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The Voss Line ( no, Vossebanen) is a railway line from
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
to
Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...
in
Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...
,
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 ...
. It opened on 11 July 1883 and was extended to Oslo as the
Bergen Line The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Oslo, ...
on 27 November 1909. It was built as
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
, but converted to with the connection with the Bergen Line. It was electrified in 1954, and shortened by the
Ulriken Tunnel The Ulriken Tunnel ( no, Ulrikstunnelen) is a railway tunnel on the Bergen Line between Bergen Station and Arna Station in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Original (old) tunnel The existing long tunnel runs under the north ...
in 1963. In addition to carrying long-haul passenger and freight trains on the Bergen Line, it is the main part of Bergen Commuter Rail. The
Old Voss Line , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image_name =Type 18 locomotive n. 255 at Garnes.jpg , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = Type 18 locomotive no. 255 at ...
, the section from Arna to Bergen, has become a
heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
.


History

The first documented idea of building a railway between Norway's two largest cities was launched by Voss forest supervisor Hans Gløersen on 24 August 1871 in the
Bergensposten ''Bergensposten'' is a defunct newspaper published in Bergen, Norway from 1 March 1854 until 1893 when it merged with ''Bergens Tidende''. The editor at the start was Johannes Steen Johannes Wilhelm Christian Steen (22 July 1827 - 1 April 1906 ...
newspaper. He suggested building the railway via Voss and
Hallingdal Hallingdal ( en, Halling Valley) is a valley as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county in Norway. It consists of six municipalities: Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. Hal ...
to connect with the
Krøderen Line , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image_name =Krøderbanen - 2006-07-16.jpg , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = Loco 236 at Krøderen, 16 July 2006 , ...
. Back in 1866 he had launched the idea of the
Jæren Line The Jæren Line ( no, Jærbanen) long railway line between Stavanger and Egersund in Jæren, Norway. The name is no longer in official use and the section is regarded as the westernmost part of the Sørlandet Line. Owned by the Norwegian Rail ...
. Within days of the launch of the Bergen Line the city council had garnered support. In 1872 the railway director
Carl Abraham Pihl Carl Abraham Pihl (16 January 1825 – 14 September 1897) was a Norwegian civil engineer and director of the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) from 1865 until his death. Pihl was one of the main architects of the use of narrow-gauge railways in No ...
and two engineers went on a survey tour to look at the suggested line. At the time it was common that proposals for railways came from local initiatives, and that local municipalities and private investors would then pay about 20% of the investments, the state covering the rest, mostly through
foreign debt A country's gross external debt (or foreign debt) is the liabilities that are owed to nonresidents by residents. The debtors can be governments, corporations or citizens. External debt may be denominated in domestic or foreign currency. It incl ...
.


