The Varde–Nørre Nebel railway line ( da, Varde-Nørre Nebel Jernbane), also called the West Line ( da, Vestbanen) and the Nebel Line ( da, Nebelbanen), colloquially referred to as ''Nebelgrisen'' (literally meaning the ''Nebel pig''), is a long local railway line in

West Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. It was opened for traffic in 1903. It has

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

and is not electrified. Varde Vest station was originally the terminus for the trains, but today almost all the trains connect with the Esbjerg–Varde railway line and continue to stations like , , and .

History

The railway line opened on 15 March 1903 to connect the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

of Varde with

Nørre Nebel Nørre Nebel is a town in southwest Jutland with a population of 1,316 (1 January 2022).Oksbøl Oksbøl is a town in southwestern Jutland in the Varde Municipality, in Region of Southern Denmark. As of 1 January 2022, it has a population of 2,815. Notable people * Æ Tinuser Æ Tinuser (Standard Danish: Tinus brødrene, English The Tinus ...

. In 1913, the railway line was extended from Nørre Nebel to the railway town of

Tarm Tarm is a small railway town with a population of 4,010 (1 January 2022)Esbjerg–Struer railway line, but this section was closed again in 1940. During The second world war, the rail line saw a huge increase in traffic, mainly because of the German expansion of Oksbøllejren and Nymindegablejren as part of the

Atlantic wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...

The Vestbanen railway company

The railway line is owned and was previously operated by the railway company Vestbanen A/S, previously known as Varde-Nørre Nebel Jernbane (VNJ). Formerly owned by Ribe County (until the Danish Municipal Reform of 2007), the company leased its trains and infrastructure to Arriva, which has operates Vestbanen's railway line since 2002. Established in 1903, the company was originally headquartered in Varde, but is now administered from the county's offices in Ribe. The company is wholly owned by the Region of Southern Denmark.

Route

The Varde–Nørre Nebel railway line starts at Varde railway station where it branches from the Esbjerg–Struer railway line. After curving east and north of the town centre of Varde, it reaches on the northwestern edge of the historic town centre. From there it continues almost due west to the village of

Oksbøl Oksbøl is a town in southwestern Jutland in the Varde Municipality, in Region of Southern Denmark. As of 1 January 2022, it has a population of 2,815. Notable people * Æ Tinuser Æ Tinuser (Standard Danish: Tinus brødrene, English The Tinus ...

. From Oksbøl, the line continues north to its terminus at

Nørre Nebel Nørre Nebel is a town in southwest Jutland with a population of 1,316 (1 January 2022).Rail transport in Denmark The rail transport system in Denmark consists of 2,633 km of railway lines, of which the Copenhagen S-train network, the main line Helsingør-Copenhagen-Padborg (at the German border), and the Lunderskov-Esbjerg line are electrified. Most t ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

www.vestbanen.dk
* Railway lines in Denmark Railway lines opened in 1903 Railway companies of Denmark Railway companies established in 1903 1903 establishments in Denmark {{Denmark-transport-stub