Oslo Central Station
Oslo Central Station is the main railway station in Oslo, the largest railway station within the entire Norwegian railway system. It is the terminus of Gardermoen Line, Gjøvik Line, Hoved Line and Østfold Line, it serves express and local rail services by four companies. The railway station is operated by Bane NOR while its real estate subsidiary, Bane NOR Eiendom owns the station, was opened in 1980. Oslo Central was built on the site of the older Oslo East Station, the combining of the former east and west stations being made possible by the opening of the Oslo Tunnel. Oslo Central has nineteen tracks; the station has two buildings, the original Oslo East building and the newer main building for Oslo Central. Each building houses a large shopping centre; the square in front of the station is called Jernbanetorget. When the first railway line, was built between Oslo and Eidsvoll in 1854, the terminus in Oslo was constructed as an ad-hoc solution located at Gamlebyen. Alternate sites included Grünerløkka and Vaterland Bridge.
In 1852 an architectural competition was held, a plan based on Crown Street Station in Liverpool won. The station was located east of the river Akerselva, but could not serve as a permanent solution, as it was close to neither the city centre nor the port. In 1859 the freight section of the station was expanded with the purchase of land between Loelva and the port, part of Bjørvika. From the beginning, rail traffic increased after the expansion of the Trunk Line to Hamar in 1862, the opening of the Kongsvinger Line in 1865. In 1872 Oslo got its second terminal station, located at Pipervika near Aker Brygge and the city hall. Oslo West Station was built to allow the narrow-gauged Drammen Line between Drammen and Oslo to terminate in downtown Oslo; the two stations were located about 2 km apart and were not connected by rail until 1907 when the Oslo Port Line was built. There had been discussions about building a central station to connect the Drammen Line with the eastern station, but this idea involved building it via Majorstuen and Grefsen.
Oslo V always remained a secondary railway station in Oslo, since it served local traffic to Buskerud and Vestfold in addition to the Sørland Line. The year after the western station opened, in 1873, the Norwegian legislature, the Storting, decided to build a new railway from Kornsjø at the Swedish border through Østfold to Oslo, the Smaalenene Line. Traffic at the station was expected to explode due to this railway and it was decided that a new station had to be built; the engineers within NSB wanted to locate this new station west of the river Akerselva, between Jernbanetorget and Bjørvika. But a conflict arose between Carl Abraham Pihl, director of NSB at the time, the City of Oslo. While Pihl wanted a separate station for the Smaalenene Line, the city wanted to concentrate the stations in one place in Oslo; the engineers insisted on moving the station closer to the city. The architect Georg Andreas Bull drafted four plans for a new station with nine tracks over the river Akerselva. In 1878 the legislature decided to build the smallest suggested station—with only seven tracks over the river, claiming that the station was oversized.
Oslo East Station opened in 1882. But it was soon recognized; the population of Oslo doubled to 150,000 between 1875 and 1890 and from the opening of the station to 1890, the traffic increased from 400,000 passengers annually to more than a million. The most critical part was the freight section, where the trains had to use the main railway for switching. One of the proposed solutions was to build the line from Østfold on a viaduct into the station and elevate it on a level above the other tracks. Another problem arose in 1893; some suggested a station at Grefsen with one via Majorstuen to Oslo West. The Storting decided in 1895. To start the expansion of the station, the Storting announced a competition in 1896, won by Sam Eyde, his plan was to move the freight section away from the passenger sections to Lodalen. The plan was put to the Storting in 1899, with 70 against 39 votes, the new station was delayed because of the high projected costs. A committee was appointed to look at other possible solutions.
The committee split in its final decision, but both factions agreed that a new railway had to be built between the two stations, proposed a line past the city hall in a tunnel under Akershus Fortress. But again the plan was weakened by the Storting and the only construction to take place was new extensions of the Smaalenene Line and Gjøvik Line and some minor changes to the freight section; the new Oslo Port Line that connected the two stations opened in 1907. Another committee was created in 1938 to work out plans for a central station; this was the first project to propose a tunnel under the entire city that would branch off from the Drammen Line before Oslo West. The committee proposed two plans, one where all traffic was directed to the new central station and one where the suburban traffic went to Oslo West, it considered construction of a line north of the city via Grefsen to Oslo East, but this was not recommended. The proposed tunnel below the city was to be 1,660 metres long; the plan included a twelve-story building for NSB's administration at the station, which at the time was spread around at 14 different locations in the city.
