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117-498: Since its official launch on 2 January 2017, Bane NOR has pursued the modernisation and expansion of the rail network; various contracts and partnerships were issued between 2017 and 2020 covering technical cooperation, component supply, design services, civil engineering works, and replacement of obsolete infrastructure. Capacity expansion efforts include the doubling of sections of the Bergen-Fløen and Vestfoldbanen lines, while

234-578: A North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family spoken mainly in Norway , where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish , Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional varieties; some Norwegian and Swedish dialects , in particular, are very close. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic as well as some extinct languages , constitute

351-519: A 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) tunnel between the two stations. In the tunnel there had to be a 900 metres (3,000 ft) long passing loop , to ensure even distances between passing loops along the line. In 1989 the Parliament of Norway approved the plans, including the upgrade of part of the line east of Finse. In total NOK 750 million was invested in rebuilding 32 kilometres (20 mi) of line, shortening it by 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi). At

468-435: A distinct dialect at the level of farm clusters. Dialects are in some cases so dissimilar as to be unintelligible to unfamiliar listeners. Many linguists note a trend toward regionalization of dialects that diminishes the differences at such local levels; there is, however, a renewed interest in preserving dialects. Norwegian nouns are inflected for number (singular/plural) and for definiteness (indefinite/definite). In

585-548: A few dialects, definite nouns are also inflected for the dative case . Norwegian nouns belong to three noun classes (genders): masculine, feminine and neuter. All feminine nouns can optionally be inflected using masculine noun class morphology in Bokmål due to its Danish heritage. In comparison, the use of all three genders (including the feminine) is mandatory in Nynorsk. All Norwegian dialects have traditionally retained all

702-600: A half months to clear it of snow. Even a rotary snowplow at 750 kW was not powerful enough to get rid of the snow. A new attempt to open the line in 1908 succeeded, and a train ran from Gulsvik to Bergen. The line from Roa to Gulsvik was still under construction, so passage was along the Drammen Line via the Krøder Line with ship over Krøderen to Gulsvik. The first scheduled train from Oslo West Station to Bergen departed on 10 June 1908. On 25 November 1909

819-580: A limited mandate, which was expanded on 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, and their report was positive. At the same time he launched the idea of a branch line up Valdres to Lærdal . By 1873, an agreement had been reached as to

936-441: A new Norwegian language at the age of 22. He traveled around the country collecting words and examples of grammar from the dialects and comparing the dialects among the different regions. He examined the development of Icelandic , which had largely escaped the influences under which Norwegian had come. He called his work, which was published in several books from 1848 to 1873, Landsmål , meaning 'national language'. The name Landsmål

1053-501: A noun, unlike English which has a separate article, the , to indicate the same. In general, almost all nouns in Bokmål follow these patterns (like the words in the examples above): In contrast, almost all nouns in Nynorsk follow these patterns (the noun gender system is more pronounced than in Bokmål): There is in general no way to infer what grammatical gender a specific noun has, but there are some patterns of nouns where

1170-694: A particular source of difficulties for the agency; originally planned to be opened in December 2021, the bankruptcy of contractors , Condotte, not only delayed the opening date by one year but also reportedly cost Bane NOR 1.6 billion Norwegian kroner. Despite accepting the transferrance of much of the Blix Tunnel from contractor Acciona Ghella in October 2022, the tunnel was quickly found to require remedial work to repair damaged power cabling and seal multiple leaks, leading to an independent investigation into

1287-611: A train en route from Bergen rolled into Oslo Østbanestasjon , and two days later the railway was officially opened at Voss. King Haakon VII stated upon the opening that the line was the Norwegian engineering masterpiece of his generation. In World War II , during the German occupation of Norway , it was a demanding time for the Norwegian State Railways as a whole. This railway line was also very busy. The track

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1404-690: Is 493 kilometres (306 mi), while the Bergen Line proper is 372 kilometres (231 mi). The line has 182 tunnels, totaling ca. 73 kilometres (45 mi), of which ten are over 2.0 kilometres (1.2 mi). Finse Station remains the highest elevated station at 1,222.2 metres (4,010 ft), while the highest point is now in the Finse Tunnel at 1,237 metres (4,058 ft). Section Oslo – Drammen see → Main article: Drammenbanen Section Drammen – Hønefoss see → Main article: Randsfjordbanen Hønefoss in Storelva (Ringerike) valley

1521-413: Is Bokmål will study Nynorsk as a mandatory subject throughout both elementary and high school. A 2005 poll indicates that 86.3% use primarily Bokmål as their daily written language, 5.5% use both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and 7.5% use primarily Nynorsk. Thus, 13% are frequently writing Nynorsk, though the majority speak dialects that resemble Nynorsk more closely than Bokmål. Broadly speaking, Nynorsk writing

1638-440: Is a pitch-accent language with two distinct pitch patterns, like Swedish. They are used to differentiate two-syllable words with otherwise identical pronunciation. For example, in many East Norwegian dialects, the word bønder ('farmers') is pronounced using the simpler tone 1, while bønner ('beans' or 'prayers') uses the more complex tone 2. Though spelling differences occasionally differentiate written words, in most cases

1755-411: Is a language form based on Norwegian dialects and puristic opposition to Danish. The now-abandoned official policy to merge Bokmål and Nynorsk into one common language called Samnorsk through a series of spelling reforms has created a wide spectrum of varieties of both Bokmål and Nynorsk. The unofficial form known as Riksmål is considered more conservative than Bokmål and is far closer to Danish while

