Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned
railway company
A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an rail transport operations, operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains and the track, while, particularly in the European Union, operation ...
which operates most
passenger train services and many bus services in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. The company is owned by the
Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include
Vy Buss
Vy Buss, formerly branded as Nettbuss, is the largest bus company in Norway, owned by Vy. It was established on 10 February 2000 as the continuation of the bus operations from former NSB Biltrafikk. In addition to bus services in major parts of ...
coach services,
CargoNet
CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight trains on the Norwegian railway system. It was formed as NSB Gods after NSB (now Vy) fissioned into a passenger and a freight company. NSB Gods changed its name to CargoNet at the beginning of 200 ...
freight trains and the Swedish train transport company
TÃ¥gkompaniet. In 2009, NSB carried 52 million train passengers and 104 million bus passengers. On 24 April 2019, passenger train and bus services were rebranded as Vy.
The company was established as the
Norwegian State Railways (1883–1996). In 1996 the company was split into the new NSB, the infrastructure company, the
Norwegian National Rail Administration
The Norwegian National Rail Administration ( no, Jernbaneverket) was a government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the track, stations, classification yards, traffic ...
and the
Norwegian Railway Inspectorate. In 2002, the freight operations were split to the subsidiary
CargoNet
CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight trains on the Norwegian railway system. It was formed as NSB Gods after NSB (now Vy) fissioned into a passenger and a freight company. NSB Gods changed its name to CargoNet at the beginning of 200 ...
, and the maintenance department became
Mantena
Mantena is a Norwegian rolling stock maintenance company owned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. It has workshops at Grorud and Lodalen in Oslo, Marienborg in Trondheim as well as in Skien, Drammen and Stavanger . In addition to ...
. It was controversially renamed Vygruppen in 2019; the then-opposition parties vowed to reverse the name change.
History
![Norges Statsbaner logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Norges_Statsbaner_logo.svg)
On 1 December 1996, the largest structural change in Norwegian railway history in the 20th century occurred. The old Norwegian State Railways was split into three separate governmental agencies. The ownership, maintenance and construction of the track was transformed to the newly created government agency Norwegian National Rail Administration while a new Norwegian Railway Inspectorate was created to supervise all railway operations in the country. NSB was renamed NSB BA and created as a
limited company
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by shares, the lia ...
, wholly owned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Also, NSB was made a
concern, with
NSB Biltrafikk (now Vy Buss) and NSB Eiendom (later
ROM Eiendom
Bane NOR Eiendom is a subsidiary of Bane NOR responsible for managing the commercial sections of the company's real estate. With headquarters in Oslo, the company manages of space. The vast majority of this is in or in connection with railway st ...
, in 2017 succeeded by
Bane NOR
Bane NOR SF, formerly Jernbaneinfrastrukturforetaket (English: ''Railway Infrastructure Company''), is the Norwegian government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the tra ...
Eiendom) made subsidiaries of NSB.
In 1998, the new
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atl ...
opened, replacing the old
Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu ( no, Oslo lufthavn, Fornebu), was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redevel ...
that had been too small since the 1980s. Part of the political compromise to build the new airport was a twofold consequence for NSB. First of all it was decided that the new airport was to have an as environmentally friendly ground infrastructure as possible, resulting in the decision to build a
high speed railway
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
on the stretch from Oslo Central Station to the airport, which would only take 19 minutes. But at the same time it was a political demand that the new airport not cost the taxpayers any money, and it was decided that the entire construction was to be financed with loans. The result was that the airport was to be financed, built and operated by the
Civil Aviation Administration subsidiary Oslo Lufthavn AS while the rail connection was to be financed, built and operated by the NSB subsidiary
NSB Gardermobanen. But problems arose during the construction of the
Gardermoen Line
The Gardermoen Line ( no, Gardermobanen) is a high-speed railway line between Oslo and Eidsvoll, Norway, running past Lillestrøm and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. The line is long and replaced the older Hoved Line as the main line north-east of O ...
because of a leak in the tunnel
Romerike Tunnel
The Romerike Tunnel ( no, Romeriksporten) is a railway tunnel in Norway between Oslo and Lillestrøm. It is the second longest railway tunnel in Norway after the Blix Tunnel opened in 2022, and forms the first section of the Gardermoen Line. I ...
