The Norwegian State Railways ( or NSB) was a state-owned railway company

Railway company

A railway company or railroad company is an entity that operates a railroad track and/or trains. Such a company can either be private or public...

 that operated most of the railway network in Norway

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....

. The government agency

Government agency

A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...

 was created in 1883 to oversee the construction and operation of all state-owned railways in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. On 1 December 1996, it was demerged to create the infrastructure operator Norwegian National Rail Administration, the train operator Norwegian State Railways and the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate

Norwegian Railway Inspectorate

The Norwegian Railway Inspectorate is a Norwegian government agency responsible for control and supervision of rail transport in Norway, including railways, tramways, rapid transits, heritage railways and side tracks....

. The name was taken by the train operate, although the infrastructure operator remained a government agency and is the legal successor.