1872-736: Is comparable with that of French on English after the Norman conquest . In the late Middle Ages, dialects began to develop in Scandinavia because the population was rural and little travel occurred. When the Reformation came from Germany, Martin Luther 's High German translation of the Bible was quickly translated into Swedish, Danish, and Icelandic. Norway entered a union with Denmark in 1397 and Danish, over time, replaced Middle Norwegian as

1989-469: Is double track service between Bergen central station and Arna station. In January 2016, Norwegian National Rail Administration had plans for doubling the Ultriken tunnel, but it was abolished at the end of that year. Bane NOR who took over the responsibilities for the network, authorised its contractors to start building a second single-track tunnel through the mountain adjacent to the 1960s tunnel. It

2106-563: Is from 2019 consisting of Stadler FLIRT Electric multiple units after a process of which led to phasing out the old NSB Class 69 . The first part to Arna represents an important part of the public transport in Bergen, since the rail direct line through the mountain Ulriken is considerably faster than driving over and around. Express trains operated by NSB have always been the primary passenger service on Bergensbanen. Passenger trains follow

2223-584: Is left by the line northwest into the Sogna valley, where the route uses its northern valley flanks to Sokna . To get to the Krøderen (lake) valley, Bergen Line follows Rudselva , passes by Langevannet and Breidvanne t lakes and also through the 2.3 kilometer Haversting tunnel , which runs parallel to the Norwegian National Road 7 , ( Riksvei 7 ), Ørgenvik tunnel . Hallingdal valley

2340-542: Is located behind Herland , immediately followed by the 7.6 kilometer long Ulriken Tunnel , by which the original, much longer, route via Nesttun could be shortened in 1964. Having reached the urban area of Bergen , the route follows a short part of the old line to the Bergen terminus . Vy Tog operates a commuter rail service from Bergen with two hourly departures to Arna, plus fourteen daily departures to Voss, of which up to six continue to Myrdal. The entire rolling stock

2457-620: Is more important than speed for freight trains. CargoNet operates up to four daily trains from Oslo, plus one from Drammen. Rail freight on (the Bergensbanen ), the Bergen line, increased by 80% from 2001 to 2005, but further growth is not possible without better infrastructure. In 2006, CargoNet indicated they wanted five more passing loops , as well as lengthening them to increase freight train length from 400 metres (1,300 ft) to 600 metres (2,000 ft), claiming they could double freight traffic with adequate infrastructure. Parts of

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2574-423: Is now considered their classic forms after a reform in 1917. Riksmål was, in 1929, officially renamed Bokmål (literally 'book language'), and Landsmål to Nynorsk (literally 'new Norwegian'). A proposition to substitute Danish-Norwegian ( dansk-norsk ) for Bokmål lost in parliament by a single vote. The name Nynorsk , the linguistic term for modern Norwegian , was chosen to contrast with Danish and emphasise

2691-587: Is often applied to the entire route from Bergen to Oslo , including the Randsfjord  and Drammen lines between Hønefoss and Oslo, covering a total distance of 496 kilometres (308 mi). It is the highest mainline railway line in Northern Europe, crossing the Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 metres (4,058 ft) above sea level. The railway opened from Bergen to Voss in 1883 as

2808-515: Is reached by its branch Bolstadfjord , the route crosses over to the southern valley flank. With the more than eight kilometer long Trollkona Tunnel, opened in 1987, the route reaches lower Bergsdal and Dale (Vaksdal) . Trollkona had become necessary due to the expansion of the European route E16 (main road connection between Oslo and Bergen ) alongside the Bolstadfjord using partly

2925-609: Is regulated by the Norwegian Academy , which determines acceptable spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. There is also an unofficial form of Nynorsk, called Høgnorsk , discarding the post-1917 reforms, and thus close to Ivar Aasen's original Landsmål. It is supported by Ivar Aasen-sambandet , but has found no widespread use. In 2010, 86.5% of the pupils in the primary and lower secondary schools in Norway receive education in Bokmål, while 13.0% receive education in Nynorsk. From

3042-697: Is rising in the first syllable and falling in the second syllable or somewhere around the syllable boundary. The pitch accents (as well as the peculiar phrase accent in the low-tone dialects) give the Norwegian language a "singing" quality that makes it easy to distinguish from other languages. Accent 1 generally occurs in words that were monosyllabic in Old Norse , and accent 2 in words that were polysyllabic. The Norwegian alphabet has 29 letters. The letters c , q , w , x and z are only used in loanwords . As loanwords are assimilated into Norwegian, their spelling might change to reflect Norwegian pronunciation and

3159-526: Is sometimes interpreted as 'rural language' or 'country language', but this was clearly not Aasen's intended meaning. The name of the Danish language in Norway was a topic of hot dispute throughout the 19th century. Its proponents claimed that it was a language common to Norway and Denmark, and no more Danish than Norwegian. The proponents of Landsmål thought that the Danish character of the language should not be concealed. In 1899, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson proposed

