Railways in

Norway

A tram of the Gråkallbanen crossing the bridge over Bøckmans veg

The first Norwegian railway opened on 1st September, 1854 between Christiania (Oslo) and Eidsvoll, about 68km. It was built to standard (1435mm) gauge.

Much of Norway is difficult terrain with sparse population, so railway development was confined mainly to the southern part of the country. However, there is a long route penetrating the Arctic Circle running north from Trondheim to Bodø and, even further north, the Ore Railway, a line conveying iron ore from Luleå in Sweden to the port of Narvik, plus a few special tourist trains. The Ore Railway has no direct connection with the rest of the Norwegian system.

The standard gauge network was supplemented by a number of narrow gauge mineral and logging railways, a few of which survive today as tourist lines.

Main Line Railways

Vy national passenger operator
Go-Ahead Nordic independent passenger train operator between Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger and Arendal
Nord passenger train operator of international services and domestic services in the north of the country, a subsidiary of SJ Swedish Railways (Site in Norwegian)
CargoNet national freight operator
Grenland Rail independent freight operator (Site in Norwegian)
Hector Rail independent freight operator
OnRail independent freight operator
Bane NOR the Norwegian track authority
LKAB operator of iron ore trains on the line from its mines in the region of Kiruna, Sweden to Narvik. The line has no direct connection with the remainder of the Norwegian railway network
Railcare independent freight operator on the line from Sweden to Narvik.

Local and Tourist Railways

Bergens Elektriske Sporvei historic tram route from a museum in Bergen (Site in Norwegian, when last checked had not been updated since 2009)
Flåm Railway stunningly picturesque tourist line running from Myrdal (on the Vy main line to Bergen) down to Flåm on a branch of the magnificent Sognefjord. The line drops over 860m in its 20km length, and its maximum gradient of 5.5% ranks it as one of the steepest adhesion worked standard gauge passenger railways in the world.
Gamle Vossebanen steam hauled, standard gauge tourist railway between Garnes and Midtun, near Bergen (Site mainly in Norwegian with some information in English; click on “Tourist Information” tag)
Krøderbanen tourist railway between Krøderen and Vikersund. 26 km, standard gauge. Steam hauled or diesel railcars (Site mainly in Norwegian with some information in English; click on “English / Deutsch” tag)
Lommedalsbanen tourist railway in Bærum. About 1km, 600mm gauge. Usually steam hauled (Site in Norwegian)
Rjukanbanen tourist railway between Rjukan and Mæl. Diesel hauled. Trip can be combined with a journey by historic ferry from Mæl to Tinnoset
Setesdalsbanen tourist railway between Grovane and Røyknes. About 8 km, 1067mm gauge. Usually steam hauled (Site in Norwegian)
Thamshavnbanen tourist railway between Bårdshaug and Løkken Verk. About 22 km, 1000mm gauge. Historic electric locomotive haulage (Site in Norwegian)
Urskog-Hølandsbanen tourist railway in Sørumsand. About 4 km, 750mm gauge. Usually steam hauled (Site in Norwegian)
Sporveismuseet tram museum in Oslo offering rides in historic trams on the Oslo network typically one day a month and by private charter (Site in Norwegian)

Dresinbanen

Pedal driven works trolleys for hire

Ålgårdbanen Figgjo to Ålgård, about 3 km, standard gauge (Site in Norwegian)
Flekkefjordbanen Sira to Flekkefjord, about 17 km, standard gauge (Site in Norwegian)
Kragerøbanen Støa to Merkebekk, about 13 km, standard gauge (Site in Norwegian)
Namsosbanen standard gauge line from PlusCamp Namsos. Total length about 15km
Numedalsbanen Veggli to Rødberg, about 32 km, standard gauge (Site in Norwegian)
Valdresbanen Dokka to Hov, about 23 km, standard gauge. Trolleys may be hired / returned at various stations on the line. Diesel railcars are in the course of restoration (Site in Norwegian)

Urban Railways, Trams and Funiculars