, resulting in major
budget overruns and a delay in the opening of the tunnel. Still, Norway's first high speed railway line opened on time on 8 October 1998 at the same time as the new airport, though the Romerike Tunnel was not opened until 22 October 1999, more than a year after its scheduled opening. The service is operated using 16 custom built
Class 71 electric multiple units, with a capacity for 168 passengers and maximum speed of .
NSB tried to modernize itself in the late 1990s through the acquisition of new rolling stock and a new
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...
image. The first stock to be delivered were 22
El 18
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American p ...
electric locomotives. These were meant to take over passenger train traffic in Southern Norway while the
El 16s and
El 14s were moved to the freight division and the
El 17s were scrapped, relegated to shunting or sold to the
Flåm Line
The Flåm Line ( no, Flåmsbana) is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with So ...
. The new locomotives were capable of speeds up to . For the diesel lines, NSB attempted to buy 12
Di 6 from
Siemens, but had to return them after they failed to operate sufficiently in the northern Norwegian cold. NSB also decided to re-brand itself with three district brands:
NSB Signatur NSB may refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* Natural Snow Buildings, a French experimental music duo
* Nihilist Spasm Band, Canadian free improvisation musical collective
*Nu skool breaks, a subgenre of breakbeat music originating during the ...
(express trains),
NSB Agenda (regional trains) and
NSB Puls NSB may refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* Natural Snow Buildings, a French experimental music duo
* Nihilist Spasm Band, Canadian free improvisation musical collective
*Nu skool breaks, a subgenre of breakbeat music originating during the ...
(local trains). At the same time, NSB ordered new electric multiple units, first of all for the new Airport Express Train service, Class 71. This was followed up with 16 new Signatur trains of
Class 73 that were to be used on the express services on the
Bergen Line
The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Osl ...
, the
Dovre Line
The Dovre Line ( no, Dovrebanen) is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim.
Definition
*Dovre Line is the current name of the 548 km main line of the Norwegian railway s ...
and the
Sørlandet Line
The Sørlandet Line ( no, Sørlandsbanen) is a railway line between Drammen (though this is connected to Oslo by means of the Drammen Line) via Kristiansand to Stavanger. The line is long between Oslo and Stavanger.
History
The railway was con ...
and equipped with
tilting technology. This was an attempt to create a high speed railway service using existing rail track, though the operating times between Oslo and the termini were only reduced by about 10 minutes. These trains were painted blue and grey, and were the first non-red trains to be operated by NSB in decades. At the same time, NSB announced the introduction of the Agenda concept, that was to replace the
NSB InterCity Express
NSB InterCity Express or ICE was a premium medium distance railway service provided by Norwegian State Railways (NSB) on the routes Oslo–Lillehammer (along parts of the Dovre Line), Oslo–Skien (along the Vestfold Line) and Oslo–Halden– Gà ...
services and the diesel services. While the Class 70s were simply repainted, the diesel services on the
Nordland Line
The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndel ...