3276-545: Is to be responsible for this. For this purpose, it has operated an ERTMS Pilot Line between Ski and Sarpsborg in eastern Norway, which achieved a relatively high punctuality rate of 94 per cent in 2019. Bane NOR hopes intelligent digital railway infrastructure will help cut construction costs via better modeling, improve safety margins and minimise service disruptions via real-time monitoring, and increase capacity via automatic train operation . Various expansion and improvement efforts were able to be launched using funds provided by

3393-459: Is to write in dialect for informal use. When writing an SMS, Facebook update, or fridge note, many people, especially young ones, write approximations of the way they talk rather than using Bokmål or Nynorsk. There is general agreement that a wide range of differences makes it difficult to estimate the number of different Norwegian dialects. Variations in grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation cut across geographical boundaries and can create

3510-534: Is today to a large extent the same language as Bokmål though somewhat closer to the Danish language. It is regulated by the unofficial Norwegian Academy , which translates the name as 'Standard Norwegian'. The other is Høgnorsk ('High Norwegian'), a more purist form of Nynorsk, which maintains the language in an original form as given by Ivar Aasen and rejects most of the reforms from the 20th century; this form has limited use. Nynorsk and Bokmål provide standards for how to write Norwegian, but not for how to speak

3627-436: Is used as a natural corridor further north-west, mostly on the left river bank, serving the larger settlements of Flå and Nesbyen . At Svenkerud to the north of Nesbyen the valley flank is changed. Soutwestbound to Gol , the ascent becomes gradually steeper in the following section to Geilo . The Hardangervidda is actually crossed behind Geilo. Located in the valley of one of the two upper tributaries of Hallingdalselva,

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3744-496: Is widespread in western Norway, though not in major urban areas, and also in the upper parts of mountain valleys in the southern and eastern parts of Norway. Examples are Setesdal , the western part of Telemark county ( fylke ) and several municipalities in Hallingdal , Valdres , and Gudbrandsdalen . It is little used elsewhere, but 30–40 years ago, it also had strongholds in many rural parts of Trøndelag (mid-Norway) and

3861-634: The British Isles , France ( Normandy ), North America, and Kievan Rus . In all of these places except Iceland and the Faroes, Old Norse speakers went extinct or were absorbed into the local population. Around 1030, Christianity came to Scandinavia , bringing with it an influx of Latin borrowings and the Roman alphabet . These new words were related to church practices and ceremonies, although many other loanwords related to general culture also entered

3978-542: The Class 73 tilting trains , branded as Signatur and capable of 210 kilometres per hour (130 mph). However, they cannot be used at those speeds on any part of the Bergen Line, and only some parts of the Asker Line and around Finse can they operate quicker than the other rollingstock used. There has also been reason to doubt their winter capability on the very demanding Bergen Line. Occasionally they have been stuck in

4095-613: The Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Age . Today there are two official forms of written Norwegian, Bokmål (Riksmål) and Nynorsk (Landsmål), each with its own variants. Bokmål developed from the Dano-Norwegian language that replaced Middle Norwegian as the elite language after the union of Denmark–Norway in the 16th and 17th centuries and then evolved in Norway, while Nynorsk

4212-597: The Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications . In 2018 the fastest line used 6 hours and 32 minutes from Oslo to Bergen. Freight trains are operated by CargoNet , hauled by El 14 and El 16 locomotives. Most transport is from the terminal at Alnabru in Oslo to the terminal at Bergen Station. Freight trains use the Roa-Hønefoss Line instead of going via Drammen since it is shorter—distance

4329-611: The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority was unable to establish a clear and demonstrable direct cause for the fire: but they stated that the highest risks were Hot work , electrical installations, or hot particles from trains. The Bergen Line as a through line is used for up to five express trains operated by Norwegian State Railways, as well as freight trains by CargoNet . From Myrdal to Bergen there are commuter rail services operated by NSB. The total distance from Oslo to Bergen via Drammen

4446-587: The Numedal Line would later be built). In the end Hallingdal was chosen, connecting to Hønefoss and on to Oslo via Sandvika. To save costs a preliminary line would connect Hønefoss to Roa with the branch Roa–Hønefoss Line . The final line would run along the Gjøvik Line to Oslo. The line would also connect to the rest of the network via the Randsfjorden Line at Hønefoss. Local financing

4563-497: The Usteåne , the railway line runs alongside a number of smaller lakes to the culmination point near Finse . Before Finse, the 2.7 kilometer long Gråskallen tunnel at Haugastøl station is the first important improvement of the section. Immediately after the highest station Finse, the more than 10 kilometer long Finsetunnel was built, which replaced the original open route at over 1200 meters above sea level. At Høgheller junction,

4680-522: The Vestfoldbanen between Drammen and Tønsberg, enabling capacity to be more than doubled and for increased service efficiency. During August 2021, the German railway supplier Vossloh , was awarded a major comprehensive framework contract to provide switches and crossings for both conventional and heavy-haulage lines across the Norwegian railway network. The delivery of the new Follo Line has been

4797-746: The catchment area of the Vosso is pierced: Now the railway line, built partly high on the northern flanks of the valleys, uses the merging upper valleys of the Uppsetf , the Kleielva and the Raundalselva westwards until lake Vangsvatnet in Voss is reached. From here, the Vosso valley corridor is used on its northern flank as far as Bulken station . At Bolstadøyri , where the Atlantic Ocean

