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73-506: The Norwegian railway system comprises 4,109 km of 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) ( standard gauge ) track of which 2,644 km is electrified and 274 km double track . There are 697 tunnels and 2,760 bridges . The Norwegian Railway Directorate manages the railway network in Norway on behalf of the Ministry of Transportation . Bane NOR

146-434: A Co'Co' wheel arrangement, while the b-series has a (A1A)'(A1A)' arrangement, where the center of the three axles on each bogie is unpowered. The wheels have a 1,016 millimetres (3 ft 4.0 in) wheel diameter and the locomotives have a weight of 102.0 tonnes (100.4 long tons; 112.4 short tons) for the a-series and 103.0 tonnes (101.4 long tons; 113.5 short tons) for the b-series. The trains can be run in multiple with

219-649: 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

292-749: A demonstration tour in Eastern Europe. This resulted in an order from the Hungarian State Railways , where it became the MAV M61. The Røros Line was upgraded and the Bergen Line units transferred to Trondheim in 1960, but increased need for hauling forced NSB to not use the units on the Røros Line until the delivery of the next batch of six units in 1965. The final delivery, of four units, was made in 1969. The initial use for

365-428: A power output of 1,100 kilowatts (1,500 horsepower). The maximum speed is 105 kilometres per hour (65 mph) for the a-series and 143 kilometres per hour (89 miles per hour) for the b-series. The steel bodies are 18.60 or 18.90 metres (61.0 or 62.0 ft) long. The longer length is for the three b-series units and the two a-series locomotives that were made in the batch, originally intended for VR. The a-series has

438-412: A power output of 1,305 kilowatts (1,750 horsepower) at 835 revolutions per minute (rpm). The engines power an EMD D32 or D12 generator that feeds six ASEA LJB76 or LJB84 motors on a Di 3a. The Di 3b is equipped with four EMD D40 or D77B motors. This gives a tractive effort of 265 kilonewtons (60,000 lb f ) for the a-series and 176.5 kilonewtons (39,700 pounds-force) for the b-series. The motors have

511-425: A reduced price. Three were designated Di 3b because they had a slight specification variation, with a (A1A)'(A1A)' wheel arrangement and higher top speed. Two units had come short enough in the production process that they could be given the same specifications as the other Di 3a units, but received a slightly longer body. The Di 3b were given the numbers 641–643. For part of 1960, no. 623 was leased by NOHAB and sent on

584-528: A single unit for trial. The body and mechanical components were built by NOHAB, the motors by ASEA and prime mover by EMD. While under production in 1954, GM shipped a G12 for trial in Norway and Sweden. It was tested on the express train on the Dovre Line on 7 August, but proved to have insufficient power, causing the train to be 20 minutes late. The trial unit from NOHAB was delivered on 17 September 1954. The first test runs in scheduled service were on

657-510: 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

730-423: 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 the origin of the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) gauge even further back than

803-483: Is a state enterprise which builds and maintains all railway tracks, while other companies operate them. These companies include Vy and subsidiaries Vy Gjøvikbanen and CargoNet , Flytoget , Go-Ahead , SJ Norge , Green Cargo , Grenland Rail and Hector Rail . Norway is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Norway is 76. The first railway in Norway

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876-612: Is connected to the Norwegian network at the Swedish stations of Charlottenberg , Storlien and Kornsjø . 2,622 km (64%) of the railway network is electrified, all of it at 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC with overhead wires . The only sections that are not electrified are the lines north of Mjøsa , with the sole exception of the Dovre Line and the Ofoten Line . On non-electrified sections diesel locomotives are used. All of

949-766: 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

1022-480: 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 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,

1095-706: Is double track. In addition there are some industrial tracks and minor branch lines and some abandoned and heritage railways . The entire main network is 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) ( standard gauge ), as are the urban railways in Oslo and Bergen . Of the operational railways in Norway, only the Trondheim Tramway has a different gauge, the meter gauge , 1,000 mm ( 3 ft  3 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ). Some heritage railways, though, operate with various kinds of narrow gauge . The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line used to be