, the
Rauma Line
The Rauma Line ( no, Raumabanen) is a long railway between the town of Åndalsnes (in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county), and the village of Dombås (in Dovre Municipality in Oppland county), in Norway. Running down the Romsdalen v ...
and the
Røros Line
The Røros Line ( no, Rørosbanen) is a railway line which runs through the districts of Hedmarken, Østerdalen and Gauldalen in Innlandet and Trøndelag, Norway. The line branches off from the Dovre Line at Hamar Station and runs a more easterl ...
were upgrades with 15 new
Class 93 units in 2001, though criticized for lack of comfort, have increased the speed on the railways. NSB also discontinued night train services on the Rauma Line and Røros Line. Starting in 2002, NSB also received 36 new electrical local trains,
Class 72. These were painted grey/green (for the use of the brand name ''Puls'') and were put in the
Oslo Commuter Rail
Oslo Commuter Rail ( no, Lokaltog Østlandet) is a commuter rail centered in Oslo, Norway, connecting the capital to six counties in Eastern Norway. The system is operated by Vy (formerly NSB) and its subsidiary Vy Gjøvikbanen, using Class 69 ...
and
Jæren Commuter Rail
The Jæren Commuter Rail ( no, Jærbanen) is a commuter train service operated along the westernmost part of the Sørland Line in Jæren, Norway. It is operated by Go-Ahead Norge with nine NSB Class 72, Class 72 electric multiple units. The ser ...
. NSB has now discontinued the use of brand names on its rail products.
By 2002, the
Bondevik's Second Cabinet
Bondevik's Second Cabinet governed Norway between 19 October 2001 and 17 October 2005. It was led by Kjell Magne Bondevik and consisted of the Conservative Party, the Christian Democratic Party and the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of ...
wanted to further
deregulate
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
the Norwegian railway sector, and made NSB a
limited company
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by shares, the lia ...
NSB AS on 1 July. NSB had been through a process of making the company more of a corporation, with the IT section made the subsidiary
Arrive and the maintenance transformed to
Mantena
Mantena is a Norwegian rolling stock maintenance company owned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. It has workshops at Grorud and Lodalen in Oslo, Marienborg in Trondheim as well as in Skien, Drammen and Stavanger . In addition to ...
. NSB also purchased part of the Swedish
TÃ¥gkompaniet while the old freight train section NSB Gods was transformed to
CargoNet
CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight trains on the Norwegian railway system. It was formed as NSB Gods after NSB (now Vy) fissioned into a passenger and a freight company. NSB Gods changed its name to CargoNet at the beginning of 200 ...
. 45% of the subsidiary was then sold to the
Statens Järnvägar
The Swedish State Railways ( sv, Statens Järnvägar) or SJ, originally the Royal Railway Board ( sv, Kungl. Järnvägsstyrelsen), was the former government agency responsible for operating the state-owned railways in Sweden.
It was created i ...
successor
Green Cargo. In 2004, the government also split NSB Gardermobanen in two, deleting the companies debt, transferring the track it owned to Jernbaneverket and the train operations to a new, government-owned enterprise, the
Airport Express Train
An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city by mainline or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover, or light rail. Direct links operate straight to the airport terminal, while o ...
.
On 24 April 2019, NSB was renamed Vygruppen and rebranded as Vy (it is a Scandinavian word meaning vision, outlook, overview or prospect). According to a survey by the
Language Council of Norway, the name change was only supported by 7% of Norwegians.
Services
Vy operates with three main types of passenger rail transport: intercity trains, regional trains and commuter trains.
Inter-city services
Long-haul electric passenger trains services are offered on the
Bergen Line
The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Osl ...
. The four day trains are operated with traditional locomotive hauled trains (electric locomotives
El18 and coaches
Class 7). A
night train service with WLAB2 sleeping coaches is also offered on these lines.
Regional services
Vy has two regional rail services. All regional trains are to receive the new livery of red and grey. NSB has previously used the brand name ''Agenda'' on its regional services.
Regional services use
Class 74 (R10
Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...
–
Lillehammer) and
Class 73b (R20 Oslo S –
Halden
Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish mun ...
– (
Gothenburg)). The service is provided hourly along the
Trunk Line
In telecommunications, trunking is a technology for providing network access to multiple clients simultaneously by sharing a set of circuits, carriers, channels, or frequencies, instead of providing individual circuits or channels for each clie ...
