NSB Class 70 ( no, NSB type 70) is a four-carriage

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

operated by Vy on medium distance trains 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 of ...

. They are operated on 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 ...

between Oslo and

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

Dombås is a village or small town in Dovre Municipality in northern Innlandet county, Norway. The village serves as the commercial centre for the upper Gudbrandsdalen valley. It lies at an important junction of roads with the European route E6 highway ...

and on 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. ...

, operating the regional service between Lillehammer and

Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...

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 Norsj ...

History

During the late 1980s and early 1990s NSB decided to change their focus to what could become a competitive advantage. Focus on long-distance travel would be undercut, and instead focus on medium distance trains, particularly around Oslo. This led to 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– G� ...

concept being launched, based on fixed, hourly frequency with upgraded service in new electric multiple units, using higher speeds than traditional trains, and with stops only in the larger towns and cities. The service was to be launched on the Østfold Line, the Vestfold Line and the Dovre Line to Lillehammer. The service could take advantage of new lines between Ski and Moss, and 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 Os ...

to Eidsvoll. Some of the departures served by Class 70s are very early morning "red-eye" services used by people with a long commute to Oslo. Therefore, there is a quiet section on the train where

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

s and loud conversation are banned. The invitation for the bid was issued on 1 October 1986, and on 20 December 1988 NSB signed a contract with EB Strømmens Verksted concerning the delivery of nine new units. The first test runs were performed on 23 May 1992 on the

Roa–Hønefoss Line The Roa–Hønefoss Line ( no, Roa–Hønefossbanen, formerly ) is a long, single track railway line between Roa and Hønefoss in Norway. At Roa Station, the line connects to the Gjøvik Line, while at Hønefoss Station, it connects to the Rand ...

. In 1992, NSB ordered additional three units, to be delivered in time for the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

. An additional four units were delivered in 1996, making the grand total sixteen. The trains have had a fair number of technical difficulties, and on the Vestfold Line they also were of an unsuitable size; the ideal size needed was six cars, while the fixed construction required the use of either four or eight cars. From 2000-02 the trains were converted from the InterCity Express concept to the

NSB Agenda {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) NSB Agenda was a brand name created by Norges Statsbaner (NSB) for their regional train service, and used on the services in Eastern, Central and Northern Norway. Agenda trains were painted red ...

concept, but also this latter branding attempt has been discontinued, and the services are now part of the ''regional'' services provided by NSB. With the delivery of the Class 73, the Class 70 has been focused on the Skien–Lillehammer run, while the 73-units are used on 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 th ...

. In 2010, Class 70 became the first Norwegian trains to be installed with wireless Internet, allowing passengers free access on the Lillehammer–Oslo–Skien route.

Specifications

The units were built by Strømmen, with

Duewag Düwag or Duewag, formerly Waggonfabrik Uerdingen, was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles. It was sold in 1999 to Siemens with the brand later retired. History Duewag was founded in March 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Uerdingen an ...

and

ABB ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...

as suppliers. The chassis is built in aluminum, like the B7 passenger cars, and the units are capable of being multiple driven with the

NSB Class 69 NSB Class 69 ( no, NSB type 69) is an electric multiple unit used by Norwegian State Railways for a variety of commuter trains on the Norwegian railway system, as well as a few medium distance and branch line trains. It is the most common type of t ...

and other types of trains. The original seating was either 226 or 243, rebuilt to 230 and 235 with the conversion to Agenda.

References

External links

{{Rolling stock of Norway Adtranz multiple units Duewag multiple units 70 70 15 kV AC multiple units