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4914-473: The narrow gauge Voss Line . In 1909 the route was continued over the mountain to Oslo and the whole route converted to standard gauge , and the Voss Line became part of the Bergen Line. The line is single track , and was electrified in 1954–64. The Bergen Line is owned and maintained by Bane NOR , and served with passenger trains by Vy Tog and freight trains by CargoNet . The Flåm Line remains as

5031-424: The right-of-way to Voss, but not onwards towards Oslo. On 13 January 1874, the Bergen city council started issuing stock for the Voss Line, to begin with 400,000 Norwegian speciedaler (NOK 1.6 million ) were 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

5148-401: The 1874 session, and instead adopt a complete plan for all railway construction in the country—to be proposed by a committee. When the committee reported 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, partially due to the lack of capital available from local investors. This

5265-574: The 1959 standard. Therefore, a small minority of Nynorsk enthusiasts use a more conservative standard called Høgnorsk . The Samnorsk policy had little influence after 1960, and was officially abandoned in 2002. While the sound systems of Norwegian and Swedish are similar, considerable variation exists among the dialects. The retroflex consonants only appear in East Norwegian dialects as a result of sandhi , combining / ɾ / with / d / , / l / , / n / , / s / , and / t / . The realization of

5382-475: The 20th century, being used by large newspapers, encyclopedias, and a significant proportion of the population of the capital Oslo, surrounding areas, and other urban areas, as well as much of the literary tradition. Since the reforms of 1981 and 2003 (effective in 2005), the official Bokmål can be adapted to be almost identical with modern Riksmål. The differences between written Riksmål and Bokmål are comparable to American and British English differences . Riksmål

5499-455: The Arna end are to be blasted between the old and the new tunnels to allow trains to switch from one to the other; as well as blasting 16 other common interconnections for escape and for installing infrastructure. Double running will only be achieved when the refurbishment of the old 1960s tunnel is complete; and the second half of Arna station, linked to the old tunnel has been rebuilt. To obtain

5616-411: The Bergen Line, unlike the Voss Line, was to be built with standard gauge . So, the newly laid line from Bergen to Voss had to be converted in time for the opening of the Bergen Line. This was especially challenging because of the continuous traffic on the line, with 36 departures per day to Nesttun, six to Garnes and four to Voss. In preparation a few curves had to be straightened, the tunnels widened and

5733-549: The Conservative-led coalition government. Specifically, Bane NOR and the Norwegian Railway Directorate (Jernbanedirektoratet), were both created to replace the former agency, Jernbaneverket . The organisation also took over the management and development of railway properties following the acquisition and incorporation of ROM Eiendom from the Norwegian State Railways . On 2 January 2017,

5850-501: The Dano-Norwegian koiné , known as "cultivated everyday speech." A small adjustment in this direction was implemented in the first official reform of the Danish language in Norway in 1862 and more extensively after his death in two official reforms in 1907 and 1917. Meanwhile, a nationalistic movement strove for the development of a new written Norwegian. Ivar Aasen , a botanist and self-taught linguist, began his work to create

5967-678: The Drammen Line and the Asker Line to Drammen, before heading north to Hønefoss on the Randsfjord Line. The express trains offer both transport from villages along the line to either Bergen or Oslo, as well travel between Norway's two largest cities. Expresses are locomotive -hauled trains with modernized coaches. Six nights a week there is a night train service. Several parts of the line service places without road access, such as Finse and Myrdal. Operating deficits are covered by

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6084-605: The Finse snow removal facility was closed. Snow drifts and harsh weather (see "Construction of the Bergen Line" section above) had been a problem in the higher-altitude regions of the Bergen line: in one case causing the abandonment of an official opening in December 1909. Hallingskied station is a station built on the Hardangervidda plateau, within an area without population or road access, at an elevation of 1,110 meters (3,640 ft) above mean sea level . The station therefore serves trekkers and mountaineers. The first station, built in

6201-455: The Ministry of Culture, official spelling, grammar, and vocabulary for the Norwegian language. The board's work has been subject to considerable controversy throughout the years. Both Nynorsk and Bokmål have a great variety of optional forms. The Bokmål that uses the forms that are close to Riksmål is called moderate or conservative , depending on one's viewpoint, while the Bokmål that uses

6318-479: The North Germanic languages. Faroese and Icelandic are not mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them. While the two Germanic languages with the greatest numbers of speakers, English and German, have close similarities with Norwegian, neither is mutually intelligible with it. Norwegian is a descendant of Old Norse , the common language of

6435-433: The Norwegian government. In October 2019, a contract between Bane NOR and the engineering consultancy firm COWI was signed for the development of a new double-track section of Bergen-Fløen line , which was the busiest single-track route in Northern Europe, to better serve the freight terminal at Nydårdstangen. That same month, two contracts were awarded for the civil engineering works to provide continuous double tracks along

6552-411: The Randsfjord Line to Hønefoss. This allows the trains to pass through more densely populated areas and on trackage with more capacity. However, the change of route actually increased the length between the two termini by 23 kilometres (14 mi). But the better track standard via Drammen results in about the same travel time. Freight trains still goes via Roa. During winter NSB had large costs keeping

6669-583: The Spanish railway infrastructure manager Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on training, information exchange technical assistance; the agency highlighted the latter's expertise in European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) operations in particular. The 15 different signaling systems in use across Norway are to be progressively replaced by ERTMS; Bane NOR