The committee delivered its
Train station
A train station, railway station, railroad station, or depot is a railway facility or area where trains stop to load or unload passengers or freight. It consists of at least one track-side platform and a station building providing such ancillary services as ticket sales and waiting rooms. If a station is on a single-track line, it has a passing loop to facilitate traffic movements; the smallest stations are most referred to as "stops" or, in some parts of the world, as "halts". Stations elevated. Connections may be available to intersecting rail lines or other transport modes such as buses, trams or other rapid transit systems. In British English, traditional usage favours railway station or station though train station, perceived as an Americanism, is now about as common as railway station in writing. In British usage, the word station is understood to mean a railway station unless otherwise qualified. In American English, the most common term in contemporary usage is train station. In North America, the term depot is sometimes used as an alternative name for station, along with the compound forms train depot, railway depot, railroad depot, but applicable for goods, the term depot is not used in reference to vehicle maintenance facilities in American English.
The world's first recorded railway station was The Mount on the Oystermouth Railway in Swansea, which began passenger service in 1807, although the trains were horsedrawn rather than by locomotives. The two-storey Mount Clare station in Baltimore, which survives as a museum, first saw passenger service as the terminus of the horse-drawn Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on 22 May 1830; the oldest terminal station in the world was Crown Street railway station in Liverpool, built in 1830, on the locomotive hauled Liverpool to Manchester line. As the first train on the Liverpool-Manchester line left Liverpool, the station is older than the Manchester terminal at Liverpool Road; the station was the first to incorporate a train shed. The station was demolished in 1836 as the Liverpool terminal station moved to Lime Street railway station. Crown Street station was converted to a goods station terminal; the first stations had little in the way of amenities. The first stations in the modern sense were on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened in 1830.
Manchester's Liverpool Road Station, the second oldest terminal station in the world, is preserved as part of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. It resembles a row of Georgian houses. Early stations were sometimes built with both passenger and goods facilities, though some railway lines were goods-only or passenger-only, if a line was dual-purpose there would be a goods depot apart from the passenger station. Dual-purpose stations can sometimes still be found today, though in many cases goods facilities are restricted to major stations. In rural and remote communities across Canada and the United States, passengers wanting to board the train had to flag the train down in order for it to stop; such stations were known as "flag stops" or "flag stations". Many stations date from the 19th century and reflect the grandiose architecture of the time, lending prestige to the city as well as to railway operations. Countries where railways arrived may still have such architecture, as stations imitated 19th-century styles.
Various forms of architecture have been used in the construction of stations, from those boasting grand, Baroque- or Gothic-style edifices, to plainer utilitarian or modernist styles. Stations in Europe tended to follow British designs and were in some countries, like Italy, financed by British railway companies. Stations built more often have a similar feel to airports, with a simple, abstract style. Examples of modern stations include those on newer high-speed rail networks, such as the Shinkansen in Japan, THSR in Taiwan, TGV lines in France and ICE lines in Germany. Stations have staffed ticket sales offices, automated ticket machines, or both, although on some lines tickets are sold on board the trains. Many stations include a convenience store. Larger stations have fast-food or restaurant facilities. In some countries, stations may have a bar or pub. Other station facilities may include: toilets, left-luggage, lost-and-found and arrivals boards, luggage carts, waiting rooms, taxi ranks, bus bays and car parks.
Larger or manned stations tend to have a greater range of facilities including a station security office. These are open for travellers when there is sufficient traffic over a long enough period of time to warrant the cost. In large cities this may mean facilities available around the clock. A basic station might only have platforms, though it may still be distinguished from a halt, a stopping or halting place that may not have platforms. Many stations, either larger or smaller, offer interchange with local transportation. In many African, South American countries, Asian countries, stations are used as a place for public markets and other informal businesses; this is true on tourist routes or stations near tourist destinations. As well as providing services for passengers and loading facilities for goods, stations can sometimes have locomotive and rolling stock depots (usually with facilities for storing and refuelling rolling stock an
Bergen Station
Bergen Station is the main railway station in the city of Bergen, Norway. It is a terminal station on the Bergen Line, serves trains from Oslo as well as the Bergen Commuter Rail from Arna and Myrdal, it has four platforms. The station was opened four years after the Bergen Line itself opened; the station building is one of the grandest in Norway. The architect, Jens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland, designed it in the National Romantic style, he designed Gamlehaugen, the stone buildings at Bryggen. The building has been protected against non-trivial modifications since 2003. Having been established in 1921, Norsk Spisevognselskap attempted to find a suitable location for a restaurant in Bergen. There was at the time a small restaurant in the station building, but there was not sufficient space for storage of food; because of high real estate prices in the area, Norsk Spisevognselskap instead established a kiosk at the station on 1 May 1922. The same year, 1922, the company contemplated to establish a hotel near the railway station.