Political processes

On 20 October 1871 two engineers traversed the two possible routes from Bergen to Voss; via
Fana Fana is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the southeastern part of the municipality of Bergen. The borough was once part of the historic municipality of Fana which was incorporated into Bergen in ...
, Os and
Hardangerfjord The Hardangerfjord ( en, Hardanger Fjord) is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountain ...
; and via Dale and Sørfjord. Though covering a less populated area, the latter would be cheaper to build, and have less elevation. A railway committee was created on 25 January 1872 with a limited mandate, which was increased on 20 December. At the same time there was a dispute between the
Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...
and Pihl about whether to prioritize the Bergen Line, but in July 1872 surveys were performed in person by Pihl and two engineers, and their report was positive. At the same time he launched the idea of a branch line up
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 ...
to
Lærdal Lærdal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Lærdalsøyri. The old Filefjell Kong ...
. By 1873 agreement had been reached as to the right-of-way to Voss, but not onwards towards Oslo. On 13 January 1874 Bergen city council started issuing stock for the Voss Line, and to begin with 400,000
Norwegian speciedaler The rigsdaler specie was a unit of silver currency used in Norway, renamed as the speciedaler in 1816 and used until 1873. Norway used a common reichsthaler currency system shared with Denmark, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein until 1873 when the go ...
(NOK 1.6 million) was issued. In the 1873 parliamentary election railway supporter
Peter Jebsen Peter Jebsen ( 6 May 1824 – 30 October 1892) was a Norway, Norwegian businessperson and politician. He was the founder of Dale of Norway. Background Jebsen was born at Broager in the Duchy of Schleswig. He was the son of Jens Jebsen (1778-1 ...
was elected, spending the next few years furiously defending the railway.
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
did not endorse new railway projects in the 1874 session, instead making a complete plan for all railway construction, to be proposed by a committee. When the report was launched on 20 March 1875, the Voss Line was not included since it could not show a higher profitability than 1%. During the 1875 session there was not a majority for the Voss Line, partially due to the lack of capital available for local investors. This was based on a claim from
Johan Jørgen Schwartz Johan Jørgen Schwartz (19 February 1824 – 17 March 1898) was a Norwegian politician and businessperson. Schwartz was born at Drammen in Buskerud, Norway. He was the son of Hans Jürgen Schwartz (1785-1844) and Marie Cathrine Wærner (1803–8 ...
, the chairman of the committee, that the investment costs were underestimated. This was countered by
Nils Henrik Bruun Nils Henrik Bruun (1832–1916) was a Norwegian engineer. Biography Nils Henrik Bruun was born in Tønsberg in 1832. Educated at Chalmers in Gothenburg, and in Germany, Bruun moved to Bergen in 1863 where he engaged in several engineering ventur ...
, a constructor from Bergen, who was willing to construct all the tunnels for less than the budgeted sum. When Jebsen in addition was willing to act as personal guarantor for Bruun in case of his death, the majority in the parliament shifted. On 9 June 1875 parliament voted 61 to 42 to build the line.


Construction

The line was built to
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
, . Construction started in December 1875, while the largest part started in March 1876. During the winter the engineers had made final adjustments to the plans. At any given time at least 800 men worked on construction, and at the peak 1,800 men were employed. They worked 12 hours per day, for which they had a daily wage of NOK 2.55, the highest wage for
navvies Navvy, a clipping of navigator ( UK) or navigational engineer ( US), is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects and occasionally (in North America) to refer to mechanical shovels and eart ...
in the country. To a large extent the labor came from Sweden, who had just finished the
Norway/Vänern Line Norway/Vänern Line ( sv, Norge/Vänerbanan) is a Y-shaped railway line in Sweden. The main section runs from Gothenburg Central Station to Kil Station, mostly along the west shore of Vänern. There is a branch from Erikstad to the Norway–Swe ...
and had an excess of skilled labor for construction. This import of labor had the effect of pumping money into the local economy, and several taverns were built along the line. There were some accidents, and several deaths among the workers. Construction finished in 1882 and some test services began, though not scheduled until the spring of 1883. Official opening was on 11 July 1883. Many of the navvies settled near the line, and started working for the
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 ...
as part of the operation.


Merger

On 27 November 1909 the Bergen Line opened from Voss to
Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2008, ...
, and the Voss Line lost its independent status. The Bergen Line was built to
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 ...
, so the line from Bergen to Voss had to be converted for the opening of the Bergen Line. This was especially challenging because of the continuous traffic on the line, with 36 departures per day to Nesttun, six to Garnes and four to Voss. In preparation a few curves had to be straightened, the tunnels widened and the bridges strengthened. On the night of 10/11 August 1904 all the track was changed and in the morning the trains could operate on standard gauge to Voss.


