Norway
TheBergen Line atFinse, the highest point of the Norwegian railways.
Operation
National railway	Vy
Infrastructure company	Bane NOR
Major operators	SJ Norge,SJ AB,Vy andGo-Ahead Nordic
Statistics
Ridership	40.401 million (2021)[1]
Passenger km	1780 million (2021)[2]
Freight	37.55 million tonnes (2021)[3]
System length
Total	4,109 km (2,553 mi)
Double track	274 km (170 mi)
Electrified	2,644 km (1,643 mi)
High-speed	161.5 km (100 mi)
Track gauge
Main	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification
Main	15 kV  16.7 Hz AC
Features
No. tunnels	697
Longest tunnel	Blix Tunnel[4][5]
No. bridges	2,760
Longest bridge	Minnesund Railway Bridge[6]
Highest elevation	1,237 metres (4,058 ft)
at	Finse

TheNorwegian railway system comprises 4,109 km of1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) track of which 2,644 km iselectrified and 274 kmdouble track. There are 697tunnels and 2,760bridges.

TheNorwegian Railway Directorate manages the railway network in Norway on behalf of theMinistry of Transportation.Bane NOR is astate enterprise which builds and maintains allrailway tracks, while other companies operate them. These companies includeVy and subsidiariesVy Gjøvikbanen andCargoNet,Flytoget,Go-Ahead,SJ Norge,Green Cargo,Grenland Rail andHector Rail.

Norway is a member of theInternational Union of Railways (UIC). TheUIC Country Code for Norway is 76.

The first railway in Norway was theHoved Line betweenOslo andEidsvoll and opened in 1854. The main purpose of the railway was to movelumber fromMjøsa to the capital, but passenger service was also 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 predominantgauge at the time was1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (narrow gauge), but some lines were built in1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge). The height of the era came in 1877 when theRøros Line connected Central Norway to the capital. In 1883 the entire main railway network was taken over byNorwegian State Railways (NSB), though a number of industrial railways and branch lines continued to be operated by private companies.

Three urban railways, inOslo,Bergen andTrondheim, were started as in 1875 (Oslo), 1897 (Bergen) and Trondheim (1901). Oslo's system, as the only one, started with horse cars, the others were electrified from the beginning. Electric cars were introduced in Oslo in 1894 and the last horse car operated in 1900.

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

The second construction boom of the main railway arose in the 1910s and included theBergen Line acrossFinse toBergen, connecting Eastern and Western Norway. A number of other larger projects were also built in the 1920s, including a second line, theDovre Line, to Trondheim. This period also saw the firstelectrified railways and a steadyconversion from narrow gauge to standard gauge. Norway chose to electrify its network at15 kV  16.7 Hz AC.

DuringWorld War II there was a massive construction by theGerman Forces as part of creatingFestung Norwegen, including large sections of theNordland Line and the completion of theSørland Line. After the war the main effort was to complete the Nordland Line (which reachedBodø in 1962) and the decision to electrify 50% of the network, a task not completed until 1970. This allowed the retirement ofsteam locomotives, which were replaced with electric engines like theEl 11 andEl 13 or the diesel poweredDi 3. In 1966 Norway's onlyrapid transit,Oslo T-bane was opened, but in the same decade the Bergen tramway was closed. In the 1970s and 80s manybranch 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 theOslo Tunnel andOslo Central Station. In 1996 NSB was split into theNorwegian Railway Inspectorate,Jernbaneverket and an operating company NSB BA. Since then, the companies have been split into 10 separate corporations. In 1998 the first new line in 36 years was opened when thehigh-speedGardermoen Line was opened to allow travel at 210 km/h between Oslo,Oslo Airport and Eidsvoll. The 1990s also saw the massive introduction ofmultiple units on passenger trains. In the 2000s thefreight segment wasderegulated and a number of freight companies have started competing with the NSB subsidiary CargoNet.

The national main routes in Norway are considered to be among the slowest in Europe,^[7] and slower than parts ofEast Africa,^[8] with average speeds below 80 km/h.

