Jernbaneverket ( lit. ' the railway administration ' ) was a government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network , including the track , stations , classification yards , traffic management and timetables . Safety oversight was the duty of the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate , while numerous operating companies run trains on the lines; the largest being the state owned passenger company Vy (formerly NSB) and the freight company CargoNet .
53-488: The administration operated all railways in Norway, except public station areas and freight terminals built before 1997 and private sidings. All track is standard gauge , with a total of 4,230 kilometres (2,630 mi), of which 2,498 kilometres (1,552 mi) is electrified , and 245 kilometres (152 mi) is double track . The Norwegian Railway Museum was a subsidiary of the rail administration. On 1 December 1996, NSB
106-532: A comprehensive inventory of landslide-prone sites, the implementation of physical preventative measures in such sites, as well as close cooperation with the Norwegian Meteorological Institute to establish additional weather stations to provide more reliable forecasts. Such measures are intended to boost regional readiness to response to climate-related emergency situations. Starting in 1985, NSB and Televerket jointly constructed
159-649: A country (for example, 1,440 mm or 4 ft 8 + 11 ⁄ 16 in to 1,445 mm or 4 ft 8 + 7 ⁄ 8 in in France). The first tracks in Austria and in the Netherlands had other gauges ( 1,000 mm or 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in in Austria for the Donau Moldau line and 1,945 mm or 6 ft 4 + 9 ⁄ 16 in in
212-626: A directorate and divisions for infrastructure management, infrastructure construction and traffic management; BaneEnergi is subordinate to the traffic management and was responsible for supplying electricity to the railway companies. Main offices was located in Oslo , while regional offices was located in Bergen , Hamar and Trondheim , while train control areas was also located in Drammen , Kristiansand , Stavanger and Narvik . The administration also ran
265-519: A national network of optical fiber that progressively covered the entire railway network. This network remained part of Jernbaneverket until 2001, at which point it was transferred to the subsidiary BaneTele . That same year, it acquired the bankrupt telecom company Enitel , and the whole subsidiary transferred to the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry in 2002. During 2010, it was announced that Alcatel-Lucent had been selected by
318-510: A standard gauge of 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ), and those in Ireland to a new standard gauge of 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ). In Great Britain, Stephenson's gauge was chosen on the grounds that existing lines of this gauge were eight times longer than those of the rival 7 ft or 2,134 mm (later 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in or 2,140 mm ) gauge adopted principally by
371-468: A systematic effort was undertaken to reduced the number of such crossings. By 2005, the Administration was openly stating its long-term objective of entirely eliminate level crossings as a part of the modernisation of Norway's railways. By the mid 2000s, the Administration was playing a leading role in the introduction of GSM-R digital radio communications. A NOK 1.7 billion development programme
424-682: A time, leading to temporary overcapacity with numerous staff having no assigned work; this was difficult to account for in conventional means of competitive tendering for major maintenance and renewal projects, and came at a considerable premium in terms of both price and productivity. Between 1992 and 2006, there was a gradual yet meaninful reduction in administrative staff and production personnel from 2,100 to 1,350. The Administration also anticipated future increases in difficulties pertaining to Norway's climate, as an increase in precipitation would likely lead to more frequent landslides ; proactive measures taken to guard against this danger included setting up
477-654: Is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson ), international gauge , UIC gauge , uniform gauge , normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the most widely used track gauge around the world, with about 55% of the lines in the world using it. All high-speed rail lines use standard gauge except those in Russia , Finland , Uzbekistan , and some line sections in Spain . The distance between
530-766: Is currently operated by the Ghana Railway Company Limited . Kojokrom-Sekondi Railway Line (The Kojokrom-Sekondi line is a branch line that joins the Western Railway Line at Kojokrom ) Indian nationwide rail system ( Indian Railways ) uses 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge. 96% of the broad gauge network is electrified. The railway tracks of Java and Sumatra use 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ). Planned and under construction high-speed railways to use 1,668 mm ( 5 ft 5 + 21 ⁄ 32 in ) to maintain interoperability with