The plan materialised in the construction of Hotel Terminus, owned in part by NSB, in part by Spisevognselskapet and in part by other parties. On 2 April 1937, Spisevognselskapet established a restaurant in the station; the Norwegian National Rail Administration's entry on Bergen Railway Station
Norsk Spisevognselskap
Norsk Spisevognselskap A/S abbreviated NSS or shortened to Spisevognselskapet, was a Norwegian state enterprise which operated restaurant carriages on Norwegian trains and restaurants at railway stations and railway hotels. The company was established in December 1918, started a catering service in 1919. Owned by the Norwegian Trunk Railway, it was acquired by the state in 1926. Meals served in the restaurant carriages were expensive, although they were available to all passengers. In the 1950s, the company began using serving trolleys on trains. In January 1975, NSS merged with the convenience-store chain Narvesen Kioskkompani into a new company called Narvesen–Spisevognselskapet; this enterprise was owned by the Norwegian State Railways and Fritt Ord, before it merged with the Reitan Group and was delisted from the Oslo Stock Exchange. From the 1854 establishment of railways in Norway to 1909, no dining service was offered aboard trains. Train stations lacked dining facilities; the first dining service was started by restaurateur Carl Christiansen.
He established the restaurant at Drammen Station, in 1907 was asked by NSB to establish a dining service aboard the express trains on the Bergen Line, which would open in 1909. After investigating similar operations in England and Germany, he ordered two carriages from Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk; these were to be paid for by the state, but the Parliament of Norway delayed the grants after a long debate regarding the suitability of restaurant carriages on trains. The plans were opposed by the teetotaler faction of Parliament, but there was a majority in favor of dining service. To get the carriages in time, Christiansen guaranteed the production cost in case a state grant was not allocated. After the parliamentary decision, the cost of the carriages was refunded by NSB. In 1910, when President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt visited Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, several restaurant carriages were ordered for the occasion. Two years restaurant carriages were put in regular service on the Østfold Line.
In 1916, the executive board of the state railways wanted to centralise the operation of restaurant carriages and the most important station restaurants in Norway under one management. The board stated that they wanted to minimise the conflict of interest between the railway company and the dining-car operator, they saw centralising operations as a way to allocate a larger share of the revenue to the railway company, to ensure a high quality of service on new lines. At that time the Sørland Line and Dovre Line were in the planning stages, the NSB intended to introduce dining services on these when they opened. Oslo East Station and its restaurant were operated by the private Norwegian Trunk Railway. In an agreement signed on 18 September 1918 both railway companies agreed that a new restaurant operator would be controlled by the Norwegian Trunk Railway, but this company had to abide by the NSB's decision of how many restaurant carriages to operate on any line; this model was inspired by Sweden.
The Swedish model involved including the operation of station restaurants at locations where the restaurant carriages would have depots. On 21 December 1918, A. S Norsk Spisevognselskap was established with a share capital of 200,000 Norwegian krone, it had 20 shares. In January 1919, Waldemar Platou was Christiansen managing director; the company took over Christiansen's four restaurant carriages and the restaurant at Oslo Ø on 1 April 1919. On 2 February 1926, Parliament voted to nationalise the Trunk Railway. During the debate, the organisation of Spisevognselskapet was criticised. On 31 March 1927, the Ministry of Labour recommended that the company remain a state-owned limited company. During the 1930s, Sigurd Astrup was managing director of Norsk Spisevognselskap. In 1948, Erling Mossige was appointed managing director of the company, he was succeeded by Knut Tvedt in 1960. The company had 75 employees in 1919, 591 in 1949; the restaurant carriages of the NSS were open to everyone, but dining was so expensive that only passengers travelling in first class used the service.