1168-561: Is kept for spare parts. NSB has kept one unit as reserve at Ål Station . The remaining units have been scrapped, put aside or sold as spare part units. The Di 3 was built by Nydquist och Holm of Trollhättan, Sweden, as part of a series of GM EMD AA16 locomotives in Europe. They are technically similar to the DSB Class MY of Denmark and the MAV M61 of Hungary. The locomotives are powered by a 16-cylinder EMD 16.567 C or E engine that has

1241-571: 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 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

1314-507: The DSB Class MY , NMBS Class 52–54, CFL Class 1600 and MÁV M61 . The first diesel locomotive used by NSB was a single Di 1 unit delivered in 1942. It was more cost-efficient than the steam locomotives used on the non-electrified lines, and in 1945, NSB decided that it would not order more steam locomotives. General Motors ' Electro Motive Division (EMD) made a bid to deliver twelve units based on their F7, and NSB agreed to lease

1387-682: The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line is proposed to be connected to Russia's Murmansk–Nikel Railway , and the line is also proposed for connection to the Finnish network in Rovaniemi (there has been a line between Rovaniemi and the Murmansk railway). Russia has generally dismissed this proposal in favour of using Russian ports instead of Kirkenes. Another proposal has been to build a line from Kolari to Skibotn and Tromsø , even if connecting to

1460-641: The Krøder Line , Setesdal Line , Urskog–Høland Line , Thamshavn Line , Rjukan Line , Valdres Line , Nesttun–Os Railway and Old Voss Line . The Norwegian Railway Museum is located in Hamar and includes exhibits of train hardware, related objects, as well as document and photography archives. Sweden is the only country with which Norway shares railway borders. Sweden and Norway share gauge, loading gauge, signaling system, electric system, GSM-R and automatic trains stop systems. Most rolling stock can cross

1533-608: 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

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1606-676: The Nordland Line and the completion of the Sørland Line . After the war the main effort was to complete the Nordland Line (which reached Bodø in 1962) and the decision to electrify 50% of the network, a task not completed until 1970. This allowed the retirement of steam locomotives , which were replaced with electric engines like the El 11 and El 13 or the diesel powered Di 3 . In 1966 Norway's only rapid transit , Oslo T-bane

1679-676: The Sørlandet Line from Oslo to Stavanger. In October 2018 this package was awarded to Go-Ahead Norge . In March 2018, the Norwegian Railway Directorate launched tenders for Traffic Package 2, passenger services on the Røros Line , Meråker Line , Rauma Line , and Nordland Line , plus regional services in Trøndelag county. SJ will commence operating the package on 7 June 2020. On 21 December 2018,

1752-466: The 1920s, including a second line, the Dovre Line , to Trondheim. This period also saw the first electrified railways and a steady conversion from narrow gauge to standard gauge. Norway chose to electrify its network at 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC . During World War II there was a massive construction by the German Forces as part of creating Festung Norwegen , including large sections of

1825-849: The 1960s, the Di 3 was put into service on the Rauma Line, the Røros Line, the Solør Line, the Valdres Line and the Meråker Line. In November 1970, the Dovre Line was electrified, and the last steam locomotives were retired. A long-term plan to electrify half the lines was finished, and for two decades, NSB's operations were very stable with no major investments to infrastructure or closing of lines. NSB had slightly fewer diesel locomotives than they needed, but plans to order additional Di 3

1898-705: The Di 3 units transferred to smaller lines, such as the Meråker , Valdres , Røros , Solør and Rauma Lines . They remained in service with NSB until 2001, five years later than planned due to NSB returning their successor, the Di 6 . The units are still in use by the private operator Ofotbanen , the Kosovo Railways , an operator in Sicily , and the Norwegian Railway Museum . The class is similar to