583-400: Is the only high-speed line . The network consists of 716 tunnels , 2,572 bridges and 3,690 level crossings . In 20212, Norway's railways transported 61,121,000 passengers for 3,202 million passenger kilometers and 30,271,000 tonnes of cargo for 3,489 million tonne kilometers . That same year, there were 20 train-related accidents, with two fatalities. The administration was divided into
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#1732780480852636-608: The Liverpool and Manchester Railway , authorised in 1826 and opened 30 September 1830. The extra half inch was not regarded at first as very significant, and some early trains ran on both gauges daily without compromising safety. The success of this project led to Stephenson and his son Robert being employed to engineer several other larger railway projects. Thus the 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) gauge became widespread and dominant in Britain. Robert
689-889: The Norwegian Railway College in Oslo and the Norwegian Railway Museum in Hamar. The agency had about 2,900 employees. In 2007, the administration had a revenue of NOK 5,661 million, of which 1,934 M went to operation, 1,369 M to maintenance, 67 M to the Gardermoen Line and 2,291 M to investments. Of the investments 82% went to new lines, notably the Asker Line (25%), Stavanger–Sandnes (17%), Lysaker Station (17%) and Ganddal Yard (8%). The administration received most of its income from
742-529: The Valdres Line . Jernbaneverket maintained a small fleet of maintenance trains and track inspection railcars themselves. All of Jernbaneverkets trains are yellow and diesel operated. When Baneservice was demerged, they took over most of the maintenance units. Jernbaneverket's stock: Standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ). The standard gauge
795-541: The 1960s, passenger transport on private railways was abolished, and only a few private lines remained; the last, the Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line , was closed in 1997. Since then the agency has operated all railway lines in the country, except tramways and the Oslo T-bane , that are operated by their respective counties. During the 1990s, multiple rounds of reforms and restructurings were enacted upon NSB and
848-453: The Administration to deploy an advanced high-speed network based on IP/MPLS technology to handle all railway-related business communications, such as train signaling, signage on station platforms, and the GSM-R radio communications network. During the mid-2000s, considerable growth in both passenger and freight traffic was recorded, while punctuality figures in excess of 90 percent, the best in
901-543: The Blix Tunnel, the largest civil engineering feature of the Follo Line; construction work started later that same year. All track in Norway is standard gauge , covering a total distance of 4,230 kilometres (2,630 mi), of which 2,498 kilometres (1,552 mi) is electrified at 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC , and 245 kilometres (152 mi) is double track . The Gardermoen Line, at 64 kilometres (40 mi),
954-913: The Great Western Railway. It allowed the broad-gauge companies in Great Britain to continue with their tracks and expand their networks within the "Limits of Deviation" and the exceptions defined in the Act. After an intervening period of mixed-gauge operation (tracks were laid with three rails), the Great Western Railway finally completed the conversion of its network to standard gauge in 1892. In North East England, some early lines in colliery ( coal mining ) areas were 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ), while in Scotland some early lines were 4 ft 6 in ( 1,372 mm ). The British gauges converged starting from 1846 as
1007-603: The NSB's history, had also been attained. Much of the nation's lines were single track, which constrained both capacity, flexibility, and opportunities to further improve punctuality; hence, several schemes to double track particularly busy stretches of single track were enacted, particularly in and around the capital city of Oslo . Furthermore, in June 2004, the Norwegian parliament authorised an additional NOK 10 billion of investments in
1060-647: The Netherlands for the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij ), but for interoperability reasons (the first rail service between Paris and Berlin began in 1849, first Chaix timetable) Germany adopted standard gauges, as did most other European countries. The modern method of measuring rail gauge was agreed in the first Berne rail convention of 1886. Several lines were initially built as standard gauge but were later converted to another gauge for cost or for compatibility reasons. 2,295 km (1,426 mi) Victoria built