Three or four dishes were offered in the restaurant carriages. A four-course dinner cost five Norwegian kroner in the 1920s, expensive at the time. Warm dishes, such as soups and sauces, were prepared at a small stove in the restaurant carriage's kitchen. On busy days, prepared steaks were delivered from rail depots; the kitchens were staffed by one attendant. Blocks of ice were used instead of refrigerators. With the opening of the Dovre Line, Spisevognselskapet established dining-car service on 25 June 1921. In 1921 a train ride from Kristiania to Trondheim lasted 15 hours, the average waiting time at each station was between 10 and 15 minutes. On 1 July 1925 dining service was introduced on the Valdres Line, from 1 July 1926 on the Brevik Line, from May 1934 on the Nordland Line and from 15 May 1936 on the Røros Line. In 1948 210,000 meals were served in addition to sandwiches and drinks; the company offered a light breakfast on night trains on the Kongsvinger, Østfold and Dovre lines. During the Second W
Bergen Line
The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway, is a 371-kilometre long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Oslo, where the passenger trains go, a distance of 496 kilometres, it is the highest mainline railway line in Northern Europe, crossing the Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 metres above sea level. The railway opened from Bergen to Voss in 1883 as the narrow gauge Voss Line. In 1909 the route was continued over the mountain to Oslo and the whole route converted to standard gauge, the Voss Line became part of the Bergen Line; the line is single track, was electrified in 1954-64. The Bergen Line is owned and maintained by Bane NOR, served with passenger trains by Norwegian State Railways and freight trains by CargoNet; the Flåm Line remains after the closure of the Hardanger Line. The western section from Bergen to Voss is served by the Bergen Commuter Rail, was shortened following the 1966 opening of the Ulriken Tunnel.
The first documented idea of building a railway between Norway's two largest cities was launched by Hans Gløersen on 24 August 1871 in Bergensposten. The forest supervisor in Voss suggested building the railway via Voss and Hallingdal to connect with the Krøderen Line. Back in 1866 the same person had launched the idea of the Jæren Line. Within days of the launch of the Bergen Line the city council had assimilated support for the suggestion. In 1872 the railway director Carl Abraham Pihl and two engineers went on a survey tour to look at the suggested line. At the time it was common that proposals for railways came from local initiative, that local municipalities and private investors would pay about 20% of the investments, the state covering the rest through foreign debt. On 20 October 1871 two engineers traversed the two possible routes from Bergen to Voss. Though covering a less populated area, the latter would be cheaper to build, have less elevation. A railway committee was created on 25 January 1872 with a limited mandate, increased again 20 December.
At the same time there was a dispute between the Ministry of Labour and Pihl about whether to prioritize the Bergen Line, but in July 1872 surveys were performed in person by Pihl and two engineers, their report was positive. At the same time he launched the idea of a branch line up Valdres to Lærdal. By 1873 agreement had been reached as to the right-of-way to Voss, but not onwards towards Oslo. On 13 January 1874 Bergen city council started issuing stock for the Voss Line, to begin with 400,000 Norwegian speciedaler was issued. In the 1873 parliamentary election the railway supporter Peter Jebsen was elected, spending the next few years furiously defending the railway. Parliament chose to not issue new railway projects in the 1874 session, instead make a complete plan for all railway construction in the country—to be proposed by a committee; when the report was launched on 20 March 1875, the Voss Line was not included since it could not show a higher profitability than 1%. During the 1875 session there was not a majority for the Voss Line due to the lack of capital available for local investors.
This was based on a claim from Johan Jørgen Schwartz, the chairman of the committee, that the investment costs were underestimated. This was countered by Nils Henrik Bruun, a constructor from Bergen, willing to construct all tunnels on the railway for less than the budgeted sum; when Jebsen in addition was willing to act as personal guarantee for Bruun in case of his death, the majority in the parliament shifted. On 9 June 1875 parliament voted with 61 against 42 to build Vossebanen. Vossebanen was built with 1,067 mm; the first parts of the construction started in December 1875, while the largest part started in March 1876. During the winter the engineers had done the last finesses on the plans. At any given time at least 800 men worked on construction, at the peak 1,800 men were employed, they worked 12 hours per day, for which they had a daily wage of NOK 2.55, the highest wage for navvies in the country. To a large extent the labor came from Sweden, who had just finished the Norway/Vänern Line and had an excess of skilled labor for construction.
