Raumabanen
Encyclopedia
The Rauma Line is a 114.2 kilometres (71 mi) long railway between Åndalsnes
and Dombås
in Norway
. Running down the valley of Romsdalen
, the line opened between 1921 and 1924 as a branch of the Dovre Line, which connects to Oslo
and Trondheim
. Originally intended as the first stage to connect Ålesund
, and possibly also Molde
and Kristiansund
, no extensions have ever been realized. The unelectrified line is served four times daily with Norwegian State Railways' Class 93
, although in the summer the service only operates from Åndalsnes to Bjorli as a tourist service. CargoNet
operates a daily freight train.
The line features two horseshoe curves and has a 655 metres (2,149 ft) elevation drop. Among the line's features is the Kylling Bridge
and views of the mountainous valley. Five stations remain in use: Dombås
, Lesja
, Lesjaverk
, Bjorli
and Åndalsnes
. There have been launched plans to replace the line with a high-speed railway.
(AMSL) and the railway falls to 4 metres (13.1 ft) AMSL at Åndalsnes. The line has standard gauge
, has 103 bridges and 5 tunnels, but unlike the Dovre Line is not electrified
. The line has five stations still in use. The line is equipped with Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway
(GSM-R), but lacks centralized traffic control
(CTC). The infrastructure is owned and operated by the Norwegian National Rail Administration.
Dombås is located 343 kilometres (213.1 mi) from Oslo on the Dovre Line. North of the station, both lines run into each their own tunnel, collectively known as the Dombås Tunnel, with the Rauma Line heading northwest into the flat Lesja
area. At 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) from Dombås, the line runs across the Jora Bridge, a 85 metres (278.9 ft) long arch bridge
with a main span of 54 metres (177.2 ft) main span. After passing the now closed and demolished Bottheim Station, the line reaches Lesja Station
, which is 97 kilometres (60.3 mi) from Dombås. Although not normally manned, it can be manned if needed for trains to pass. The line then passes the closed Lora Station, before reaching Lesjaverk Station
, which is 37 kilometres (23 mi) from Dombås. The next station is Bjorli
, which is manned and located 57 kilometres (35.4 mi) from Dombås. Located at 575 metres (1,886.5 ft) AMSL, it serves an Alpine skiing center during the winter.
The next section of railway sees a major drop in elevation. The line crosses the river Rauma on the Stuguflåt Bridge, and then runs through the 1396 metres (4,580.1 ft) long Stavem Tunnel. It is constructed as part of a horseshoe curve, and the railway continues, backtracking further down the valley and reaching Verma Station. It is located 75 kilometres (46.6 mi) from Dombås and at 273 metres (895.7 ft) elevation; it is normally unmanned, but is manned in case trains need to pass. Immediately after the station comes the 480 metres (1,574.8 ft) long Kylling Tunnel, which puts the railway in the right angle to cross Rauma on the Kylling Bridge
. The 76 metres (249.3 ft) long arch bridge with a 42 metres (137.8 ft) long main span has a 59 metres (193.6 ft) clearance to the river below. The section from Verma Station and past Kylling Bridge acts as a new horseshoe curve.
The last part of the line is the most scenic, with excellent views of the valley of Romsdalen
, including the Romsdalsalpene
, and features such as Trollveggen and Romsdalshorn. The line continues past Flatmark Station, Marstein Station, Romsdalshron Station, runs through the 32 metres (105 ft) long Åk Tunnel before reaching Åndalsnes Station. The station is 457 kilometres (284 mi) from Oslo and serves a village with 3,000 people located on a fjord.
to Kristiansand
, via Sunndal
to Molde
and via Romsdalen to Ålesund
.
The first official plans for a railway through Romsdalen was made following a meeting in Romsdal County Council in 1872, who appointed a committee to look into the construction of a railway from Mjøsa
via Gudbrandsdalen and Romsdalen to Romsdal. Two years later, the council bought shares for 100,000 Norwegian speciedaler
(400,000 Norwegian krone
, NOK) while municipalities and private investors bought shares for 396,532 specidaler.
In part because of the intense rivalry between the three regions, County Governor Alexander Kielland
was forced to call a referendum, which resulted in a majority for the Romsdalen route. However, no specific political decisions was made until 1908, when plans for the line were made part of a national railway plan, approved by the Parliament of Norway on 9 and 10 June. At the time, the line was estimated to cost NOK 8.5 million NOK.