1113-653: The Norwegian National Rail Administration and the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate, as well as one limited company, NSB BA. Prior to 1 July 1999, NSB and the administration continued to have the same board and the same director, Osmund Ueland . An early issue for the Administration to address was appropriate scaling of its workforce against it activities. Due to the inhospitable winter climate in Norway, many infrastructure activities become unfeasible for months at
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#17327804808521166-502: The Norwegian railway sector, one of which saw the rise of a new organisation model in 1992 under which infrastructure activities were organised principally under regional managers, which were given more responsibility and consequently reinforced by technical and administrative support functions. On 1 December 1996, the National Rail Administration was created via the division of Norges Statsbaner into two agencies,
1219-593: The administration was dissolved and all tasks were transferred to Bane NOR or the Norwegian Railway Directorate . Bane NOR took over ownership of the infrastructure from 1 January 2017. State ownership of railways was initially through partial ownership of the many lines built during the 1860s and 1870s; by 1883, the authorities decided to create the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) that would own and operate most lines. By
1272-645: The advantages of equipment interchange became increasingly apparent. By the 1890s, the entire network was converted to standard gauge. The Royal Commission made no comment about small lines narrower than standard gauge (to be called "narrow gauge"), such as the Ffestiniog Railway . Thus it permitted a future multiplicity of narrow gauges in the UK. It also made no comments about future gauges in British colonies, which allowed various gauges to be adopted across
1325-483: The coal mines of County Durham . He favoured 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ) for wagonways in Northumberland and Durham , and used it on his Killingworth line. The Hetton and Springwell wagonways also used this gauge. Stephenson's Stockton and Darlington railway (S&DR) was built primarily to transport coal from mines near Shildon to the port at Stockton-on-Tees . Opening in 1825,
1378-597: The colonies. Parts of the United States, mainly in the Northeast, adopted the same gauge, because some early trains were purchased from Britain. The American gauges converged, as the advantages of equipment interchange became increasingly apparent. Notably, all the 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) broad gauge track in the South was converted to "almost standard" gauge 4 ft 9 in ( 1,448 mm ) over
1431-459: The course of two days beginning on 31 May 1886. See Track gauge in the United States . In continental Europe, France and Belgium adopted a 1,500 mm ( 4 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 16 in ) gauge (measured between the midpoints of each rail's profile ) for their early railways. The gauge between the interior edges of the rails (the measurement adopted from 1844) differed slightly between countries, and even between networks within
1484-538: The existing conventional network. In 2009, a proposal for the national transport plan for the period 2010-2019 included the construction of the Follo Line , a new 24km double-track line between Oslo Central Station and Ski at an initially estimated cost of NOK 11.6 billion. In March 2015, the Administration signed a joint contract with the Spanish construction group Acciona and Italian contractor Ghella to build
1537-740: The first railways to the 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) Irish broad gauge. New South Wales then built to the standard gauge, so trains had to stop on the border and passengers transferred, which was only rectified in the 1960s. Queensland still runs on a narrow gauge but there is a standard gauge line from NSW to Brisbane. NMBS/SNCB 3,619 km (2,249 mi) Brussels Metro 40 km (25 mi) Trams in Brussels 140 km (87 mi) 1,032 km (641 mi) The Toronto Transit Commission uses 4 ft 10 + 7 ⁄ 8 in ( 1,495 mm ) gauge on its streetcar and subway lines. Takoradi to Sekondi Route,
1590-429: The initial gauge of 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ) was set to accommodate the existing gauge of hundreds of horse-drawn chaldron wagons that were already in use on the wagonways in the mines. The railway used this gauge for 15 years before a change was made, debuting around 1850, to the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge. The historic Mount Washington Cog Railway ,
1643-534: The inner sides of the rails) to be used. Different railways used different gauges, and where rails of different gauge met – a " gauge break " – loads had to be unloaded from one set of rail cars and reloaded onto another, a time-consuming and expensive process. The result was the adoption throughout a large part of the world of a "standard gauge" of 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ), allowing interconnectivity and interoperability. A popular legend that has circulated since at least 1937 traces