1971-514: The Di 3 was to operate the three non-electrified long-distance lines of NSB: the Bergen Line , the Dovre Line and the Nordland Line. Following the delivery of the first batch in 1957, they were from 2 June used on the Dovre Line, north of Otta to Trondheim, and further north along the Nordland Line to Mo i Rana. The stock was sufficient to replace all steam locomotives on the Nordland Line, and reduced travel time by one hour. From Hamar to Otta,

2044-424: The Di 4 and had twice the power of the Di 3. The Di 8 was slightly more powerful than the Di 3, and were intended for freight trains. Both series were put into service in 1996, but the Di 6 proved to have so many technical problems that they were returned to Siemens in 1998. The Di 3 units had been set aside and some had been scrapped, but the return of the Di 6 forced NSB to put the units back into service. During

2117-473: The Di 4. The last Di 3-hauled train ran on 7 January 2001. With the delivery of Class 93, NSB started to retire or sell the Di 3. In November 2001, five units were sold for NOK 250,000 each—well under market price—to the new private operator Ofotbanen . The purchase raised controversy, because the potential operator Banetransport had offered full market price for the trains. One year after delivery, six of eleven Class 93-locomotives were out of order. To solve

2190-913: 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

2263-466: The NSB subsidiary CargoNet. The national main routes in Norway are considered to be among the slowest in Europe, and slower than parts of East Africa , with average speeds below 80 km/h. The main railway network consists of 4,087 km of lines, of which 262 km is double track and 60 km high-speed rail (210 km/h). In addition there is 225 km of urban railways , of which 218 km

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2336-647: 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

2409-480: The Nordland Line between Trondheim and Mo i Rana in October. There were no technical faults until 22 December, when a ground fault caused the locomotive to be out of service until 17 January. In March the unit was sent back to NOHAB and went on a marketing tour that would eventually reach Ankara , Turkey in 1955. The locomotive returned to Norway on 1 July 1955, where it was numbered 602 and put into service on

2482-440: The Nordland Line. The trials were successful, with much higher regularity than the steam locomotives. The Di 3 was used eight days in a row, and then spent a single day in the depot. NSB signed an agreement with NOHAB for delivery of five further locomotives. This caused a public debate, because the domestic supplier Thune had offered to build a similar locomotive in cooperation with American Locomotive Company . The first delivery

2555-552: The Norwegian Railway Directorate launched tenders for Traffic Package 3, passenger services on the Oslo to Bergen line starting on 13 December 2020. Until the 1990s only commuter and regional trains were operated with multiple units , but since then Vy has ordered numerous multiple units for its regional and express lines. Express trains are operated with 16 BM 73 units with tilting technology , regional trains with 16 BM 70 , 6 BM 73b (both electric) and 15 BM 93 (diesel) units while

2628-639: The Ofoten Line's 7 El 13 , 5 Di 3 and 2 T43 , HectorRail's 6 El 15 (now known as 161) and Tåkåkeriet's Rc2 . See Chronology of Norwegian railway lines . 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 is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson ), international gauge , UIC gauge , uniform gauge , normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It

2701-409: The Røros Line in 1964, that had previously been denied due to bridges with insufficient axle load permits. In 1965, the Bergen Line was electrified, and all but one Di 3 was transferred to Trondheim. A single unit, usually no. 610, was stationed at Finse Station as a snowplow. Along with additional deliveries, there were sufficient Di 3 units to terminate most steam operations. After the Bergen Line

2774-645: 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

2847-628: The border. There are four border crossings: the Østfold Line – Norway/Vänern Line , the Kongsvinger Line – Värmland Line , the Meråker Line – Central Line and the Ofoten Line – Iron Ore Line . All crossings have electric traction on the Swedish side, but the Meråker Line lacks it on the Norwegian side. There have previously been operational train ferries to Denmark . There are proposals to connect Northern Norway to Finland (the planned Arctic Railway ) and Russia . At Kirkenes ,

2920-483: 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,

2993-493: 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 the wheels of horse-drawn vehicles around 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) apart probably derives from

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3066-534: 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

