The Skagen railway line ( da, Skagensbanen) 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 E ...

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 ...

between

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 Skage ...

and Frederikshavn in

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. ...

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The railway links the

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 ...

and

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germa ...

of Skagen with the Danish rail network. The railway line opened as a

narrow gauge railway 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 struct ...

in 1890 and was

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

in 1924. It is currently owned and operated by the

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 ...

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 ...

(NJ) which runs frequent

local 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 ...

services from

Skagen station Skagen railway station ( da, Skagen Banegård) is the main railway station serving the town of Skagen in Vendsyssel, Denmark. The station is the northern terminus of the Skagensbanen railway line from Frederikshavn to Skagen and is the most n ...

Frederikshavn station Frederikshavn railway station ( Danish: ''Frederikshavn Station'' or ''Frederikshavn Banegård'') is a railway station serving the town of Frederikshavn in Vendsyssel, Denmark. The station is the terminus of the Vendsyssel railway line from Aal ...

with onward connections from Frederikshavn to the rest of Denmark.

History

Work on the railway line started on 26 July 1889, and was completed on 16 March 1890. It was opened on 24 July 1890 in the presence of King Christian IX, Crown Prince Frederick, and the

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Hans Peter Ingerslev Hans Peter Ingerslev (3 May 1831 – 20 April 1896) was a Danish politician and minister. He was born in 1831 on Marselisborg Manor in Aarhus, owned by his parents Caspar Peder Rothe Ingerslev and Marie Meulengracht. Hans Peter Ingerslev graduat ...

. Operations on the line commenced the following day with two trains daily in each direction. Until 1924 it was a

, with a maximum speed of . In 1924 the railway line was

to avoid the need to transfer cargoes of fish in Frederikshavn. As a consequence of the conversion, the layout of Skagen station was extensively changed. As part of the conversion, the

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

between Frederikshavn and

Rimmen halt Rimmen railway halt ( da, Rimmen Trinbræt) is a railway halt, located a short distance north of the village of Nielstrup north of Frederikshavn in Vendsyssel, Denmark. The halt is located on the Skagensbanen railway line from Skagen to Fred ...

was changed so the railway line passed by the coastal town of

Strandby Strandby is a coastal town in Denmark, located in Region Nordjylland. Its population was 2,226 as of 1 January 2022.Elling. In 2001, the operating company Skagensbanen A/S (SB) merged with

Hjørring Privatbaner 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 ( ...

A/S (HP) to form the railway company

(NJ). With headquarters in

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 ...

, the company is now responsible for running the Hjørring–Hirtshals and Frederikshavn–Skagen lines. In 2005 the current

Siemens Desiro The Siemens Desiro (, , ) is a family of diesel or electric multiple unit passenger trains developed by Siemens Mobility, a division of the German Siemens AG conglomerate. The main variants are the Desiro Classic, Desiro ML, Desiro UK and the la ...

was introduced. The maximum speed is between Frederikshavn and Hulsig and between Skagen and Hulsig the maximum speed is .

Route

The Skagen line runs north from Frederikshavn, following the tracks of the

Vendsyssel Line The Vendsyssel railway line ( da, Vendsysselbanen) is a long standard gauge single track (rail), single track railway line in Denmark which runs through the historical region of Vendsyssel between Aalborg and Frederikshavn in North Jutland Regio ...

out of the city. As the Vendsyssel Line branches west towards

, the Skagen Line continues north following the curve of the coast line of the Ålbæk Bay, serving the towns of

Strandby Strandby is a coastal town in Denmark, located in Region Nordjylland. Its population was 2,226 as of 1 January 2022.Jerup and Ålbæk. From Ålbæk the line continues north, passing through Bunken Plantation, Hulsig Heath and

Skagen Plantation 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 Skage ...

before passing through the western part of Skagen to reach 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 ...

in central Skagen.

Operations

Local trains

The

(NJ) operating in the North Jutland Region runs frequent

services from

with onward connections from Frederikshavn to

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

and the rest of Denmark.

InterCity service

For a period in the 1990s there were direct InterCity connections between

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

and Skagen, operated by DSB.

Bus services

In 2005, NJ replaced the bus connections between Skagen and Frederikshavn with more frequent train connections.

Stations

Previous stations

* Højen station — between Frederikshavnsvej Halt and Hulsig Station. * Sandmilen halt — between Højen Station and Hulsig Station * Elling station — between Rimmen Halt and Frederikshavn Station. * Apholmen halt — between Strandby Station and Frederikshavn Station.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Nordjyske Jernbaner
– Danish

operating in North Jutland Region
Danske 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 Denmark
Nordjyllands Jernbaner
– website with information on

in North Jutland *{{in lang, da}
Skagensiden.dk
– website with information on

Railway lines in Denmark Railway lines opened in 1890 1890 establishments in Denmark Metre gauge railways in Denmark Rail transport in the North Jutland Region Skagen