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1696-400: The inside edges of the rails is defined to be 1,435 mm except in the United States, Canada, and on some heritage British lines, where it is defined in U.S. customary / Imperial units as exactly "four feet eight and one half inches", which is equivalent to 1,435.1 mm. As railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge (the distance, or width, between
1749-482: The late 2000s and early 2010s, Norwegian authorities became increasingly vocal on the prospects of high-speed rail operations; specifically, the Ministry of Transport and Communications commissioned an independent assessment of high-speed rail's feasibility in the country that conceived of a new network of single-track electrified high-speed routes with a maximum speed of 250km/h roughly in parallels with core routes of
1802-408: The legislature, Storting . On 1 January 2014, the ministry was dissolved and the minister portfolio was incorporated into the new Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries . Responsibilities for trade and industry was originally established in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Shipping and Industry in 1903. It was not until 1916 where a separate ministry was formed, as the previous ministry
1855-406: The ministry, but railway companies had to pay to use the Gardermoen Line . At the time of the demerger, all stations were transferred to NSB, but the administration retained ownership of the platforms . All stations opened after 1996 were owned by the administration; this has caused a complex ownership structure where sections of the stations may have different owners. The operation of all stations
1908-494: The ministry. This restructuring was part of a program initiated by the conservative-liberal government to privatize the maintenance of the tracks, compelling the administration to perform tenders ; similar policies were being enforced on the Public Roads Administration and Coastal Administration . The process of privatizing the work of 1,100 employees was discontinued after the 2005 election , following
1961-707: The nation's railway in addition to that which was already allocated under the National Transport Plan for the period 2006-2015. The Administration undertook various programmes to improve safety upon the rail network. It was responsible for a continuous process of dynamically amending various requirements, standards and procedures to account for the introduction of new technologies as well as improvements in knowledge, particularly in respect to human error factors. Having identified significant risk factors associated with roughly 4,000 (as of 2005) level crossings that served mainly residential and agricultural areas,
2014-505: The origin of the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge even further back than the coalfields of northern England, pointing to the evidence of rutted roads marked by chariot wheels dating from the Roman Empire . Snopes categorised this legend as "false", but commented that it "is perhaps more fairly labeled as 'Partly true, but for trivial and unremarkable reasons. ' " The historical tendency to place
2067-405: The outermost portions of the wheel rims, it became apparent that for vehicles travelling on rails, having main wheel flanges that fit inside the rails is better, thus the minimum distance between the wheels (and, by extension, the inside faces of the rail heads ) was the important one. A standard gauge for horse railways never existed, but rough groupings were used; in the north of England none
2120-411: The rest of the network. All other railways use 1,668 mm ( 5 ft 5 + 21 ⁄ 32 in ) ( broad gauge ) and/or 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) metre gauge . BLS , Rigi Railways (rack railway) 449 km Several states in the United States had laws requiring road vehicles to have a consistent gauge to allow them to follow ruts in
2173-475: The road. Those gauges were similar to railway standard gauge. Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry ( Norwegian : Nærings- og handelsdepartementet ) was a Norwegian ministry responsible for business, trade and industry. It was first created in 1916, as the Ministry of Trade (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Shipping and Industry). It took its final name in 1997. The department must report to
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2226-403: The system was in place on along all Norwegian lines by 2007. During the 2010s, the Administration contracted Nokia to provide various services, from implementing a quality management system, provideing support, and driving improvements in relation to Norway's GSM-R network. During 2005, the maintenance division was demerged, and established as the limited company Baneservice , owned directly by
2279-492: The term "narrow gauge" for gauges less than standard did not arise for many years, until the first such locomotive-hauled passenger railway, the Ffestiniog Railway , was built. In 1845, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , a Royal Commission on Railway Gauges reported in favour of a standard gauge. The subsequent Gauge Act ruled that new passenger-carrying railways in Great Britain should be built to