3139-437: The companies have been split into 10 separate corporations. In 1998 the first new line in 36 years was opened when the high-speed Gardermoen Line was opened to allow travel at 210 km/h between Oslo, Oslo Airport and Eidsvoll. The 1990s also saw the massive introduction of multiple units on passenger trains. In the 2000s the freight segment was deregulated and a number of freight companies have started competing with

3212-553: The contract was won by the NSB subsidiary NSB Anbud and the following red-green government has cancelled further PSO contracting. Also the Airport Express Train has been made a separate company. In 2017 Norway's Ministry of Transport and Communications decided to develop tenders for the operation of passenger rail services. On 4 February 2018, it launched a tender to deliver Traffic Package 1 that will commence on 15 December 2019, comprising long-distance services on

3285-459: 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

3358-425: The era came in 1877 when the Røros Line connected Central Norway to the capital. In 1883 the entire main railway network was taken over by Norwegian State Railways (NSB), though a number of industrial railways and branch lines continued to be operated by private companies. Three urban railways, in Oslo , Bergen and Trondheim , were started as in 1875 (Oslo), 1897 (Bergen) and Trondheim (1901). Oslo's system, as

3431-424: The existing line to Narvik is the main suggestion. Traditionally, all trains were operated by Vy (formerly NSB), but the deregulation in the 2000s has led to the introduction of a number of new freight operators, including CargoNet , Hector Rail , Tågåkeriet and Ofoten Line . The conservative-liberal government tried to introduce public service obligation bids on subsidized passenger routes in 2005, but

3504-740: 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,

3577-640: The full length operated with Di 3. The first section of the Bergen Line, the Gjøvik Line and the Roa–Hønefoss Line , was electrified in February 1961. This allowed diesel and electric locomotives to haul all trains from Oslo to Bergen . In 1962 the Nordland Line was completed to Bodø Station , but the increased need for locomotives was more than compensated by the electrification of the Bergen Line being extended to Ål Station . The first Di 3 ran on

3650-429: 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 ,

3723-399: The local trains are operated by 71 BM 69 and 36 BM 72 (both electric) while the local trains around Trondheim, Trøndelag Commuter Rail , uses 14 BM 92 diesel multiple unit . The Airport Express Train uses 16 BM 71 and Vy Gjøvikbanen operates 9 BM 69g units. The Ofoten Line operates three BM 68 electric multiple units. Vy still uses locomotive hauled passenger trains on a few of

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3796-476: The long-distance lines. For this task they use 22 El 18s and 5 Di 4s in addition to six El 17 on the Flåm Line . Most of the cars are B7 on long-distance services and B5 on regional services. Most of the locomotives have been transferred to the freight division CargoNet. CargoNet uses a combination of 30 El 14 , 15 El 16 , 19 Di 8 and 6 CD66 . The other companies use stock retired by NSB, including

3869-648: The mid-1990s, NSB had initiated a program to replace the traditional locomotive and carriage trains with new, tilting multiple units. This had led to the order of sixteen Class 73 four-car units for the three mainline routes on the Bergen Line, Dovre Line and Sørland Line . To supplement this, the board of NSB decided on 14 November 1996 to purchase seven tilting diesel multiple units for the Røros and Rauma Lines. The choice fell on Class 93 , with fifteen units eventually delivered. This allowed all passenger trains on diselized lines to either be operated with Class 93 be hauled by

3942-548: The northernmost railway in the world, but was in 2010 beaten by the Obskaya–Bovanenkovo Line in Russia. Still, Narvik is one of the northernmost towns in the world to have a railway connection, as the terminus for the Ofoten Line . It connects to Kiruna , Sweden , but not to Bodø , the northern terminus of the Norwegian railway network. Kiruna is, however, connected to the Swedish railway network , which again

4015-607: 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

4088-520: The only one, started with horse cars, the others were electrified from the beginning. Electric cars were introduced in Oslo in 1894 and the last horse car operated in 1900. Bergen closed down its first generation system between 1944 and 1965, but (re-)introduced light rail transit (LRT) in 2006. The second construction boom of the main railway arose in the 1910s and included the Bergen Line across Finse to Bergen , connecting Eastern and Western Norway. A number of other larger projects were also built in