On 18 July 1909, the Ministry of Labour gave permission for surveying, which started on 8 August. The Railway Board send a proposal for a plan for the Rauma Line to the ministry on 23 May 1910, which was passed by parliament on 20 July. However, the vote did not include any allocation of money. Additional surveying started on 18 August 1911 and was lead by W. Sandberg. This time two alternatives were to be surveyed, one with a maximum gradient of 2.6 percent, and one with 2.0. On 29 June, the government approved a concession
for the line to be built as a private railway
. The final plan for construction was presented by the Railway Board to the ministry of 17 June 1912, and was passed by parliament on 27 July.
s were often unmarried and spend large parts of their income on drunkenness.
In Åndalsnes, a cutting was made for the line and the earthwork from the cutting was used to create artificial land for the station and port. To secure sufficient water for the locomotives, the municipality built a larger water supply, including a new dam at Bjørmosen, which could secure 120 cubic metres (4,237.8 cu ft) per year for the railway. The stations were built in wood in a simple, balanced style similar to what was found on the Dovre Line. The buildings were designed in-house by NSB Arkitektkontor; main architect was Gudmund Hoel
, while other major contributors were Bjarte Baastad and Gerhard Fischer. Some minor buildings were reused designs from the Dovre Line by Erik Glosimodt
.
The railway opened in three stages: the 56.8 kilometres (35.3 mi) from Dombås to Bjorli on 19 November 1921, and the 18.3 kilometres (11.4 mi) from Bjorli to Verma on 25 November 1923. Until the whole line was taken into use, there was a roundhouse
in use a Bjorli. The whole line was officially opened on 29 November 1924 and regular operations started the next day.
foreman and a platelayer, in addition to four seasonal workers during the summer. Each division had a railway-owned house for the family of the two platelayers. Later the areas were merged to a single track master in Åndalsnes. During the Second World War, the line was bombed by Germany. This caused among other things the restaurant at Bjorli to burn down.
In 1923, parliament voted to expend the line to Ålesund, but did not follow up with any grants. The decision was annulled in 1935, but local interests continued to pursue an expansion. However, there was no local consensus for any one line; there was a conflict between the three areas of Sunnmøre
, Romsdal
and Nordmøre
, each who wanted a different branch to their city, and a conflict between building railways and roads. In 1953, the proposals were finally discarded by regional politicians. However, proposals have since regularly been made.
Regular use of steam locomotives in passenger trains was terminated from 1 June 1958, when Di 3
locomotives were taken into use. From 1 June 1965, steam locomotives were no longer used for freight trains. In 1960, Ålesund Airport, Vigra
was opened, and in the following decade also Molde Airport, Årø
and Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget
opened. This resulted in a reduction of passengers on the railway, although the rail fares remained considerably lower than air fares. The infrastructure was upgraded between 1973 and 1983 for NOK 70; this included replacing all wooden sleepers with concrete sleepers, and replacing the sand with ballast.
In 1996, the government had proposed closing the night train service, after suggestions from NSB. The railway company was losing money on operating the night services, and stated that they needed a subsidy of NOK 8 million, or NOK 400 per passenger, to retain the service. That year, the line had a ridership of 108,800, down from 116,500 in 1966. The service was kept after a parliamentarian compromise to convert NSB to a company in exchange for keeping the service.
In 2000, NSB introduced the new two-car Class 93 diesel multiple unit
s on the Rauma Line. In October, the night train service was terminated and replaced by a night express bus. The original seating configuration in Class 93 was for 88 seats, but due to customer complaints about lack of seat pitch, NSB has reconfigured the trains in 2006 to 76 seats. Starting in 2003, NSB and the tourist board in Rauma started cooperating with running tourist trains during the summer. Aimed primarily at tourists arriving by cruise ship at Åndalsnes, the trains use longer time to Dombås, allowing for longer stops underway for passengers to disembark and board to look at various attractions. On special occasions, a steam train is used in the tourist runs.
operates freight trains on the line, with one service per day per direction during the night.
in 2004 concluded that the low population density, the lack of termination in a city and the nature of being a branch line with correspondence at Dombås made it impossible to attract sufficient ridership to make operations profitable.
