Torp Station (), also known as Sandefjord Airport Station (), is on the

Vestfold Line The Vestfold Line () is a railway line which runs between Drammen and Eidanger in Norway. The line connects to the Drammen Line at the northern terminus at Drammen Station and continues as the Bratsberg Line past Skien Station. The line is excl ...

Sandefjord Municipality Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

, in

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is served with regional trains operated by Vy. Located close to

Sandefjord Airport, Torp Sandefjord Airport, Torp (; ) is a minor international airport located northeast of Sandefjord and south of Oslo in Norway. The airport features a runway aligned 18/36. Torp partially serves as a regional airport for Vestfold and in part as a ...

, the

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

is served by a free four-minute shuttle bus service from the station to the airport. The trains operate northwards via towns in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

and

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and onwards via

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Oslo Airport () , alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is an international airport serving Oslo, the capital and most populous city of Norway. The airport is the second largest in Scandinavia and the Nord ...

to towns in

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

county. Southwards, the trains serve

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

Larvik Larvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Larvik (town) ...

and

Grenland Grenland is a traditional district in Telemark county, in the south-east of Norway. "Grenland" has referred to varying locations throughout history. In modern times, Grenland refers to the areas of the municipalities of Skien, Porsgrunn, Bamble, ...

. The station opened as Raastad, later Råstad, in 1881. It had a single building, designed by

Balthazar Lange Balthazar Conrad Lange (25 March 1854 - 13 September 1937) was a Norwegian architect. Personal life He was born in Asker as a son of customs treasurer and lieutenant colonel Christopher Andreas Lange (1808–1888) and Anne Birgithe Falsen. He ...

. It was upgraded with a

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

in 1910, but this was removed in 1971, and the station was closed in 1978. In 2008, the station reopened to serve the airport. The station is owned by the

Norwegian National Rail Administration Jernbaneverket () was a government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the track, stations, classification yards, traffic management and timetables. Safety oversight ...

Service

Torp Station's primary function is to serve as an

airport rail link An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport between an airport and a nearby city. Direct links operate straight from the airport terminal to the city, while other links require an intermediate use of a people mover or ...

for Sandefjord Airport. The station is served by regional trains that operate northwards via towns such as

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

Holmestrand is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Holmestrand Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality. It is located along the shore of the Ytre Oslofjord, about northwest of the Horten ...

, and Drammen to

Oslo Central Station Oslo Central Station (, abbreviated ) is the main railway station in Oslo, and the largest railway station within the entire Norwegian railway system. It connects with Jernbanetorget station, which is served by trams and the Oslo Metro. It's ...

and onwards via Oslo Airport to

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

and

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

, calling at several other smaller stations. Southwards, the trains serve Sandefjord, Larvik,

Porsgrunn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Porsgrunn (town), city ...

and

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

. Travel time to Oslo is 1 hour and 48 minutes, and to Oslo Airport it is 2 hours 23 minutes. The station is equipped with a shed, but no other amenities, and also lacks a ticket machine. The platform (but not necessarily the train) is wheelchair accessible. There are about ten parking spaces at the station. A shuttle bus corresponds to all trains during the opening hours of the airport, and a bus trip takes four minutes to the airport terminal. The shuttle bus leaves the airport ten minutes before each train's scheduled departure. The bus is operated by NSB, and is included in the price of the train ticket. There are 42 bus departures each day. The train supplements a coach service, Torp-Ekspressen operated by Unibuss Ekspress, to Oslo, and a local bus service to Sandefjord, operated by Tide Buss for

Vestfold Kollektivtrafikk Vestfold Kollektivtrafikk (VKT) (lit. ''Vestfold Public Transport'') is the public transport administration for the county of Vestfold in Norway. VKT is responsible for planning, organising and marketing bus transport in the county, but does not ...

History

The station was originally named ''Raastad'', and opened as part of the Vestfold Line on 7 December 1881. It was located in the former municipality of Sandar, that was also served by Jåstad Station. Raastad was equipped with a wooden station building designed by

, and cargo expedition. There was initially only one track, but on 1 July 1910, a passing loop was installed at the station, allowing trains to pass. The station was renamed Råstad in April 1921. In 1969–70 the passing loop was extended, but already on 15 September 1971 it was disabled, and subsequently removed, with the automation of the signaling. The station became unstaffed on 1 October 1971 and was closed on 28 May 1978. The following day, the new "InterCity" services started on the Vestfold Line. Sandefjord Airport experienced a rapid growth as an airport for

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...

s serving Eastern Norway since the late 1990s. Along with the success of the

Airport Express Train An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport between an airport and a nearby city. Direct links operate straight from the airport terminal to the city, while other links require an intermediate use of a people mover or ...

that connects Oslo with

, and the decision to provide a shuttle service to the competing Moss Airport, Rygge from Rygge Station, local politicians took initiative to open a dedicated stop for the airport. During the planning of the high-speed upgrade of the line, plans called to move the line to create a station integrated into the airport terminal, as had been done with

Oslo Airport Station Oslo Airport Station (), also known as Gardermoen Station, is a railway station located in the airport terminal building of Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in Norway. Located on the Gardermoen Line, it is served by the Airport Express Trains, express t ...

and

Trondheim Airport Station Trondheim Airport Station (International Air Transport Association airport code, IATA code: TRD), also known as Værnes Station (), is a railway station located within the terminal complex of Trondheim Airport, Værnes in Stjørdal Municipality ...

. However, as the construction of a new Vestfold Line was put on hold, an intermediate solution was found to reopen Råstad Station, and offer a shuttle bus to the airport. On 16 May 2007, Vestfold County Municipality announced that they would forward the investment costs of for the new station, with a payback from the National Rail Administration by 2012. The latter would build, own and operate the station. The station opened on 21 January 2008, and the new platform is located on the east side of the tracks. The old station building, location in the west side, has been converted into a museum. During the first year, 80,000 passengers used the station, sufficient to make the NOK 4.5 million used by NSB on the shuttle bus profitable.

References

{{Good article Railway stations in Vestfold Railway stations on the Vestfold Line Airport railway stations in Norway Sandefjord Airport, Torp Railway stations in Norway opened in 1881 Railway stations in Norway opened in 2008 Railway stations in Norway closed in 1978