Topic summary
Vestfold Line
The Vestfold Line (Norwegian: Vestfoldbanen) is a 137.79-kilometer (85.62 mi) railway line which runs between Drammen and Eidanger Station in Porsgrunn 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 exclusively used for passenger trains, which are provided by Vy, which connect northwards to Oslo and south-westwards to Grenland. The 13-kilometer (8.1 mi) section from Eidanger to Skien is often colloquially included in the Vestfold Line. The standard gauge line is electrified at 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC and has twelve remaining stations. The Vestfold Line runs through the coastal region of Vestfold and serves major towns including Holmestrand, Tønsberg, Sandefjord and Larvik, as well as Sandefjord Airport, Torp.
The section to Larvik Station was opened on 13 October 1881 and the remainder, including an extension to Skien Station, opened on 23 November 1882. The line was originally variously known as the Drammen–Skien Line (Drammen–Skienbanen), the County Line (Grevskapsbanen) and the Jarlsberg Line (Jarlsbergbanen), until it became known as the Vestfold Line. Horten was served via the now closed 7-kilometer (4.3 mi) Horten Line from Skoppum Station. Three other branches were later built: the Brevik Line (1895), the Tønsberg–Eidsfoss Line (1901) and the Holmestrand–Vittingfoss Line (1902). The latter two were private and closed in 1938. The Vestfold Line received gauge conversion from the original narrow gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) in 1949, as the last mainline railway in Norway. It was electrified in 1957.
Since the 1980s there have been plans to upgrade the line to high speed. The first section, at Skoger, opened in 1995. It was followed by a 13-kilometer (8.1 mi) section past Sande Station in 2001, a passing loop at Nykirke in 2002 and a 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) section including the Jarlsberg Tunnel in Tønsberg in 2011. In 2016 a new railway through Holmestrand, of which most is in the Holmestrandsporten tunnel, opened. In September 2018 a new double track line between Larvik and Porsgrunn opened, which shortened the travel-time from 33 to 12 minutes.