Norsk Bane
and Deutsche Bahn
have made a proposal to construct a high-speed railway between Ålesund and Oslo, which would run through Romsdalen. The line would connect to a proposed high-speed line between Oslo and Trondheim at Dombås, but would avoid going through Åndalsnes and instead pass through Bjorli and Valldal
before reaching Sunnmøre
. The branch would be 193 kilometres (119.9 mi) long, of which 89 kilometres (55.3 mi) would run in tunnel and 13 kilometres (8 mi) be on bridges and viaducts. It is estimated to cost NOK 30 billion and give a travel time of 2 hours and 33 minutes from Ålesund to Oslo. Because of 1.25 percent gradients, the line is suitable for freight trains. During daytime, freight trains would operate on the line in 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph), while they could operate slower during the night. The proposal calls for twelve trains per direction per day between Ålesund and Oslo, and six trains per day between Ålesund and Trondheim.
Åndalsnes
is a town in the municipality of Rauma in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is the administrative center of Rauma. The town has a population of 2,207...
and Dombås
Dombås
The village of lies in the Dovre municipality and serves as an administrative center in the upper Gudbrandsdal, Norway. It lies at an important junction of roads: south leading to the current capital of Norway, Oslo, west via Lesja leading to Åndalsnes on the sea and north to the old capital,...
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...
. Running down the valley of Romsdalen
Romsdalen
Romsdalen is a valley running through the municipalities of Rauma in Møre og Romsdal County and Lesja in Oppland county Norway.-Location:The river Rauma follows the Romsdalen valley from lake Lesjaskogsvatnet to the town of Åndalsnes, where it empties into the Romsdalsfjord. The Rauma Line and...
, the line opened between 1921 and 1924 as a branch of the Dovre Line, which connects to Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
. Originally intended as the first stage to connect Ålesund
Ålesund
is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....
, and possibly also Molde
Molde
is a city and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Romsdal region. The municipality is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord...
and Kristiansund
Kristiansund
Kristiansund is a city and municipality on the western coast of Norway, in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. It was officially awarded township status in 1742, and it is still the major town for the region. The administrative center of the municipality is the city of Kristiansund...
, no extensions have ever been realized. The unelectrified line is served four times daily with Norwegian State Railways' Class 93
Class 93
Class 93 may refer to:*British Rail Class 93* DRG or DR Class 93, a German 2-8-2 tank locomotive operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn:** Class 93.0-4: Prussian T 14, PKP Class Tkt 1, SNCB Class 97...
, although in the summer the service only operates from Åndalsnes to Bjorli as a tourist service. CargoNet
CargoNet
CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight trains on the Norwegian railway system. It was formed as NSB Gods after NSB fissioned into a passenger and a freight company. NSB Gods changed its name to CargoNet at the beginning of 2002. It is owned by NSB and the Swedish freight company Green Cargo...
operates a daily freight train.
The line features two horseshoe curves and has a 655 metres (2,149 ft) elevation drop. Among the line's features is the Kylling Bridge
Kylling Bridge
Kylling Bridge is a railway bridge that crosses the Rauma River near Verma in the Romsdalen valley in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is probably the best known and most photographed railway bridge in Norway. Kylling Bridge is long. The main span is , and side spans are and . The clearance to...
and views of the mountainous valley. Five stations remain in use: Dombås
Dombås Station
Dombås Station is a railway station located at Dombås in Dovre, Norway. The station is located on the Dovre Line as well as serving as the terminal station for the Rauma Line. The station is served by express trains on the Dovre Line and regional trains on the Rauma Line...
, Lesja
Lesja Station
Lesja Station is a railway station at Lesja, Norway on Raumabanen. The station is located 17 kilometers from Dombås and is served by all trains on Raumabanen. The station was opened as part of the first stretch of the railway in 1921.-External links:* *...
, Lesjaverk
Lesjaverk Station
Lesjaverk Station is a railway station at Lesja in Dovre, Norway on Raumabanen. The station is located 36 kilometers from Dombås and is served by all trains on Raumabanen. The station was opened as part of the first stretch of the railway in 1921....