A combination of natural disasters, aging lines and equipment, and lack of electrification north ofStjørdal made the situation rapidly worse in the 2020's: Dovre Line was closed for 9 months in 2023-24 after theRandklev Bridge fell into theLågen river,^[9] and for several months in 2025 due to the bridge south ofOtta Station being weakened by ice accumulation around its pillars.^[10] After the2024 Finneidfjord train derailment on the Nordland Line with 1 fatality, services on the line were sharply reduced since the derailment caused the write-off of one of very few remaining locomotives suited for national lines, with enough new locomotives to resume night services not planned to be put into service until 2029,^[11] and a mudslide on the combined Nordland Line / Trønderbanen stretch from Levanger-Steinkjer in August 2025 that led to 1 person missing has made that stretch inoperable until well into 2026^[12] and with several locomotives unable to be moved south of the slide point, which in turn affected services on other lines as well.^[13] TheStjørdalselva river flooding in March 2025 shut down the Meråker Line for some weeks,^[14] and various slides around Drangsdalen have shut down the Sørland Line in short periods.^[15]

The main railway network consists of 4,087 km of lines, of which 262 km isdouble track and 60 kmhigh-speed rail (210 km/h). In addition there is 225 km ofurban railways, of which 218 km is double track. In addition there are some industrial tracks and minor branch lines and some abandoned andheritage railways. The entire main network is1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge), as are the urban railways inOslo andBergen. Of the operational railways in Norway, only theTrondheim Tramway has a different gauge, themeter gauge,1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in). Some heritage railways, though, operate with various kinds of narrow gauge.

TheKirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line used to be the northernmost railway in the world, but was in 2010 beaten by theObskaya–Bovanenkovo Line in Russia. Still,Narvik is one of the northernmost towns in the world to have a railway connection, as the terminus for theOfoten Line. It connects toKiruna,Sweden, but not toBodø, the northernterminus of the Norwegian railway network. Kiruna is, however, connected to theSwedish railway network, which again is connected to the Norwegian network at the Swedish stations ofCharlottenberg,Storlien andKornsjø.

2,622 km (64%) of the railway network is electrified, all of it at15 kV  16.7 Hz AC withoverhead wires. The only sections that are not electrified are the lines north ofMjøsa, with the sole exception of theDovre Line and theOfoten Line. On non-electrified sections diesel locomotives are used. All of the urban railways use 600 or 750VDC, via overhead wires on the tramways and viathird-rail on theOslo T-bane.

In its plans,Bane NOR will concentrate its expansions primarily on the cramped network around Oslo and the larger cities.

• New tunnel under Oslo city center.
• Vestfold Line: A new alignment between Larvik and Porsgrunn around 23 km (14 mi) long, reducing travel time by 22 minutes. Double track between Drammen and Tønsberg is under construction and due by 2025.^{[needs update]} The plan is to make the whole line double tracked from Drammen to Porsgrunn.
• 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 (6 mi) remains as a single track bottleneck. Plans is to realign the railway through Moss, with double track through two tunnels.
• 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 postponed indefinitely.
• Bergen Line: Double track from Bergen to Arna. Later plans call for double track further east to Stanghelle and Voss.
• Dovre Line: Expanding the rest of the line between Eidsvoll and Hamar to double track by 2027. 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 Stjørdal is planned to be finished by 2024.^{[needs update]} Later plans may include double tracking between Trondheim and Stjørdal, and a new tunnel between Stjørdal and Levanger.^[16]
• TheBergen Light Rail was opened in 2010, and extensions are being built.
• TheOslo T-bane will be expanded, as will theTrondheim tramway.

High speed rail

The question about building ahigh-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 andenvironmentalists have wanted to build high speed railways, including upgrades to 250 km/h on theSørland Line,Bergen Line, andDovre Line while others, includingNorsk Bane, have suggested construction of a new line throughHaukeli to Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen.

Platform heights

There are current proposed figures:

• 300 mm (11.8 in) above rail for long-distance trains
• 760 mm (29.9 in) above rail for commuter trains
• 550 mm (21.7 in) above rail for shared platforms
• For1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) or1,524 mm (5 ft) broad gauge lines, passenger platforms shall be as low to 127 mm (5.0 in) above rail should be allowed.

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

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: theØstfold Line–Norway/Vänern Line, theKongsvinger Line–Värmland Line, theMeråker Line–Central Line and theOfoten 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 operationaltrain ferries toDenmark.

There are proposals to connectNorthern Norway toFinland (the plannedArctic Railway) andRussia. AtKirkenes, theKirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line is proposed to be connected to Russia'sMurmansk–Nikel Railway,^[17] and the line is also proposed for connection to the Finnish network inRovaniemi (there has been a line between Rovaniemi and the Murmansk railway).^[18][19] 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 toSkibotn andTromsø,^[20] even if connecting to the existingline to Narvik is the main suggestion.