6786-406: The agency, which is organised as a state enterprise , officially launched during a ceremony held at Oslo Central Station . Bane NOR has sought to incorporate technologies and lessons from various other organisations and authorities; in early 2017, the agency renewed its cooperation agreement with the neghbouring infrastructure agency Swedish Transport Administration . In October 2019, Bane NOR and

6903-417: The bridges strengthened. On the night of 10–11 August 1904 all the track was changed and in the morning the trains could operate on standard gauge to Voss. The first services started on 1 July 1907 from Voss to Myrdal . An official opening train attempted to cross part of the line to Gulsvik on 9 December 1907, but got stuck in heavy snow and had to return. The railway had to close and it took one and

7020-535: The closed sections of Vossebanen, from Midttun to Garnes have been converted to a heritage railway —the Old Voss Line —that is operated with steam trains by the Norwegian Railway Club during the summer. At Finse there is a navvy museum, and the old navvy road has become a cycle track. Norwegian language Norwegian ( endonym : norsk [ˈnɔʂːk] ) is

7137-441: The cold weather is believed to have caused the accident. With Norway's abundance of hydroelectricity and the high cost of importing coal to run the steam locomotives, there was considerable economic benefit to be realised by electrifying the line. Plans for the electrification of the line had existed since the line was opened. In 1912 the line from Nesttun to Bergen was proposed electrified and rebuilt to double track, following

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7254-424: The comprehensive replacement of over a dozen different signalling systems with the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) has also commenced. During the early 2020s, Bane NOR has encountered considerable difficulty in the delivery of the new Follo Line , which has suffered both delays and technical mishaps. The agency was created during the 2010s as a consequence of reforms of the railway sector enacted by

7371-423: The construction of three single-track tunnels, Ulriken Tunnel (7,660 metres or 25,130 feet), Arnanipa Tunnel (2,177 metres or 7,142 feet) and Tunestveit Tunnel (40 metres or 130 feet). This plan was approved by parliament in 1956, based on private financing from the businessman Fritz Rieber . Construction started in 1959 with the tunnels being finished in 1963, while track laying was finished on 29 May 1964, when

7488-408: The early 1900s, did not have a snow tunnel when it opened, but snow tunnels and snow fences were progressively added after the autumn of 1909 to cover the running line, the passing loop and the station itself. Part of the snow tunnel caught fire in 1948 and spread to the station; and, there was another fire in the snow tunnel in 1953. Yet another fire in 1960, this time external to the tunnel, caused

7605-644: The eighth grade onwards, pupils are required to learn both. Out of the 431 municipalities in Norway, 161 have declared that they wish to communicate with the central authorities in Bokmål, 116 (representing 12% of the population) in Nynorsk, while 156 are neutral. Of 4,549 state publications in 2000, 8% were in Nynorsk, and 92% in Bokmål. The large national newspapers ( Aftenposten , Dagbladet , and VG ) are published in Bokmål or Riksmål. Some major regional newspapers (including Bergens Tidende and Stavanger Aftenblad ), many political journals, and many local newspapers use both Bokmål and Nynorsk. A newer trend

7722-481: The electrical supply to the catenary failed; and Telenor telephone cables and communications systems in the area. There were no injuries to the passengers, but they lost all their belongings left behind in the train. This closed the line for seven-days between Myrdal and Finse ; and through traffic on the Bergen line did not reopen until the evening of 23 June 2011. The official accident report, published in May 2012 by

7839-495: The financing was private, it would still have to use the same funding as government debt, and would jeopardize other projects, like the Nordland Line . Shortly afterwards a revised plan, the "Little Rieberplan" was accepted. The first 32 kilometres (20 mi) of the line from Bergen to Takvam represented a very roundabout way, and it was clear that it would be possible to reduce the line by 21 kilometres (13 mi) with

7956-485: The first centuries AD in what is today Southern Sweden. It is the earliest stage of a characteristically North Germanic language, and the language attested in the Elder Futhark inscriptions, the oldest form of the runic alphabets . A number of inscriptions are memorials to the dead, while others are magical in content. The oldest are carved on loose objects, while later ones are chiseled in runestones . They are

8073-439: The first train entered the tunnel. As the new tunnel line deviated from the original line near Arna, a new Arna station had to be constructed adjacent to the tunnel mouth. This also opened in May 1964. The opening of this tunnel meant that it replaced part of the original and that part was no longer needed as a main line. It became a heritage line: the Old Voss Line ( Norwegian : Gamle Vossebanen ). As of May 2nd 2024 there

8190-501: The forms that are close to Nynorsk is called radical . Nynorsk has forms that are close to the original Landsmål and forms that are close to Bokmål. Opponents of the spelling reforms aimed at bringing Bokmål closer to Nynorsk have retained the name Riksmål and employ spelling and grammar that predate the Samnorsk movement. Riksmål and conservative versions of Bokmål have been the de facto standard written language of Norway for most of

8307-461: The full benefit of this work, it is intended to double the track all the way from the tunnel to Bergen. In 1980, the Oslo Tunnel was opened, allowing trains along the Drammen Line to go to the new Oslo Central Station , an upgrade of the former Oslo Ø. As a consequence of this, passenger trains were since the late 1980s rerouted via Drammen instead of via Roa, following the Drammen Line and