, Bjorli
Bjorli Station
Bjorli Station is a railway station on the Rauma Line located at Bjorli in Lesja, Norway. The station opened on 19 November 1921 and was the line's terminus until 1923. In addition to a station building, Bjorli had a water tower, roundhouse, turntable and a restaurant seating 700 people, the...
and Åndalsnes
Åndalsnes Station
Åndalsnes Station is a railway station in Åndalsnes, a village in Rauma, Norway. It has been the terminal station of the Rauma Line since the line was extended to Åndalsnes on 30 November 1924. The station was designed by Gudmund Hoel and is located on reclaimed land. To get the line to the...
. There have been launched plans to replace the line with a high-speed railway.
Route
The 114.24 kilometres (71 mi) long Rauma Line runs from Dombås Station on the Dovre Line to Åndalsnes Station. Dombås is located at 659 metres (2,162.1 ft) above mean sea levelAbove mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
(AMSL) and the railway falls to 4 metres (13.1 ft) AMSL at Åndalsnes. The line has standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
, has 103 bridges and 5 tunnels, but unlike the Dovre Line is not electrified
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
. The line has five stations still in use. The line is equipped with Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway
GSM-R
GSM-R, Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway or GSM-Railway is an international wireless communications standard for railway communication and applications. A sub-system of European Rail Traffic Management System , it is used for communication between train and railway regulation...
(GSM-R), but lacks centralized traffic control
Centralized traffic control
Centralized traffic control is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America and centralizes train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system consists of a centralized train dispatcher's office that...
(CTC). The infrastructure is owned and operated by the Norwegian National Rail Administration.
Dombås is located 343 kilometres (213.1 mi) from Oslo on the Dovre Line. North of the station, both lines run into each their own tunnel, collectively known as the Dombås Tunnel, with the Rauma Line heading northwest into the flat Lesja
Lesja
Lesja is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lesja....
area. At 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) from Dombås, the line runs across the Jora Bridge, a 85 metres (278.9 ft) long arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
with a main span of 54 metres (177.2 ft) main span. After passing the now closed and demolished Bottheim Station, the line reaches Lesja Station
Lesja Station
Lesja Station is a railway station at Lesja, Norway on Raumabanen. The station is located 17 kilometers from Dombås and is served by all trains on Raumabanen. The station was opened as part of the first stretch of the railway in 1921.-External links:* *...
, which is 97 kilometres (60.3 mi) from Dombås. Although not normally manned, it can be manned if needed for trains to pass. The line then passes the closed Lora Station, before reaching Lesjaverk Station
Lesjaverk Station
Lesjaverk Station is a railway station at Lesja in Dovre, Norway on Raumabanen. The station is located 36 kilometers from Dombås and is served by all trains on Raumabanen. The station was opened as part of the first stretch of the railway in 1921....
, which is 37 kilometres (23 mi) from Dombås. The next station is Bjorli
Bjorli Station
Bjorli Station is a railway station on the Rauma Line located at Bjorli in Lesja, Norway. The station opened on 19 November 1921 and was the line's terminus until 1923. In addition to a station building, Bjorli had a water tower, roundhouse, turntable and a restaurant seating 700 people, the...
, which is manned and located 57 kilometres (35.4 mi) from Dombås. Located at 575 metres (1,886.5 ft) AMSL, it serves an Alpine skiing center during the winter.
The next section of railway sees a major drop in elevation. The line crosses the river Rauma on the Stuguflåt Bridge, and then runs through the 1396 metres (4,580.1 ft) long Stavem Tunnel. It is constructed as part of a horseshoe curve, and the railway continues, backtracking further down the valley and reaching Verma Station. It is located 75 kilometres (46.6 mi) from Dombås and at 273 metres (895.7 ft) elevation; it is normally unmanned, but is manned in case trains need to pass. Immediately after the station comes the 480 metres (1,574.8 ft) long Kylling Tunnel, which puts the railway in the right angle to cross Rauma on the Kylling Bridge
Kylling Bridge
Kylling Bridge is a railway bridge that crosses the Rauma River near Verma in the Romsdalen valley in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is probably the best known and most photographed railway bridge in Norway. Kylling Bridge is long. The main span is , and side spans are and . The clearance to...
. The 76 metres (249.3 ft) long arch bridge with a 42 metres (137.8 ft) long main span has a 59 metres (193.6 ft) clearance to the river below. The section from Verma Station and past Kylling Bridge acts as a new horseshoe curve.