Traditionally, all trains were operated by Vy (formerly NSB), but the deregulation in the 2000s has led to the introduction of a number of newfreight operators, includingCargoNet,Hector Rail,Tågåkeriet andOfoten Line. Theconservative-liberal government tried to introducepublic service obligation bids onsubsidized passenger routes in 2005, but the contract was won by the NSB subsidiaryNSB Anbud and the followingred-green government has cancelled further PSO contracting. Also theAirport 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 theSørlandet Line from Oslo to Stavanger.^[21] In October 2018 this package was awarded toGo-Ahead Nordic.^[22]

In March 2018, the Norwegian Railway Directorate launched tenders for Traffic Package 2, passenger services on theRøros Line,Meråker Line,Rauma Line, andNordland Line, plus regional services in Trøndelag county.^[23]SJ will commence operating the package on 7 June 2020.^[24]

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.^[25]

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

Vy still uses locomotive hauled passenger trains on a few of the long-distance lines. For this task they use 22El 18s and 5Di 4s in addition to sixEl 17 on theFlåm Line. Most of the cars areB7 on long-distance services andB5 on regional services. Most of the locomotives have been transferred to the freight division CargoNet.

CargoNet uses a combination of 30El 14, 15El 16, 19Di 8 and 6CD66. The other companies use stock retired by NSB, including the Ofoten Line's 7El 13, 5Di 3 and 2T43, HectorRail's 6El 15 (now known as 161) and Tåkåkeriet'sRc2.

SeeChronology of Norwegian railway lines.

• Losbylinja (Østmorksaga–Fjellhamar) (1861–ca 1940)
• Kalvskinnet-Heimdallinjen (Kalvskinnet–Heimdal) (1864–1884)
• Krøder Line (Vikersund–Krøderen) (1872–1985)
• Sulitjelma Line (Finneid–Sulitjelma) (1892–1972)
• Nesttun–Os Railway (Nesttun–Os) (1894–1935)
• Setesdal Line (Kristiansand–Byglandsfjord) (1896–1962)
• Urskog–Høland Line (Sørumsand–Skulerud) (1896–1960)
• Lillesand–Flaksvand Line (Lillesand–Flaksvann) (1896–1953)
• Hafslund Line (Hafslund–Sundløkka) (1898–1973)
• Tønsberg–Eidsfoss Line (Tønsberg–Eidsfoss) (1901–1938)
• Holmestrand–Vittingfoss Line (Holmestrand–Vittingfoss) (1902–1938)
• Skreia Line (Reinsvoll–Skreia (1902–1987)
• Lier Line (Lier–Svangstrand) (1904)
• Flekkefjord Line (Sira–Flekkefjord) (1904–1990)
• Valdres Line (Eina–Fagernes) (1906–1988)
• Grimstad Line (Grimstad–Rise) (1907–1961)
• Oslo Port Line (Loenga–Filipstad) (1907–1983)
• Thamshavn Line (Løkken–Thamshavn) (1908–1974)
• Rjukan Line (Rjukan–Mæl) (1908–1991)
• Tinnos Line (Tinnoset–Notodden) (1908–1990)
• Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line (Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn) (1910–1997)
• Treungen Line (Nelaug–Treungen) (1913–1967)
• Vestmarka Line (Skotterud–Vestmarka) (1918–)
• Solbergfoss Line (Askim–Solbergfoss) (1918–)
• Ålgård Line (Ganddal–Ålgård) (1924–1988)
• Sperill Line (Hen–Sperillen) (1926–1957)
• Numedal Line (Kongsberg–Rødberg) (1927–1988)
• Kragerø Line (Neslandsvatn–Kragerø) (1927–1988)
• Namsos Line (Grong–Namsos) (1933)
• Hardanger Line (Vossevangen–Granvin) (1935)
• Røykenvik Line (Jaren–Røykenvik)
• Ilsvika Line (Skansen–Fagervika)
• Hauerseter–Gardermoen Line (Hauerseter–Gardermoen)

• Lade Line (Trondheim Tramway) (1901–1988)
• Elgeseter Line (Trondheim Tramway) (1913–1983)
• Singsaker Line (Trondheim Tramway) (1927–1968)

• Rail transport by country
• Transport in Norway
• Narrow-gauge railways in Norway
• Norwegian railway signalling
• Norges Statsbaner rolling stock

• Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936),"Railroads of Norway",Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 407–414 illustrated description of Norwegian railways in the 1930s

• Rail transport in Norway

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• CS1 Norwegian Bokmål-language sources (nb)
• CS1 Norwegian Nynorsk-language sources (nn)
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