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

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

West Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. 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 in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

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 rura ...

Varde Varde is a Danish city in southwestern Jutland and is the primary city in the municipality of Varde, in Region of Southern Denmark. In 2015 municipality changed its motto to "We in nature" to emphasize its rural atmosphere. The town has an old ma ...

with

Nørre Nebel Nørre Nebel is a town in southwest Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 1,309 (1 January 2024).Oksbøl Oksbøl is a town in southwestern Jutland in the Varde Municipality, in Region of Southern Denmark. As of 1 January 2024, it has a population of 2,840. Oksbøl Refugee Camp houses the refugee museum FLUGT, which opened in 2022. The museum descri ...

. 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 4,122 (1 January 2025)Esbjerg–Struer railway line The Esbjerg–Struer railway line (, also known as the ''West Jutland longitudinal railway line'' (), is a long standard gauge single track (rail), single track railway line in Denmark which runs between the cities of Esbjerg and Struer, Denmark, ...

, but this section was closed again in 1940. During

The second world war World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...

, 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 () was an extensive system of coastal defence and fortification, coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defense (military), d ...

The Vestbanen railway company

The railway line is owned and was previously operated by the

railway company A rail transport company is a company active within the rail industry. It can be: * a manufacturing company, * a rail transport operations, railway undertaking providing services through operating rolling stock, * a railway infrastructure manager ...

Vestbanen A/S, previously known as Varde-Nørre Nebel Jernbane (VNJ). Formerly owned by

Ribe County Ribe County () is a former county ( Danish: '' amt'') on the Jutland peninsula of southwest Denmark. It included Denmark's fifth largest city, Esbjerg. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it merged into Region of Southern Den ...

(until the Danish Municipal Reform of 2007), the company leased its trains and infrastructure to

Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...

, 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 Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,367 (2025). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It is now part of the enlarged E ...

. The company is wholly owned by the

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark (, ; , ; ) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions ...

Route

The Varde–Nørre Nebel railway line starts at Varde railway station where it branches from the

Esbjerg–Struer railway line The Esbjerg–Struer railway line (, also known as the ''West Jutland longitudinal railway line'' (), is a long standard gauge single track (rail), single track railway line in Denmark which runs between the cities of Esbjerg and Struer, Denmark, ...

. 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 2024, it has a population of 2,840. Oksbøl Refugee Camp houses the refugee museum FLUGT, which opened in 2022. The museum descri ...

. From Oksbøl, the line continues north to its

terminus Terminus may refer to: Ancient Rome *Terminus (god), a Roman deity who protected boundary markers Transport *Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination *Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end des ...

Nørre Nebel Nørre Nebel is a town in southwest Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 1,309 (1 January 2024).Rail transport in Denmark The rail transport system in Denmark consists of of railway lines, of which the Copenhagen S-train network, the main line Helsingør-Copenhagen-Padborg (at the Denmark–Germany border, German border), and the Lunderskov-Esbjerg line are railwa ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

www.vestbanen.dk
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varde-Norre Nebel railway line Railway lines in Denmark Railway lines opened in 1903 Railway companies of Denmark Railway companies established in 1903 1903 establishments in Denmark