2332-485: The victory of the socialist coalition government ; despite this reversal, the Administration stated its intention to continue to tender various projects where it would be economically desirable to do so. During the late 2000s, the Administration anticipated a doubling of freight traffic over the following decade; to accommodate the running additional and longer freight trains, an investment of NOK 3.7 billion in various capacity enhancement works targeted at freight operations
2385-434: The wheels of horse-drawn vehicles around 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) apart probably derives from the width needed to fit a carthorse in between the shafts. Research, however, has been undertaken to support the hypothesis that "the origin of the standard gauge of the railway might result from an interval of wheel ruts of prehistoric ancient carriages". In addition, while road-travelling vehicles are typically measured from
2438-426: The world's first mountain -climbing rack railway , is still in operation in the 21st century, and has used the earlier 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ) gauge since its inauguration in 1868. George Stephenson introduced the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge (including a belated extra 1 ⁄ 2 in (13 mm) of free movement to reduce binding on curves ) for
2491-563: Was focused on social affairs. After this, the ministry underwent several name changes as a result of transfers of responsibilities. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has six departments. The Press and Communications Division is part of the Secretary General's staff. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Trade and Industry. The other political staff consists of three State Secretaries and one Political Advisor. The ministry
2544-784: Was less than 4 ft ( 1,219 mm ). Wylam colliery's system, built before 1763, was 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ), as was John Blenkinsop 's Middleton Railway ; the old 4 ft ( 1,219 mm ) plateway was relaid to 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) so that Blenkinsop's engine could be used. Others were 4 ft 4 in ( 1,321 mm ) (in Beamish ) or 4 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,410 mm ) (in Bigges Main (in Wallsend ), Kenton , and Coxlodge ). English railway pioneer George Stephenson spent much of his early engineering career working for
2597-464: Was proposed for the period between 2010 and 2019. This work largely focused on the expansion of freight terminals and the provision of additional passing loops . In terms of tonnage, intermodal traffic accounts for 85 percent of all freight traffic, thus the Administration explored the concept of intermodal transport of containers, semi-trailers and swap bodies between various major Norwegian cities using modern road-rail transfer terminals. During
2650-551: Was remained at the administration, while the NSB subsidiary Rom Eiendom is responsible for managing the railway unrelated sections of the stations, for instance the shopping center in Oslo Central Station . The companies that have agreements to access the national railway are Borregård Rail , Cargolink , CargoNet , Flytoget , Green Cargo , Hector Rail , Malmtrafik , Norwegian State Railways , NSB Gjøvikbanen , Ofotbanen , Peterson Rail, SJ , Tågåkeriet and
2703-605: Was reported to have said that if he had had a second chance to choose a gauge, he would have chosen one wider than 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ). "I would take a few inches more, but a very few". During the " gauge war " with the Great Western Railway , standard gauge was called " narrow gauge ", in contrast to the Great Western's 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ) broad gauge . The modern use of
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#17327804808522756-469: Was split up; formally NSB and the inspectorate were demerged from the National Rail Administration, and NSB made a limited company . All three became subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications . The administration got its own chief executive, Steinar Killi , from 1 July 1999. On 31 December 2016, as a result of the rail reform of the Conservative lead government coalition,
2809-631: Was underway to roll out this European system to facilitate secure, rapid, and effective communication between line traffic controllers, train drivers, and other railway personnel; it also better facilitated international railway operations along with increased competition between train operating companies. Despite Norway's relatively challenging topography, the introduction of GSM-R was relatively swift, priority having been given to stretches of track where preceding emergency communication systems had been unsatisfactory. Comprising 700 ground-based installations for coverage of 3,800 kilometres of track and 600 tunnels,
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