The last part of the line is the most scenic, with excellent views of the valley of Romsdalen
Romsdalen
Romsdalen is a valley running through the municipalities of Rauma in Møre og Romsdal County and Lesja in Oppland county Norway.-Location:The river Rauma follows the Romsdalen valley from lake Lesjaskogsvatnet to the town of Åndalsnes, where it empties into the Romsdalsfjord. The Rauma Line and...
, including the Romsdalsalpene
Romsdalsalpene
Romsdalsalpene is mountain range surrounding the Romsdalen valley in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. They are primarily located in the municipalities of Rauma, Nesset, and Norddal.Mountains in the range include:* Store Venjetind at...
, and features such as Trollveggen and Romsdalshorn. The line continues past Flatmark Station, Marstein Station, Romsdalshron Station, runs through the 32 metres (105 ft) long Åk Tunnel before reaching Åndalsnes Station. The station is 457 kilometres (284 mi) from Oslo and serves a village with 3,000 people located on a fjord.
Planning
Following the plans of a railway between Oslo and Trondheim via Dovre, members of parliament from Møre og Romsdal asked the Ministry of the Interior to also make plan for a branch to the coast of Møre og Romsdal. There were made three proposals for a route: via SurnadalSurnadal
is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Skei. Other villages include Todalsøra, Surnadalsøra, Sylte, Glærem, Stangvik, and Åsskard....
to Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
, via Sunndal
Sunndal
is a municipality in the Nordmøre region located in the northeast part of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Sunndalsøra. Other villages include Jordalsgrenda, Øksendalsøra, Grøa, Hoelsand, Ålvund, and Gjøra.With an area of it is the...
to Molde
Molde
is a city and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Romsdal region. The municipality is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord...
and via Romsdalen to Ålesund
Ålesund
is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....
.
The first official plans for a railway through Romsdalen was made following a meeting in Romsdal County Council in 1872, who appointed a committee to look into the construction of a railway from Mjøsa
Mjøsa
Mjøsa is Norway's largest lake, as well as one of the deepest lakes in Norway and in Europe as a whole, after Hornindalsvatnet. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about 100 km north of Oslo...
via Gudbrandsdalen and Romsdalen to Romsdal. Two years later, the council bought shares for 100,000 Norwegian speciedaler
Norwegian speciedaler
The speciedaler was the currency of Norway between 1816 and 1875. It replaced the rigsdaler specie at par and was subdivided into 120 skilling . It was replaced by the Norwegian krone when Norway joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union...
(400,000 Norwegian krone
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
, NOK) while municipalities and private investors bought shares for 396,532 specidaler.
In part because of the intense rivalry between the three regions, County Governor Alexander Kielland
Alexander Kielland
Alexander Lange Kielland was one of the most famous Norwegian realistic writers of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called "The Four Greats" in Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Jonas Lie.-Background:Born in Stavanger, Norway, he grew up in a rich...
was forced to call a referendum, which resulted in a majority for the Romsdalen route. However, no specific political decisions was made until 1908, when plans for the line were made part of a national railway plan, approved by the Parliament of Norway on 9 and 10 June. At the time, the line was estimated to cost NOK 8.5 million NOK.
On 18 July 1909, the Ministry of Labour gave permission for surveying, which started on 8 August. The Railway Board send a proposal for a plan for the Rauma Line to the ministry on 23 May 1910, which was passed by parliament on 20 July. However, the vote did not include any allocation of money. Additional surveying started on 18 August 1911 and was lead by W. Sandberg. This time two alternatives were to be surveyed, one with a maximum gradient of 2.6 percent, and one with 2.0. On 29 June, the government approved a concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
for the line to be built as a private railway
Private railways of Norway
Private railways in Norway consist of industrial and public railways. Industrial railways were used to transport ore or other industrial products to ports, although they have, particularly to begin with, also operated passenger and cargo services. The other nine private railways have been public...
. The final plan for construction was presented by the Railway Board to the ministry of 17 June 1912, and was passed by parliament on 27 July.
Construction
Construction started on 12 January 1912 at Dombås. The work was divided into four geographic divisions, with offices located at Åndalsnes, Ormheim, Sørsletten and Holaker. The working week consisted of six days, with a ten-hour working day during summer, eight hours during winter and nine hours in transition times. From 1921, a new law reduced the work week to 48 hours. The entire construction took 14,462,247 man-hours. The number of people employed varied between 615 and 550. Most of the workforce consisted of people from other parts of the country, and some foreigners, mostly from Sweden. The navvyNavvy
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...
s were often unmarried and spend large parts of their income on drunkenness.
