, logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = Valdresbanen-Etna-Stasjon.jpg , image_name = , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = Now closed Etna Station , color = , locale =

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 t ...

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Eina Eina is a village in Vestre Toten Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the Gjøvikbanen railway line, between the villages of Jaren and Raufoss. The village of Eina is located south of the municipal centre of ...

Dokka Dokka is the administrative centre of Nordre Land Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located at the confluence of the rivers Dokka and Etna, about north of the lake Randsfjorden, the fourth largest lake in Norway. The vi ...

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Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach se ...

, originalopen = 23 November 1902 , originalgauge = , originalelec = None , owned = , operator = , marks = , stations = (?) , length = , preservedgauge = , era = , com-years = , com-events = , com-years1 = , com-events1 = , closedpassengers = , closed = 1 January 1989 , stageyears = , stage = , years = , events = , years1 = , events1 = , headquarters = , website = , routemap = , routemap_name = , routemap_state = The Valdres Line ( no, Valdresbanen) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

railway that connected to 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 Li ...

with

Fagernes is a town in Nord-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the largest urban/commercial centre for the Valdres region. It is located just northwest of the village of ...

in the district of

Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre ...

. The first stretch opened on 23 November 1902, and the entire route was operational on October 10, 1906. The line was shut down for regular traffic as of 1 January 1989. The entire length of the line was 108 kilometers. It connected the rural areas of

Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

and Valdres by rail to the main railroad network in Norway, including

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 ...

and international points beyond. Though there is no regular traffic on the line the 48 km stretch from Eina to Dokka is still permitted for trains and considered part of the national rail network.

History

The line was built by a private company, AS Valdresbanen, in four phases: #

(approximately 47 km): regular traffic 28 November 1902 # Dokka to Tonsåsen (31 km): 1 November 1903 # Tonsåsen to

Aurdal Aurdal is a village in Nord-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the European route E16 highway about to the northwest of the village of Bagn (in Sør-Aurdal) and about to the southeast of the town of F ...

(18 km): 29 September 1906 # Aurdal to

(13 km): 29 September 1906 In 1937, the Norwegian government through the

took over operations of the line, and in 1953 the line and equipment was modernized to the point that the trip from Oslo to Fagernes took 4.5 hours. In 1955 and 1956 tunnels were built at Høgberget and Tonsåsen, respectively. When Norwegian authorities decided to electrify half of the line distance of Norway in the 1950s and 60s, the Valdres Line was not chosen to be electrified, even though the Gjøvik Line was. In 1985, a bus service was established between Oslo and Fagernes, reducing the number of annual passengers on the train line by 19,000. In 1988, the Norwegian legislature decided to shut down regular traffic on the Valdres Line while keeping the tracks between Eina and Leira open for purposes of national security. In 1989, a grassroots movement was started to keep the line, but to no avail. In 1991, the tracks between Leira and Fagernes were lifted (removed). A private company is formed to arrange chartered trips on the remaining railway.

External links

Valdres Line advocacy organization
{{coord, 60, 49, 57, N, 10, 04, 21, E, region:NO-05_type:landmark_source:kolossus-nowiki, display=title Railway lines in Norway Heritage railways in Norway Railway lines in Oppland Railway lines opened in 1902 1902 establishments in Norway Private railway lines in Norway