8424-417: The historical connection to Old Norwegian. Today, this meaning is often lost, and it is commonly mistaken as a "new" Norwegian in contrast to the "real" Norwegian Bokmål. Bokmål and Nynorsk were made closer by a reform in 1938. This was a result of a state policy to merge Nynorsk and Bokmål into a single language, to be called Samnorsk . A 1946 poll showed that this policy was supported by 79% of Norwegians at

8541-409: The investments, the state covering the rest, mostly through foreign debt . On 20 October 1871 two engineers traversed the two possible routes from Bergen to Voss; the one via Fana , Os and Hardangerfjord , the other via Dale and Sørfjord . Though covering a less populated area, the latter would be cheaper to build, and have less elevation. A railway committee was created on 25 January 1872 with

8658-467: The language of the elite, the church, literature, and the law. When the union with Denmark ended in 1814, the Dano-Norwegian koiné had become the mother tongue of around 1% of the population. From the 1840s, some writers experimented with a Norwegianised Danish by incorporating words that were descriptive of Norwegian scenery and folk life, and adopting a more Norwegian syntax. Knud Knudsen proposed to change spelling and inflection in accordance with

8775-610: The language. The Scandinavian languages at this time are not considered to be separate languages, although there were minor differences among what are customarily called Old Icelandic, Old Norwegian , Old Gutnish , Old Danish, and Old Swedish . The economic and political dominance of the Hanseatic League between 1250 and 1450 in the main Scandinavian cities brought large Middle Low German –speaking populations to Norway. The influence of their language on Scandinavian

8892-555: The language. No standard of spoken Norwegian is officially sanctioned, and most Norwegians speak their own dialects in all circumstances. Thus, unlike in many other countries, the use of any Norwegian dialect, whether it coincides with the written norms or not, is accepted as correct spoken Norwegian. However, in areas where East Norwegian dialects are used, a tendency exists to accept a de facto spoken standard for this particular regional dialect, Urban East Norwegian or Standard East Norwegian (Norwegian: Standard østnorsk ), in which

9009-531: The languages in Europe, Norwegian derives from Proto-Indo-European . As early Indo-Europeans spread across Europe, they became isolated from each other and new languages developed. In northwest Europe, the Germanic languages evolved, further branching off into the North Germanic languages , of which Norwegian is one. Proto-Norse is thought to have evolved as a northern dialect of Proto-Germanic during

9126-503: The line from Hønefoss to Sandvika (the "proposed" Ringerike Line ) and electrify the railway. This would save 64 kilometres (40 mi). Since NSB based their fares on the route length travelled, financing would be covered by a surcharge equal to the distance saved; ticket price would remain the same and within twenty years the debt would be covered. The government opposed the suggestion — the newspaper editor and Norwegian Labour Party politician Trygve Bratteli commenting that even though

9243-433: The line snow-free. Large diesel-electric snowploughs were stationed at Finse , and tens of kilometers of snow sheds were built on the most vulnerable parts. Especially the 22 kilometres (14 mi) part between Finse Station and Hallingskeid was a drain on resources, and heavy snowfall and drifts regularly closed the entire line. A solution was proposed by NSB's director Robert Nordén in 1984, involving construction of

9360-517: The line was considered "difficult" because of tight curves, difficult track alignment; and also that the Overhead line might be vulnerable to bad weather, particularly snow and ice. A test 16.5KV transformer was set up at Finse to see if the catenary could be kept ice-free, and it could. The following year NSB launched the "away with the steam" campaign that would replace all steam locomotives with electric or diesel traction. Since electrification

9477-400: The line. There were some accidents, and 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, and started working for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) on the operation of the line. By

9594-479: The longest, the 5,311-metre (17,425 ft) Gravehalsen Tunnel , alone costing NOK 3 million and was the longest tunnel north of the Alps. It took six years to build, and had to be excavated manually through solid gneiss . Laying of track was started in 1906, and in 1907 the two groups, both having started at their own end, met at Ustaoset. A small celebration was held at the spot (see image). It had been decided that

9711-410: The loss of the snow tunnel; the railway station, which was rebuilt in 1970; and the station hotel, which was not replaced. On 16 June 2011, a possible welding accident may have been the "cause behind a fire" in the snow tunnel at Hallingskeid Station . The fire lead to the complete destruction of all infrastructure in the snow tunnel, the twin Class 73 electric multiple unit trapped in the tunnel as

9828-473: The majority of the railway network in Norway between 1883 and the end of 1996. On 1 December 1996, Norwegian State Railways (NSB) was demerged to create three organisations: On 1 January 2017, as part of the railway reforms: In September 1954, Rieber suggested a package for the politicians, where he would create a company that would borrow money to build both the Ulriken Tunnel, a shortening of

9945-502: The minimal pairs are written alike, since written Norwegian has no explicit accent marks. In most eastern low-tone dialects, accent 1 uses a low flat pitch in the first syllable, while accent 2 uses a high, sharply falling pitch in the first syllable and a low pitch in the beginning of the second syllable. In both accents, these pitch movements are followed by a rise of intonational nature (phrase accent)—the size (and presence) of which signals emphasis or focus, and corresponds in function to

10062-430: The neutral name Riksmål , meaning 'national language' like Landsmål , and this was officially adopted along with the 1907 spelling reform. The name Riksmål is sometimes interpreted as 'state language', but this meaning is secondary at best. (Compare to Danish rigsmål from where the name was borrowed.) After the personal union with Sweden was dissolved in 1905, both languages were developed further and reached what

