The Vendsyssel railway line ( da, Vendsysselbanen) is a long

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 ...

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

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 ...

which runs through the

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that ...

Vendsyssel Vendsyssel () is the northernmost traditional district of Denmark and of Jutland. Being divided from mainland Jutland by the Limfjord, it is technically a part of the North Jutlandic Island, but the name often used informally for the entire island. ...

between

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

and

Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The town h ...

in North Jutland. It constitutes the northernmost part of

Den Østjyske Længdebane Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...

, the through route through the

Jutland Peninsula 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 ...

from

Padborg Padborg (german: Pattburg) is a southern Danish border town with a population of 4,311 (1 January 2022)Nørresundby Nørresundby () is a city in Aalborg Municipality, north of Limfjorden, in Vendsyssel, in Denmark. The urban area has a population of 23,718 (1 January 2021). It is located just north of Aalborg, which lies south of Limfjorden. Statistically its o ...

to Frederikshavn opened in 1871. In 1879 the route was continued from Nørresundby to Aalborg across the

Limfjord The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking times. However, it now has inlets both from ...

as the

Limfjord Railway Bridge The Limfjord Railway Bridge ( da, Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden) is a railway bridge carrying the Vendsyssel railway line across the Limfjord, a shallow sound separating the North Jutlandic Island from the rest of the Jutland Peninsula, between A ...

was inaugurated, thus connecting the Vendsyssel railway line with the Randers–Aalborg railway line as well as the rest of the Danish railway network. The Vendsyssel railawy line runs north from Aalborg to

Hjørring Hjørring () is a town on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Hjørring Municipality in the North Jutland Region. The population is 25,644 (ac ...

and turns east from there to Frederikshavn, making the

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

distance about 80 km, where the road distance is about . The line is owned and maintained by the

railway infrastructure manager A railway infrastructure manager is "any body or undertaking that is responsible in particular for establishing and maintaining railway infrastructure. This may also include the management of infrastructure control and safety systems. The functions ...

Rail Net Denmark and served with

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

s by the national

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 ...

Danish State Railways (DSB) and

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

and

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

s by the

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

railway company

Nordjyske Jernbaner Nordjyske Jernbaner (abbreviated NJ) is a Danish railway company operating in Region Nordjylland. The company was formed in 2001 as a merger of Hjørring Privatbaner (HP) and Skagensbanen (SB). Headquartered in Hjørring, the company is respons ...

. The southernmost section from

to Lindholm is also served by the

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

service

Aalborg Commuter Rail Aalborg Commuter Rail ( da, Aalborg Nærbane) is a commuter rail service in and near Aalborg, Denmark. The service started in 2003 and is operated by the Danish State Railways. There is one line, from Lindholm station in Nørresundby to Skørping, ...

. The line has three remaining

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

s: from

Nørresundby Nørresundby () is a city in Aalborg Municipality, north of Limfjorden, in Vendsyssel, in Denmark. The urban area has a population of 23,718 (1 January 2021). It is located just north of Aalborg, which lies south of Limfjorden. Statistically its o ...

the

Aalborg Airport railway line The Aalborg Airport railway line is a branch line railway designed to link Aalborg, Denmark with its airport, as part of an initiative to improve transport between the city and the airport. It opened on 13 December 2020 at a cost of 276 million ...

branches west to Aalborg Airport, from Hjørring the

Hirtshals railway line The Hirtshals railway line ( da, Hirtshalsbanen) is a long standard gauge single track railway line between Hjørring and Hirtshals, Denmark. The railway links the fishing and ferry port of Hirtshals with the Danish rail network. The railway ...

branches north to the town and

ferry port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

Hirtshals Hirtshals is a town and seaport on the coast of Skagerrak on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe. It is located in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland. The town of Hirtshals has a p ...

, and from Frederikshavn

Skagen railway line The Skagen railway line ( da, Skagensbanen) is a long standard gauge single track railway line between Skagen and Frederikshavn in Vendsyssel, Denmark. The railway links the fishing port and seaside resort of Skagen with the Danish rail network. ...

branches north to the town and

fishing port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...

History

Erste Eisenbahnbrücke über den Limfjord 001

Work on the section from

to Frederikshavn started in May 1869. It was opened on 16 August 1871 in the presence of

King Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

. Passengers crossing the

, a shallow

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

separating the

North Jutlandic Island The North Jutlandic Island (), Vendsyssel-Thy, or Jutland north of the Limfjord (''Jylland nord for Limfjorden''), is the northernmost part of Denmark and of Jutland. It is more common to refer to the three traditional districts Vendsyssel, Hanh ...

from the rest of the

, between

Nørresundby station Nørresundby () is a city in Aalborg Municipality, north of Limfjorden, in Vendsyssel, in Denmark. The urban area has a population of 23,718 (1 January 2021). It is located just north of Aalborg, which lies south of Limfjorden. Statistically its o ...

