Finse Station
Encyclopedia
Finse Station is a railway station
located at Finse
in Ulvik
, Norway. The station is served by up to seven daily (peak days only) express trains in each direction, normally three per day and one overnight trains, all operated by the Norwegian State Railways. The station also features a navvy
museum, dedicated to the builders of the railways in Norway. One of Norway's popular trails also start in the station and ends in the town of Aurland
after a four-day trek.
The station was opened as part of Bergensbanen on June 10, 1908, five years after the first hotel. Since there is no (public) road access, the railway is the sole access to the area. After the railway came, Finse grew as a recreational area, and also received a small amount of permanent residents, at the most 200 including a school and a store. The proximity and easy access to both Bergen and Oslo made Finse a popular mountain resort, but during the 1960s and -70s the tourist traffic declined, as did the village, and during the 1980s it virtually died when the school and store closed. Finse Station still operates the oldest and highest situated post office in Norway, founded on 1 March 1904.
Paul Armin Due
designed the station building in jugendstil
; originally with one and half stories, it soon outgrew the traffic and was extended in length and in height. The second store was then built in wood. There was also two locomotive depots at Finse, used to store the snowplows. The restaurant was taken over by Norsk Spisevognselskap
on 1 January 1928. It retained operations until 17 June 1946, when it was privatized. Finse was one of the bases for snow removal on the railway until 1993 when the Finse Tunnel
opened. At the same time the station, at 1222.2 metres (4,009.8 ft) above mean sea level, became the highest point on the Norwegian railway network
.
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
located at Finse
Finse
Finse is an area in the Ulvik municipality of Hordaland, Norway. The railway station at Finse on the Bergensbanen at 1,222m is the highest station on the entire Norwegian railway system. Since there are no roads to Finse, the railway provides the sole means of transportation to and from Finse....
in Ulvik
Ulvik
Ulvik is a municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality stretches from the Hardangerfjord to 1,800 metres above sea level, and borders the municipalities of Granvin, Eidfjord, Ullensvang, Voss, Aurland, and Hol. It takes around two hours to drive from Bergen to Ulvik. The nearest...
, Norway. The station is served by up to seven daily (peak days only) express trains in each direction, normally three per day and one overnight trains, all operated by the Norwegian State Railways. The station also features a navvy
Navvy
Navvy is a shorter form of navigator or navigational engineer and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects...
museum, dedicated to the builders of the railways in Norway. One of Norway's popular trails also start in the station and ends in the town of Aurland
Aurland
Aurland is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Aurlandsvangen. Other villages include Bakka, Flåm, Undredal, and Gudvangen....
after a four-day trek.
History
Paul Armin Due
Paul Armin Due
Paul Armin Due was a Norwegian architect Paul Franz Wilhelm Armin Due was the son the renowned architect Paul Due. He graduated from Leibniz University Hannover in 1896 and spent two years working in Germany before returning to Norway to work for his father's architecture firm...
designed the station building in jugendstil
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
; originally with one and half stories, it soon outgrew the traffic and was extended in length and in height. The second store was then built in wood. There was also two locomotive depots at Finse, used to store the snowplows. The restaurant was taken over by Norsk Spisevognselskap
Norsk Spisevognselskap
Norsk Spisevognselskap A/S, often abbreviated NSS or shortened to Spisevognselskapet, was a Norwegian state enterprise which operated restaurant carriages on Norwegian trains and restaurants at train stations and railway hotels. The company was established in December 1918, and started a catering...
on 1 January 1928. It retained operations until 17 June 1946, when it was privatized. Finse was one of the bases for snow removal on the railway until 1993 when the Finse Tunnel
Finse Tunnel
The Finse Tunnel is a long railway tunnel west of Finse on the Bergen Line between Oslo and Bergen in Norway. It is the longest tunnel on the line, and the third longest railway tunnel in the kingdom. Inside the tunnel, at elevation, is the highest point on the Norwegian railway network.The...
opened. At the same time the station, at 1222.2 metres (4,009.8 ft) above mean sea level, became the highest point on the Norwegian railway network
Rail transport in Norway
The Norwegian railway system comprises 4,087 km of track of which 2,622 km is electrified and 242 km double track. There are 696 tunnels and 2760 bridges....
.