, the
Vestfold Line
The Vestfold Line ( no, Vestfoldbanen) is a railway line which runs between Drammen and Eidanger in Norway. The line connects to the Drammen Line at the northern terminus at Drammen Station and continues as the Bratsberg Line past Skien Station ...
and the
Østfold Line
The Østfold Line ( no, Østfoldbanen) is a railway line which runs from Oslo through the western parts of Follo and Østfold to Kornsjø in Norway. It continues through Sweden as the Norway/Vänern Line. The northern half is double track and ...
. The trains running between Lillehammer and Skien serve
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atl ...
, providing an alternative to the
Airport Express Train
An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city by mainline or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover, or light rail. Direct links operate straight to the airport terminal, while o ...
.
*
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
-
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
(Bergen Line)
*
Fauske-
Narvik (NSB-Bus)-
Stockholm (Train) (Sweden)
*
Narvik-
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...
(NSB-Bus)
Commuter services
Around the cities of
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
,
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
and
Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...
Vy operates commuter train services using
Class 69,
Class 72,
Class 74 and
Class 75 electric multiple units and
Class 92 diesel multiple units. The services usually have hourly or semi-hourly frequency. NSB tried using the brand name ''Puls'' for the commuter trains, and have painted some of the trains green. The Puls brand has been discontinued.
The
Oslo Commuter Rail
Oslo Commuter Rail ( no, Lokaltog Østlandet) is a commuter rail centered in Oslo, Norway, connecting the capital to six counties in Eastern Norway. The system is operated by Vy (formerly NSB) and its subsidiary Vy Gjøvikbanen, using Class 69 ...
provides the following services, with Class 69, Class 72 and Class 75:
* L1 (
Spikkestad
Spikkestad is a village in the municipality of Asker, in the province of Viken, Norway. Its current population (2022) is between 4000 and 5000.
Spikkestad is located in the northern part of the peninsula of Hurumlandet, closer to the Drammensfj ...
)–
Asker
Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greater Asker) in Viken county, ...
–Oslo–
Lillestrøm
Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...
(Trunk Line )
* L12
Eidsvoll
Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.
General information
...
–Oslo–Drammen–
Kongsberg
Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...
(Trunk Line and Sørland Line)
* L13 Drammen–
Skøyen–Oslo–
Jessheim
Jessheim is a town in the Ullensaker municipality in Akershus of Norway.
History
The railway station with the Jessheim station was built in 1854 as part of the Hovedbanen line from Oslo to Eidsvoll.
The railroad had at the initial construction o ...
–
Dal
In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pu ...
(Trunk Line and Drammen Line)
* L14 Asker–
Lillestrøm
Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...
–
Ã…rnes
Ã…rnes is a village in Nes municipality in Viken County ( Akershus County until January 1st 2020), Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises ...
–
Kongsvinger
Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aus ...
(
Kongsvinger Line
The Kongsvinger Line ( no, Kongsvingerbanen) is a railway line between the towns of Lillestrøm and Kongsvinger in Norway and onwards to Charlottenberg in Sweden. The railway was opened on 3 October 1862 and is Norway's second standard gauge lin ...
)
* L2 Stabekk–Oslo–
Ski
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...
(Østfold Line)
* L21
Stabekk Stabekk is a suburban centre in the municipality of Bærum, Norway, west of Oslo. It is predominantly a residential area, with many residents commuting to Oslo. As of 2005 the population was 6,261.
Bærum has the highest income per capita and the hi ...
–Oslo–
Moss (Østfold Line)
* L22 Skøyen–Oslo–
Mysen
Mysen is the administrative center of the municipality of Eidsberg in the county of Østfold in Norway.
The town is named after the old farm of Mysen ( Norse ''Mysin'', from ''*Mosvin''), since the town is built on its ground. The first element i ...
–(
Rakkestad) (Østfold Line)
Other commuter train services:
* The
Bergen Commuter Rail: Bergen–
Voss
Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, ...