This import of labor had the effect of pumping money into the local economy, several taverns were built along the line. There were some accidents, several deaths among the workers; the construction work was finished in 1882 and some test services began, though not scheduled until the spring of 1883. Official opening commenced on 11 July 1883. Many of the navvies settled on Vossebanen after construction, started working for the NSB as part of the operation. By the time the Voss Line was completed. Parliament was not willing to give more money to railways, the country had to make do with a transport plan launched in 1886 that did not follow up with any funding. On 1 March 1894 parliament after five days of debate chose, with 60 against 53 votes, to build the Bergen Line. Several different routes had been proposed, including over Krøderen, or down Numedal. In the end Hallingdal was chosen, connecting via Sandvika. To save costs a preliminary line would connect Hønefoss to Roa with the branch Roa–Hønefoss Line.
The final stage would be along the Gjøvik Line to Oslo. The line would connect to the system via the Randsfjorden Line at Hønefoss. Local financing was ready within a year, yet it took six years to survey the line properly, construction start had to wait until
Arna Station
Arna Station is the second largest train station in Bergen, Norway. The present station was opened in 1964; the old station, located north of the new station, is still in use for heritage trains on Gamle Vossebanen. All passenger trains on the Bergen Line stop at Arna; the most frequent trains are shuttle trains which run between the Bergen Railway Station and Arna, providing the fastest connection between downtown Bergen and Arna. These operate each half-hour, or hourly in weekends and evenings. Entry at Jernbaneverket Entry at Norges Statsbaner Entry at Norsk Jernbaneklubb
Norway
Norway the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe whose territory comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the kingdom. Norway lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land. Norway has a total area of 385,207 square kilometres and a population of 5,312,300; the country shares a long eastern border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, the Skagerrak strait to the south, with Denmark on the other side. Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the Barents Sea. Harald V of the House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway. Erna Solberg has been prime minister since 2013. A unitary sovereign state with a constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the parliament, the cabinet and the supreme court, as determined by the 1814 constitution; the kingdom was established in 872 as a merger of a large number of petty kingdoms and has existed continuously for 1,147 years.
From 1537 to 1814, Norway was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway, from 1814 to 1905, it was in a personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden. Norway was neutral during the First World War. Norway remained neutral until April 1940 when the country was invaded and occupied by Germany until the end of Second World War. Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels: counties and municipalities; the Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Norway maintains close ties with both the United States. Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the European Free Trade Association, the Council of Europe, the Antarctic Treaty, the Nordic Council. Norway maintains the Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system, its values are rooted in egalitarian ideals; the Norwegian state has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, having extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, lumber and fresh water.
The petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside of the Middle East; the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World IMF lists. On the CIA's GDP per capita list which includes autonomous territories and regions, Norway ranks as number eleven, it has the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, with a value of US$1 trillion. Norway has had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world since 2009, a position held between 2001 and 2006, it had the highest inequality-adjusted ranking until 2018 when Iceland moved to the top of the list. Norway ranked first on the World Happiness Report for 2017 and ranks first on the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity, the Democracy Index. Norway has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Norway has two official names: Norge in Noreg in Nynorsk; the English name Norway comes from the Old English word Norþweg mentioned in 880, meaning "northern way" or "way leading to the north", how the Anglo-Saxons referred to the coastline of Atlantic Norway similar to scientific consensus about the origin of the Norwegian language name.
The Anglo-Saxons of Britain referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. There is some disagreement about whether the native name of Norway had the same etymology as the English form. According to the traditional dominant view, the first component was norðr, a cognate of English north, so the full name was Norðr vegr, "the way northwards", referring to the sailing route along the Norwegian coast, contrasting with suðrvegar "southern way" for, austrvegr "eastern way" for the Baltic. In the translation of Orosius for Alfred, the name is Norðweg, while in younger Old English sources the ð is gone. In the 10th century many Norsemen settled in Northern France, according to the sagas, in the area, called Normandy from norðmann, although not a Norwegian possession. In France normanni or northmanni referred to people of Sweden or Denmark; until around 1800 inhabitants of Western Norway where referred to as nordmenn while inhabitants of Eastern Norway where referred to as austmenn. According to another theory, the first component was a word nór, meaning "narrow" or "northern", referring to the inner-archipelago sailing route through the land.
The interpretation as "northern", as reflected in the English and Latin forms of the name, would have been due to folk etymology. This latter view originated with philologist Niels Halvorsen Trønnes in 1847; the form Nore is still used in placenames such as the village of Nore and lake Norefjorden in Buskerud county, still has the same meaning. Among other arguments in favour of the theor