White coal across white plains

Norway is a country with abundance of
hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...
and NSB saw huge amounts of money burned with imported coal. Plans for
electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...
of the line are as old as the railway itself, and in 1912 the line from Nesttun to Bergen was proposed electrified and doubled, having seen the
Thamshavn Line , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image_name = Bårdshaug stasjon.jpeg , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = Passenger train at Bårdshaug Station in 191 ...
open with electric traction in 1908.Jernbaneverket, 2007: 44 During the planning of the
Hardanger Line The Hardanger Line ( no, Hardangerbana or Hardangerbanen) was a railway between Voss and Granvin in Hordaland, Norway. The line connected to the Bergen Line in Voss, and ran to the Hardangerfjord and the district of Hardanger. Construction sta ...
and the Flåm Line during the 1930s the suggestion again arose, and both the branch lines were built with electric traction, but not the main line. Counter suggestions were raised proposing a conversion to the locomotives running on
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
or
coal dust Coal dust is a fine powdered form of which is created by the crushing, grinding, or pulverizing of coal. Because of the brittle nature of coal, coal dust can be created during mining, transportation, or by mechanically handling coal. It is a form o ...
. In 1939 a plan for national electrification was launched, and the Voss Line was top priority. But the outbreak of World War II set the plans back, and not until the 1950s was it again possible to afford such investments. Electric traction came into use on 2 July 1954.


Through the first mountain

The first from Bergen to Takvam went a very roundabout way, and it was clear that it would be possible to reduce the line by with the construction of
Ulriken Tunnel The Ulriken Tunnel ( no, Ulrikstunnelen) is a railway tunnel on the Bergen Line between Bergen Station and Arna Station in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Original (old) tunnel The existing long tunnel runs under the north ...
(), Arnanipa Tunnel () and Tunestveit Tunnel (). The idea was approved by parliament in 1956, based on private financing from the businessman
Fritz Rieber Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridoli ...
. Construction started in 1959 with the tunnels being finished in 1963 while the tracks were finished laid on 29 May 1964 when the first train entered the tunnel.


Commuter rail

NSB operates a commuter rail service from Bergen with two-hourly departures to Arna plus 14 daily departures to Voss, of which up to six continue to Myrdal. Rolling stock is Class 69 multiple units. The first part to Arna represents an important part of the public transport in Bergen, since the rail line through the
Ulriken Ulriken (or the older, ''Ålreken'') is the highest of the Seven Mountains, Bergen, Seven Mountains ( no, De syv fjell) that surround the city of Bergen, Norway. It has a height of above sea level. Ulriken has an aerial tramway, Ulriksbanen, that ...
mountains is considerably faster than driving around.


Heritage

Parts of the closed sections of the line, from
Midttun Nesttun is an urban settlement in the borough of Fana in the municipality of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It is located approximately south of the city centre. It was the centre of the old Fana municipality, which merged with Bergen in 1972 ...
to Garnes, has been converted to a
heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
—the
Old Voss Line , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image_name =Type 18 locomotive n. 255 at Garnes.jpg , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = Type 18 locomotive no. 255 at ...
—that is operated with steam trains by the
Norwegian Railway Club The Norwegian Railway Club ( no, Norsk Jernbaneklubb) is an association which is involved in the preservation of Norwegian museum railways. NMT has its operating base at Hønefoss Station in Ringerike, Norway. The society was founded on 22 May ...
during the summer. The
Flåm Line The Flåm Line ( no, Flåmsbana) is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sog ...
branch has been converted to a tourist route. The railway has spectacular scenery and a vertical descent of or 5.5% along the route from Myrdal to Flåm. It is operated by NSB, but marketed by
Flåm Utvikling Flåm Utvikling is a railway company that manages the tourist line Flåm Line (''Flåmsbana'') in Vestland county, Norway. History Up until 1998 it was Norges Statsbaner who operated the line, but then Flåm Utvikling took over the role, though ...
. El 17 locomotives haul B3 carriages, all painted green.Aspenberg, 2001: 118–21


See also

*
Narrow gauge railways in Norway In Norway, a number of main lines were in the 19th century built with narrow gauge, , to save cost in a sparsely populated mountainous country. This included Norway's first own long-distance line, the Røros Line, connecting Oslo and Trondheim, ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * *


External links

* {{Coord, 60.6380, 5.9582, type:landmark_region:NO-46, display=title Bergen Line Railway lines in Norway Railway lines in Vestland Railway lines opened in 1883 1883 establishments in Norway 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Norway Standard gauge railways in Norway