–
Myrdal (Bergen Line) with Class 69
*
Porsgrunn
is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn.
The municipality of Porsgrunn w ...
–
Notodden
Notodden () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Notodden.
Notodden was separated from the munic ...
(
Bratsberg Line) with Y1 class railcar
In 2005, services on
Gjøvik Line
The Gjøvik Line ( no, Gjøvikbanen) is a Norwegian railway line between Oslo and Gjøvik. It was originally named the North Line (''Nordbanen'') and ran between Grefsen and Røykenvik. The line was completed to Gjøvik in 1902. The Gjøvik ...
were transferred to
NSB Gjøvikbanen NSB may refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* Natural Snow Buildings, a French experimental music duo
* Nihilist Spasm Band, Canadian free improvisation musical collective
*Nu skool breaks, a subgenre of breakbeat music originating during the ...
(now Vy Gjøvikbanen) after the NSB subsidiary had won a public
tender bid for a ten-year
public service obligation contract with the Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communication. The
Norwegian Minister of Transportation and Communications,
Liv Signe Navarsete
Liv Signe Navarsete (born 23 October 1958 in Sogndal) is a Norwegian politician from the Centre Party. She has served as county governor of Vestland county since 2022. She previously served as Minister of Local Government from 2009 to 2013, Min ...
(
Centre Party), has announced that the
present government (as of 2006) will discontinue the
previous government's announcements to put more rail line operations on public tender.
Rolling stock
![Class_93_Bodo_Norway_2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Class_93_Bodo_Norway_2009.JPG)
The Norwegian passenger train division
has a fleet of 36
Class 72 and 82
Class 69 electric multiple units (EMU) and 14
Class 92 diesel multiple units (DMU) for commuter services. The company has a further 22
Class 73 and 16
Class 70 EMUs and
Class 93 DMUs for regional and intercity trains, which are also provided by 22
El 18
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American p ...
and 5
Di 4 locomotives which haul Class 5 and Class 7 passenger cars. Vy receives subsidies to operate unprofitable route from its owner, while services on the
Gjøvik Line
The Gjøvik Line ( no, Gjøvikbanen) is a Norwegian railway line between Oslo and Gjøvik. It was originally named the North Line (''Nordbanen'') and ran between Grefsen and Røykenvik. The line was completed to Gjøvik in 1902. The Gjøvik ...
have been made subject to
public service obligations, which is operated by Vy's subsidiary
Vy Gjøvikbanen
Vy Gjøvikbanen AS (formerly NSB Gjøvikbanen AS) is a Norwegian railway company that operates the passenger train service on the Gjøvik Line. A subsidiary of the state-owned Vy, it operates a fleet of nine Class 69g three-car electric multip ...
.
During the 1990s, NSB modernized their rolling stock, expanding their fleet of multiple units and retiring many of the traditional locomotive-hauled trains. Most of the locomotives were sold to the freight company CargoNet AS, but the models El18 and Di4 remain to haul passenger trains. Some of the new trains were plagued with troubles, in particular a brand new Class 73 derailed at low speed at
Nelaug
Nelaug is a village in the southern part of the municipality of Ã…mli in Agder county, Norway. The population (2001) was 161. The village lies at east of the Nelaug lake, which is regulated by a hydroelectric power plant. The most notable fe ...
in 2000 because of an axle breaking due to
metal fatigue
In materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, typically producing striations on some parts o ...
. As of 2005, however, these trains have been performing satisfactorily.
In August 2008, NSB announced it had ordered 50 new five-car electric multiple units of the
Class 74 and 75. These will be used for local service in the
Greater Oslo
Greater Oslo Region ("Stor-Oslo-regionen" in Norwegian) is a statistical metropolitan region surrounding the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The region includes the city of Oslo (population: 658,390), the entire county of Akershus (population: 573,326) ...
area (24 sets) and also regional service in southern Norway (26 sets). The delivery is scheduled for 2012 but delayed because of accident during testing, by that time much of the rail network is expected to be upgraded to
double track, enabling an increase in frequency. The contract which is worth approximately 840 mill.