10179-471: The new line merges back into the original road, which runs along the northern flank of the Moldåtal with numerous enclosures. After bridging the river and thus changing the traveled on side of the valley, the route passes by Seltuftvatnet and Reinungavatnet lakes. Behind that, Myrdal and Flåmsbana is reached. With the following Gravhals tunnel, more than five kilometers long, the mountain massif to

10296-554: The new tunnel has a double portal at Arna station and is double-tracked for a short distance, before combining into a single running track. Bane NOR awarded a contract to Grupo Azvi to refurbish the old 1960s tunnel, with work due to start in February 2021 and due to finish in June 2023. The requirement is do this refurbishment without lifting the existing rail track. As part of this work it will be fire-proofed; two diagonal tunnels at

10413-414: The normal accent in languages that lack lexical tone , such as English. That rise culminates in the final syllable of an accentual phrase, while the utterance-final fall common in most languages is either very small or absent. There are significant variations in pitch accent between dialects. Thus, in most of western and northern Norway (the so-called high-pitch dialects) accent 1 is falling, while accent 2

10530-586: The old railway line substructure. South of Dale, at Stanghelle , the Veafjord , which merges into the Sørfjord (Osterøy) , is reached. On its south-east bank, the route to Herland passes by the Osterøy Bridge . Worth mentioning is the six kilometer long Hananipa tunnel between Vaksdal and Trengereid , which was put into operation in 1970 as line improvement. The 2.2 kilometer long Arnanipa tunnel

10647-584: The oldest written record of any Germanic language. East Germanic languages West Germanic languages Icelandic Faroese Norwegian Danish Swedish Around 800 AD, the script was simplified to the Younger Futhark , and inscriptions became more abundant. At the same time, the beginning of the Viking Age led to the spread of Old Norse to Iceland , Greenland , and the Faroe Islands . Viking colonies also existed in parts of

10764-754: The only branch line, after the closure of the Hardanger Line . The western section from Bergen to Voss is also served by the Bergen Commuter Rail , and was shortened following the 1966 opening of the Ulriken Tunnel . The first documented proposal for building a railway between Norway's two largest cities was announced by Andreas Tanberg Gløersen on 24 August 1871 in Bergensposten . The forest supervisor in Voss suggested building

10881-487: The opening of the electrified Thamshavn Line in 1908. During the planning of the Hardanger Line and the Flåm Line during the 1930s it was again proposed to electrify the line. However, although both the branch lines were built with electric traction, the main line was not. Counter-suggestions were raised proposing a conversion to the locomotives running on oil or coal dust . In 1939 a plan for national electrification

10998-490: The parliament shifted. On 9 June 1875 parliament voted with 61 against 42 to build the Voss Line. The Voss Line was built with narrow gauge, 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ). 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, and at

11115-486: 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, and several taverns were built along

11232-442: The principles of Norwegian orthography, e.g. zebra in Norwegian is written sebra . Due to historical reasons, some otherwise Norwegian family names are also written using these letters. Some letters may be modified by diacritics : é , è , ê , ó , ò , and ô . In Nynorsk, ì and ù and ỳ are occasionally seen as well. The diacritics are not compulsory, but may in a few cases distinguish between different meanings of

11349-643: The railway via Voss and Hallingdal , connecting with the Krøderen Line . In 1866, Gløersen had come up with the idea of the Jæren Line . Within days of his proposal for the Bergen Line, the city council expressed support for the suggestion. In 1872, the railway director Carl Abraham Pihl and two engineers went on a survey tour along suggested line. At the time it was common that proposals for railways came from local initiative, and that local municipalities and private investors would then pay for about 20% of

11466-527: The rhotic / ɾ / depends on the dialect. In Eastern, Central, and Northern Norwegian dialects, it is a flap [ ɾ ] , whereas in Western and Southern Norway, and for some speakers also in Eastern Norway, it is uvular [ ʁ ] or [ χ ] . And in the dialects of North-Western Norway, it is realized as [ r ] , much like the trilled ⟨rr⟩ of Spanish. Norwegian

11583-409: The same time the permitted speed could be increased from 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) to 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph). The tunnel opened on 16 June 1992 while the rest of the upgrades opened in five steps between 1995 and 1998. The highest point on the line, previously at 1,301 metres (4,268 ft), became 1,237 metres (4,058 ft)—located inside the tunnel. After the tunnel opened,

11700-415: The snow, and on 21 February 2007, a multiple unit derailed after running into a pack of snow. As refurbished carriages become available, the multiple units will be removed from the line, and replaced by traditional locomotive-hauled trains. The Norwegian State Railways ( Norwegian : Norges Statsbaner or NSB ), a government agency / directorate, was the state-owned railway organisation which operated

11817-606: The southern part of northern Norway ( Nordland county). Today, Nynorsk is the official language of not only four of the nineteen Norwegian counties but also various municipalities in five other counties. NRK , the Norwegian broadcasting corporation, broadcasts in both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and all governmental agencies are required to support both written languages. Bokmål is used in 92% of all written publications, and Nynorsk in 8% (2000). Like some other European countries, Norway has an official "advisory board"— Språkrådet (Norwegian Language Council)— that determines, after approval from