and

Aalborg station Aalborg railway station ( da, Aalborg Station or ') is the main railway station serving the city of Aalborg, Denmark. It is located in central Aalborg, on the southwestern edge of the city center, with entrances from John F. Kennedys Plads and ac ...

had two opportunities: a ferry or crossing the

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maxi ...

located further east on foot. On 7 January 1879 the route was continued from Nørresundby to Aalborg as the

spanning the

was inaugurated, and the Vendsyssel railway line was connected with the Randers–Aalborg railway line as well as the rest of the Danish railway network. In 1938, the original railway bridge was replaced by the current Limfjord Railway Bridge which was inaugurated on 23 April 1938. In 1972, several stations (including

, Sulsted and Tylstrup) were closed. In 2003, however, two new stations Aalborg Vestby (in Aalborg, south of the Limfjord) and Lindholm (in Nørresundby, about north of the old station) were opened as part of

. In 2021, a new station Hjørring East was opened in the eastern part of Hjørring. On 28 March 2012 the Limfjord railway bridge was hit by a ship and severely damaged so it was unusable for trains. For more than a year, there was no train service, only bus service, between Nørresundby and Aalborg until the bridge had been repaired and opened again for traffic on 29 April 2013. In 2017, the

regional rail Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

services on the Vendsyssel railway line were transferred from the national

DSB DSB may refer to: Science, technology and devices * DsbA, a bacterial member of the Dsb (disulfide bond) family of enzymes * Double strand break, a break in both DNA strands, part of DNA repair * in telecommunications, double-sideband transmission ...

to the

railway company

Route

The Vendsyssel line runs north from Aalborg, crossing the

on a long

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

, the

, to Nørresundby. From Nørresundby, the

branches west to Aalborg Airport. The main line passes west of

Lindholm Høje Lindholm Høje (Lindholm Hills, from Old Norse ''haugr'', hill or mound) is a major Viking burial site and former settlement situated to the north of and overlooking the city of Aalborg in Denmark. About the area The southern (lower) part of Li ...

and Hammer hills and continues north to

Brønderslev Brønderslev is a city in Denmark with a population of 12,549 (1 January 2022). The city is the largest urban area in Brønderslev Municipality and is the municipal seat. It is the fourth largest city of Vendsyssel within the North Jutland Region ...

and

. From Hjørring, the

Hirtshals Line The Hirtshals railway line ( da, Hirtshalsbanen) is a long standard gauge single track railway line between Hjørring and Hirtshals, Denmark. The railway links the fishing and ferry port of Hirtshals with the Danish rail network. The railway l ...

branches north to the town and

. The main line continues

east East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

, passing through Tolne hills to its

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

at Frederikshavn, located on the east coast of Vendsyssel. From Frederikshavn, the

Skagen Line The Skagen railway line ( da, Skagensbanen) is a long standard gauge single track railway line between Skagen and Frederikshavn in Vendsyssel, Denmark. The railway links the fishing port and seaside resort of Skagen with the Danish rail network. ...

branches north to the town and

Operations

The line is owned and maintained by the

Rail Net Denmark, a

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

under the

Danish Ministry of Transport The Danish Ministry of Transport ( da, Transportministeriet) is the Danish ministry in charge of coordinating and realizing the transport politics of Denmark. The Ministry is headed by a Permanent Secretary. The Ministry of Transport employs a ...

. It is served with

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

and

regional train Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster servi ...

s by the national

Danish State Railways (DSB) and

and

s by the

railway company

(NJ). Since 2003, the

service

, operated by DSB, has also served the southernmost section from

to Lindholm.

Stations

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Banedanmark
–

responsible for

maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doctrine ...

and

traffic control Traffic management is a key branch within logistics. It concerns the planning control and purchasing of transport services needed to physically move vehicles (for example aircraft, road vehicles, rolling stock and watercraft) and freight. Traffi ...

of most of the Danish railway network
Nordjyske Jernbaner
– Danish

operating in

North Jutland Region The North Jutland Region ( da, Region Nordjylland), or in some official sources, the North Denmark Region, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform, which abolished the trad ...

DSB
– largest Danish

train operating company A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating Passenger Trains, passenger trains on the Rail transport in Great Britain, railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the Privatisation ...

Nordjyllands Jernbaner
– website with information on

railway history The history of rail transport began in the BCE times. It can be divided into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of track material and motive power used. Ancient systems The Post Track, a prehistoric causeway in the va ...

in North Jutland
Danske Jernbaner
– website with information on

in Denmark {{DEFAULTSORT:Vendsyssel Line Railway lines in Denmark Railway lines opened in 1871 1871 establishments in Denmark Rail transport in the North Jutland Region

History

Route

Operations

Stations

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading

External links