In Åndalsnes, a cutting was made for the line and the earthwork from the cutting was used to create artificial land for the station and port. To secure sufficient water for the locomotives, the municipality built a larger water supply, including a new dam at Bjørmosen, which could secure 120 cubic metres (4,237.8 cu ft) per year for the railway. The stations were built in wood in a simple, balanced style similar to what was found on the Dovre Line. The buildings were designed in-house by NSB Arkitektkontor; main architect was Gudmund Hoel
Gudmund Hoel
Gudmund Hoel was a Norwegian architect. He is regarded as the second-most influential railway architect in Norway, after Paul Due....
, while other major contributors were Bjarte Baastad and Gerhard Fischer. Some minor buildings were reused designs from the Dovre Line by Erik Glosimodt
Erik Glosimodt
Erik Waldemar Glosimodt was a Norwegian architect. He is known for drawing many railway stations, among others the preserved Kongsvoll Station. Glosimodt died in the Nidareid train disaster....
.
The railway opened in three stages: the 56.8 kilometres (35.3 mi) from Dombås to Bjorli on 19 November 1921, and the 18.3 kilometres (11.4 mi) from Bjorli to Verma on 25 November 1923. Until the whole line was taken into use, there was a roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
in use a Bjorli. The whole line was officially opened on 29 November 1924 and regular operations started the next day.
Operation
Maintenance was originally organized with under two track masters, one in Åndalsnes and one in Dombås, and subdivided into 17 divisions. Each division had two employees, a platelayerPlatelayer
A platelayer or trackman is a railway employee whose job is to inspect and maintain the permanent way of a railway installation.The term derives from the plates used to build plateways, an early form of railway....
foreman and a platelayer, in addition to four seasonal workers during the summer. Each division had a railway-owned house for the family of the two platelayers. Later the areas were merged to a single track master in Åndalsnes. During the Second World War, the line was bombed by Germany. This caused among other things the restaurant at Bjorli to burn down.
In 1923, parliament voted to expend the line to Ålesund, but did not follow up with any grants. The decision was annulled in 1935, but local interests continued to pursue an expansion. However, there was no local consensus for any one line; there was a conflict between the three areas of Sunnmøre
Sunnmøre
Sunnmøre is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal, Sande, Skodje, Haram, Stordal, Stranda, Sula, Sykkylven, Ulstein, Vanylven, Volda, Ørskog,...
, Romsdal
Romsdal
Romsdal is the name of a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named for the valley of Romsdalen, which covers part of Rauma.The...
and Nordmøre
Nordmøre
Nordmøre is a traditional district in the Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The area comprises the northern third of the county including the municipalities of Kristiansund, Averøy, Tingvoll, Surnadal, Rindal, Aure, Halsa, Eide, Sunndal, Gjemnes, and Smøla...
, each who wanted a different branch to their city, and a conflict between building railways and roads. In 1953, the proposals were finally discarded by regional politicians. However, proposals have since regularly been made.
Regular use of steam locomotives in passenger trains was terminated from 1 June 1958, when Di 3
NSB Di 3
NSB Di 3 is a class of 35 diesel-electric locomotives built by Nydqvist och Holm for the Norwegian State Railways . The class was built between 1954 and 1969, and delivered in two series, Di 3a and Di 3b. They are based on the Electro-Motive Division F7 and are equipped with EMD 567 engines...
locomotives were taken into use. From 1 June 1965, steam locomotives were no longer used for freight trains. In 1960, Ålesund Airport, Vigra
Ålesund Airport, Vigra
Ålesund Airport, Vigra is an airport which serves the city of Ålesund in Norway and the surrounding regions Sunnmøre, Nordfjord and Romsdal. The airport is located on the island of Vigra in the Giske municipality, northeast of Ålesund city centre and easily accessible through underseas tunnels...
was opened, and in the following decade also Molde Airport, Årø
Molde Airport, Årø
Molde Airport, Årø is located in the city of Molde in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It serves Molde and the surrounding district of Romsdal. The airport sits about east of the city. After opening in 1972, services have been mainly to Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim...
and Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget
Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget
Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget is a small size international airport located next to the small mountain Kvernberget, east southeast or from the town center of Kristiansund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway, opened in 1970 and caters to the county's northern district, Nordmøre. The airport...
opened. This resulted in a reduction of passengers on the railway, although the rail fares remained considerably lower than air fares. The infrastructure was upgraded between 1973 and 1983 for NOK 70; this included replacing all wooden sleepers with concrete sleepers, and replacing the sand with ballast.
