Gävle Central Station is located in the city of

Gävle Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, at the East Coast Line and the endpoints of the

Bergslagen Line The Bergslagen Line ({{langx, sv, Bergslagsbanan) is a railway line consisting of two sections, from Gävle via Falun, Ställdalen to Kil, Värmland, and from Ställdalen to Frövi. Although not officially, the Norway/Vänern Line is also often ...

and the

Northern Main Line The Northern Main Line () is a long electrified railway in Sweden, between Gävle or Storvik and Ånge. The railway consists of single track except the parts between Mo grindar and Holmsveden, Kilafors and Bollnäs, and Ramsjö and Ovansjö ...

. Fast long-distance trains stop here, and also regional trains in multiple directions. The station is located around from the traditional midpoint of the city. Regional and city buses stop nearby. The Swedish Railway Museum is located in the southern part of Gävle.

History

Railway traffic started in Gävle in 1859 when the Gävle–Storvik–Falun Line was opened, called Gävle–Dala Line, now called Bergslagen Line. This railway was then isolated, but did connect

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

with the port of Gävle. The first part of the

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

–

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

–

Krylbo Krylbo () is a part of the Sweden, Swedish town Avesta (locality), Avesta in Avesta Municipality, Dalarna County. It was a market town until it merged with the city of Avesta in 1966. Krylbo is mostly known for being an important railway hub cal ...

– Storvik created in 1875 a railway connection between Gävle and Stockholm with a detour. In 1874 the Uppsala - Gävle line was opened for traffic, a much shorter route Stockholm–Gävle. Next railway to be built was the Gävle–Ockelbo line, opened 1884. The

was in 1876-1881 continued from Storvik fairly near Gävle 265 km further north past Ockelbo to

Ånge Ånge is a locality and the seat of Ånge Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 2,872 inhabitants in 2010. Ånge is a railway junction where the northern main line railway ('' Norra Stambanan'') connects with the central main line ...

. The Gävle–Ockelbo line has later been redefined as a branch of the Northern Main Line, and is the normal route for trains Stockholm–Ånge. Much later the East Coast Line Gävle–Sundsvall was built. Traffic was started Gävle–Ljusne in 1926 and Gävle–Sundsvall 1927.{{Cite web , title=OKB, Ostkustbanan, Innehållsförteckning, Table of content , url=https://www.historiskt.nu/normalsp/okb/okb.htm , access-date=2025-01-28 , website=www.historiskt.nu The delay was because steamboats were preferred between the coastal cities. Gävle is a city founded in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Its port with direct access to the

Bothnian Sea The Bothnian Sea (; ) links the Bothnian Bay (also called the Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic Sea, Baltic proper. Kvarken is situated between the two. Together, the Bothnian Sea and Bay make up a larger geographical entity, the Gulf of Bothnia, ...

has been the base of its economy. When railways were built the city became an important industrial city and an even more important port city. Gävle Central Station was opened in 1877. Before this, the two existing railways had other temporary wooden station buildings, for the line to Falun located at the port slightly northeast from the present station, and for the line to Uppsala south of the

Gavleån Gavleån or Gävle River is a watercourse in the middle Gästrikland of Sweden from Storsjön to Gävle Bay ''(Gävlebukten)'' in the Bothnian Sea The Bothnian Sea (; ) links the Bothnian Bay (also called the Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic S ...

river, called Gävle South. Both these station buildings have been removed. The Central station building was rebuilt in 1901.

References

Railway stations in Sweden opened in 1877 Rail transport in Gävleborg County 19th-century establishments in Gävleborg County Buildings and structures in Gävle