11934-401: The three grammatical genders from Old Norse to some extent. The only exceptions are the dialect of Bergen and a few upper class sociolects at the west end of Oslo that have completely lost the feminine gender. According to Marit Westergaard , approximately 80% of nouns in Norwegian are masculine. Norwegian and other Scandinavian languages use a suffix to indicate definiteness of

12051-449: The time the Voss Line was completed Norway had entered a recession . Parliament was not willing to give more money to railways, and 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 (where

12168-442: The time. However, opponents of the official policy still managed to create a massive protest movement against Samnorsk in the 1950s, fighting in particular the use of "radical" forms in Bokmål text books in schools. In the reform in 1959, the 1938 reform was partially reversed in Bokmål, but Nynorsk was changed further towards Bokmål. Since then Bokmål has reverted even further toward traditional Riksmål, while Nynorsk still adheres to

12285-565: The train. The new locomotive El 13 was put into service on the electric parts. The electrification cost NOK 143 million. The express trains have as one of the main lines always been allocated the newest locomotives by NSB. When the El 14 was delivered in 1968, it was put into service on Bergensbanen, as was the El 16 in 1977, the El 17 in 1981, and finally the El 18 in 1996. The older locomotives have been relegated to freight service. In 2000 electric multiple units were put into service with

12402-400: The tunnel and at Arna station , to replace the manually controlled system at Arna station that has been in use since 1964; and upgrading half of Arna station. The new tunnel opened on 13 December 2020 and the signalling system was linked into the train control centre in Bergen. Because of space constraints at Arna station, due to the need to move trains between platforms within the station,

12519-504: The tunnel's problems and may also be connected to the sudden resignations of Bane NOR's former CEO Gorm Frimannslund and executive development director Stine Undru. Bergen Line The Bergen Line , or the Bergen Railway ( Norwegian : Bergensbanen or Nynorsk : Bergensbana ), is a 371-kilometre (231 mi) long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss , Norway . The name

12636-426: The unofficial Høgnorsk is more conservative than Nynorsk and is far closer to Faroese , Icelandic and Old Norse . Norwegians are educated in both Bokmål and Nynorsk. Each student gets assigned a native form based on which school they go to, whence the other form (known as Sidemål ) will be a mandatory school subject from elementary school through high school. For instance, a Norwegian whose main language form

12753-447: The vocabulary coincides with Bokmål. Outside Eastern Norway , this spoken variation is not used. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Danish was the standard written language of Norway. As a result, the development of modern written Norwegian has been subject to strong controversy related to nationalism , rural versus urban discourse, and Norway's literary history. Historically, Bokmål is a Norwegianised variety of Danish, while Nynorsk

12870-568: The word, e.g.: for ('for/to'), fór ('went'), fòr ('furrow') and fôr ('fodder'). Loanwords may be spelled with other diacritics, most notably ï, ü , á and à . The two legally recognized forms of written Norwegian are Bokmål (literally 'book tongue') and Nynorsk ('new Norwegian'), which are regulated by the Language Council of Norway ( Språkrådet ). Two other written forms without official status also exist. One, called Riksmål ('national language'),

12987-399: 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, who was 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

13104-758: Was developed based upon a collective of spoken Norwegian dialects. Norwegian is one of the two official languages in Norway, along with Sámi , a Finno-Ugric language spoken by less than one percent of the population. Norwegian is one of the working languages of the Nordic Council . Under the Nordic Language Convention , citizens of the Nordic countries who speak Norwegian have the opportunity to use it when interacting with official bodies in other Nordic countries without being liable for any interpretation or translation costs. Like most of

13221-476: Was in heavy use for both German military and civilian transportation, and much of the equipment and maintenance was lacking. On 28 February 1944, a descending eastbound freight train loaded with oil and petrol lost its braking power and became a runaway train, finally ploughing into a westbound passenger train at Breifoss, just east of Geilo . The crash and subsequent fire killed 25 civilians and an unknown number of German soldiers. Poor lubrication oil combined with

13338-463: Was launched, and the Voss Line was top priority. But the breakout of World War II set the plans back, and not until the 1950s was it again possible to afford such investments. Vossebanen took electric traction into use on 2 July 1954. The electricity is supplied via an overhead line. In 1952 a new plan was launched by parliament to electrify 1,153 kilometres (716 mi) of railway, with the line from Voss to Hønefoss prioritized fourth. This section of

13455-450: Was not imminent, the NSB introduced diesel traction on the Bergen Line in 1958. The line was electrified in four stages, from Roa to Hønefoss on 1 February 1961, from Hønefoss to Ål on 1 December 1962, from Ål to Ustaoset on 15 December 1963 and finally from Ustaoset to Voss on 7 December 1964. As the point of electrification moved across the mountain, so did the point NSB changed locomotive on

13572-507: Was ready within a year, yet it took six years to survey the line properly, and construction start had to wait until 1901. Construction started with the building of roads to get in supplies to the construction sites, completed in 1902. The construction was exceptionally challenging, taking place at high altitudes in a region without roads and with a climate that saw many metres of snow in the winter and temperatures far below freezing. 113 tunnels, totaling 28 kilometres (17 mi) had to be built;

13689-473: Was to be constructed in a number of main contracts: the first was boring the single-bore 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi)) tunnel, which began in January 2016, and was completed on 29 August 2017. The second was the installation of the infrastructure: installing the rails in the form of a cast fixed track ; the overhead catenary ; a tunnel drainage system; installing a remotely-controlled signalling system both in

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