaced Oslo East Station. The former terminus of Oslo West Station was closed, and has since been converted into the office of theNobel Peace Prize. The railway from Skøyen to Oslo V has been reclassified to theSkøyen–Filipstad Line, and is used for freight trains serving the Oslo Port. The formerPort Line that connected the east and west stations was removed.

The Asker Line is a partially completed line that supplements the Drammen Line between Oslo and Asker. Construction started in 2001, with the first section from Asker to Sandvika opening in 2005. The section from Sandvika to Lysaker opened in 2011. The construction of the last section in the original plans, from Lysaker to Skøyen, was first postponed until after 2020, but in 2020, new planning started for a longer project extending all the way to Oslo Central Station, bypassing Skøyen to the north on the preferred route.^[3] The line only serves Asker, Sandvika and Lysaker (the planned extension will add Nationaltheatret and Oslo Central), and allowed the capacity west of Lysaker to increase from 12 to 26 trains per hour. The Asker Line, allowing speeds at 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph), is used by express and regional trains, along with the Airport Express Train. It is also used by freight trains at night.

• Narrow gauge railways in Norway

• Drammen Line
• Railway lines in Oslo
• Railway lines in Akershus
• Railway lines in Buskerud
• Railway lines opened in 1872
• Flytoget
• Electric railways in Norway
• 1872 establishments in Norway
• 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Norway
• Standard-gauge railways in Norway

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• Articles with short description
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• Articles needing additional references from September 2017
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