In 1996, the government had proposed closing the night train service, after suggestions from NSB. The railway company was losing money on operating the night services, and stated that they needed a subsidy of NOK 8 million, or NOK 400 per passenger, to retain the service. That year, the line had a ridership of 108,800, down from 116,500 in 1966. The service was kept after a parliamentarian compromise to convert NSB to a company in exchange for keeping the service.
In 2000, NSB introduced the new two-car Class 93 diesel multiple unit
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s on the Rauma Line. In October, the night train service was terminated and replaced by a night express bus. The original seating configuration in Class 93 was for 88 seats, but due to customer complaints about lack of seat pitch, NSB has reconfigured the trains in 2006 to 76 seats. Starting in 2003, NSB and the tourist board in Rauma started cooperating with running tourist trains during the summer. Aimed primarily at tourists arriving by cruise ship at Åndalsnes, the trains use longer time to Dombås, allowing for longer stops underway for passengers to disembark and board to look at various attractions. On special occasions, a steam train is used in the tourist runs.
Service
The Norwegian State Railways operates passenger train services on the line. Using Class 93 trains, they operate four services in each direction per day. Travel time is 1 hour and 17 minutes, and serves mostly as a feeding service to express trains on the Dovre Line. At Åndalsnes there are coordinating buses to the populated areas on the coast, such as Ålesund and Molde. During the summer, from June through August, NSB operates the trains as tourists trains, involving an audio guide over the speakers, the train driving extra slow past landmarks, and the train stopping all together at Kylling Bridge and at Trollveggen. The travel time increases to 1 hour and 40 minutes, although the trains do not operate further than to Bjorli. CargoNetCargoNet
CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight trains on the Norwegian railway system. It was formed as NSB Gods after NSB fissioned into a passenger and a freight company. NSB Gods changed its name to CargoNet at the beginning of 2002. It is owned by NSB and the Swedish freight company Green Cargo...
operates freight trains on the line, with one service per day per direction during the night.
Future
There have been proposals to reduce or eliminate passenger transport on the line. A report by the Institute of Transport EconomicsInstitute of Transport Economics
The Institute of Transport Economics is a research institution working within the field of transport economics, predominantly applied research in Norway. It was founded as a government agency in 1958, and since 1964 as a subsidiary of the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial...
in 2004 concluded that the low population density, the lack of termination in a city and the nature of being a branch line with correspondence at Dombås made it impossible to attract sufficient ridership to make operations profitable.
Norsk Bane
Norsk Bane
Norsk Bane is a Norwegian limited company that is working on plans to build a high-speed railway throughout large portions of Norway. The company has developed detailed plans for numerous lines and claims they would be able to build and operate a high-speed network in Norway, if granted permission...
and Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
have made a proposal to construct a high-speed railway between Ålesund and Oslo, which would run through Romsdalen. The line would connect to a proposed high-speed line between Oslo and Trondheim at Dombås, but would avoid going through Åndalsnes and instead pass through Bjorli and Valldal
Valldal
Valldal is a valley in the municipality of Norddal in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. It is located north of the Norddalsfjorden. The village of Sylte is located at the end of the valley along the fjord...
before reaching Sunnmøre
Sunnmøre
Sunnmøre is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal, Sande, Skodje, Haram, Stordal, Stranda, Sula, Sykkylven, Ulstein, Vanylven, Volda, Ørskog,...
. The branch would be 193 kilometres (119.9 mi) long, of which 89 kilometres (55.3 mi) would run in tunnel and 13 kilometres (8 mi) be on bridges and viaducts. It is estimated to cost NOK 30 billion and give a travel time of 2 hours and 33 minutes from Ålesund to Oslo. Because of 1.25 percent gradients, the line is suitable for freight trains. During daytime, freight trains would operate on the line in 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph), while they could operate slower during the night. The proposal calls for twelve trains per direction per day between Ålesund and Oslo, and six trains per day between Ålesund and Trondheim.