Swiss francs gives NSB an option to buy an additional 100 sets. These trains have been specifically modified to operate in Norwegian climate and have a maximum speed of .
Locomotives
*2
Di 2 class diesel
shunter
A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...
s
*9
El 17 class
electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or g ...
s, three used for shunting and six run on the
Flåm Line
The Flåm Line ( no, Flåmsbana) is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with So ...
.
*22
El 18
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American p ...
class electric locomotives, used on all main electrified lines.
Electric multiple units
*80
Class 69 class 2-car or 3-car commuter trains, used around
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
and
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
.
*16
Class 70 class 4-car intercity (medium distance) trains, used around Oslo.
*36
Class 72 class 4-car commuter trains, used around Oslo.
*6 Class 73b class 4-car intercity version of the Class 73 used on
Østfold Line
The Østfold Line ( no, Østfoldbanen) is a railway line which runs from Oslo through the western parts of Follo and Østfold to Kornsjø in Norway. It continues through Sweden as the Norway/Vänern Line. The northern half is double track and ...
.
*50 Class 74 intercity trains and Class 75 commuter trains, based on the
Stadler FLIRT has been introduced. With the first for profit operation on May 2, 2012.
Diesel railcar
*3
Y1 used until 2015 on the
Bratsberg Line between
Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...
and
Notodden
Notodden () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Notodden.
Notodden was separated from the munic ...
.
Carriages
*The non-motorized passenger carriages in operation are the B3-series (the oldest), B5-series and B7-series. The B5- and B7-series are in service on long distance express trains while the B3-series in green color are used in tourist trains on the Flåm Line (Myrdal-Flåm).
Subsidiaries
* Complete ownership of
Arrive (IT services)
* Complete ownership of
Vy Buss
Vy Buss, formerly branded as Nettbuss, is the largest bus company in Norway, owned by Vy. It was established on 10 February 2000 as the continuation of the bus operations from former NSB Biltrafikk. In addition to bus services in major parts of ...
(Bus operations)
* Complete ownership of
Vy Gjøvikbanen
Vy Gjøvikbanen AS (formerly NSB Gjøvikbanen AS) is a Norwegian railway company that operates the passenger train service on the Gjøvik Line. A subsidiary of the state-owned Vy, it operates a fleet of nine Class 69g three-car electric multip ...
(Operates train services on the Gjøvik Line)
* Complete ownership of
Vy TÃ¥g
Vy Tåg AB is a Swedish railway company that operates franchises in different parts of Sweden. The company was founded in 1999 by three former railway employees in Statens Järnvägar and the investment company Småföretagsinvest/Fylkinvest. I ...
(Sweden)
* Complete ownership of
CargoNet AS
* 55% of Trafikkservice, the other 45% owned by
ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...
(Cleaning services)
Chief executives
*1996–2000:
Osmund Ueland Osmund Ueland (born 27 September 1947) is a Norwegian civil servant and former CEO of Norges Statsbaner (NSB).
An engineer by education, he worked for Aker from 1975 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994 he headed the Lillehammer Olympic Organising Commit ...
*2000–2000:
Randi Flesland
Randi Runa Svenkerud Flesland (born 17 November 1955 in Oslo) is a Norwegian civil servant.
Flesland was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, with education in economics, with addition of psychology and pedagogy in the universities of Oslo and ...
(acting)
*2000–2001:
Arne Wam (acting)
*2001–2011:
Einar Enger
*since 2011: Geir Isaksen
References
External links
Official websitetog.webuda.com - Long-distance trains in Norway - Train configurations and seating maps
{{Authority control
Government-owned companies of Norway
Ministry of Transport (Norway)
Norwegian brands
Railway companies established in 1996
Railway companies of Norway
1996 establishments in Norway