4161-912: The problem, NSB had to rent back used Di 3 locomotives from Ofotbanen. NSB had chosen to sell the old locomotives for less than market price, but Ofotbanen demanded that NSB pay the entire purchase price for the short-term rental back. Four units (619, 633, 641 and 643) were sold to the United Nations and was put into service in Kosovo, in what has since become the Kosovo Railways . Four units (622, 626, 630 and 631) were sold to an operator in Sicily , Italy. The Norwegian National Rail Administration bought one unit (628) for maintenance, and has painted it yellow. The Norwegian Railway Museum in Hamar has preserved four units (602, 615, 616 and 642), of which two (602 and 616) were operated by GM-Gruppen and one (615)

4234-436: 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 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 ;

4307-411: 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

4380-514: The road. Those gauges were similar to railway standard gauge. NSB Di 3 The class was the dominant locomotive on NSB's unelectrified lines. It was ordered as part of the company's dieselization of services during the 1950s and 1960s, and was initially used on the three mainline routes of the Bergen , Dovre and Nordland Lines . In the 1960s the Bergen and Dovre Lines were electrified and

4453-492: 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

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4526-463: The track did not have sufficient permitted axle load. From the second batch of eight units, five were put into service on the Bergen Line, the rest on the Dovre and Nordland Lines. Necessary upgrades of the permitted axle load had been made to the Dovre Line and Nordland Line, and the locomotives were in use from Hamar Station to Saltdal . On 30 November, the Nordland Line was completed to Fauske , and

4599-409: The unit. At the time NSB planned to order additional Di 4, but these plans were put on hold. In 1988, the Valdres Line was closed; this was the only time a line with Di 3 in regular service was closed. During the 1980s, NSB started leasing SJ T44 -locomotives from Sweden to supplement the Di 3. In 1992, the decision was made to order 12 Di 6 and 20 Di 8 to replace the Di 3. The former was based on

4672-458: The urban railways use 600 or 750 V DC , via overhead wires on the tramways and via third-rail on the Oslo T-bane . In its plans, Bane NOR will concentrate its expansions primarily on the cramped network around Oslo and the larger cities. The question about building a high-speed railway between the largest Southern Norwegian cities has been discussed at political level, and a report

4745-479: 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 the outermost portions of the wheel rims, it became apparent that for vehicles travelling on rails, having main wheel flanges that fit inside

4818-426: 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

4891-415: Was electrified, the work continued on the Dovre Line. The section from Hamar to Otta was finished in 1967, and the following year to Dombås Station . This allowed the locomotives to be transferred to secondary lines. With the final delivery of the last units in 1969 and the completion of the electrification of the Dovre Line in 1970, the final steam locomotive was taken out of service. During the last half of

4964-415: Was made on 25 April 1957, and the order completed by July. In March 1957 NSB received permission to buy another eight locomotives. Delivery started in October and was completed on 1 June 1958. The order was supplemented with another six trains, with delivery in 1958. The Finnish State Railways (VR) ordered five units in 1959, but these were cancelled for political reasons. The units were offered to NSB for

5037-408: Was never fulfilled. In 1981, NSB took delivery of five Di 4 to supplement the older units. They were mainly used on the Nordland Line, and Di 3 units were predominantly used on the other lines, although they continued to operate som trains on the Nordland Line. On 1 April 1987, a Di 3 612 caught on fire; the damage was small enough that it could have been repaired, but NSB instead decided to put aside

5110-574: Was opened, but in the same decade the Bergen tramway was closed. In the 1970s and 80s many branch lines were also abandoned. In 1980 the massive project of connecting the eastern and western railway networks around Oslo was completed with the opening of the Oslo Tunnel and Oslo Central Station . In 1996 NSB was split into the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate , Jernbaneverket and an operating company NSB BA. Since then,

5183-461: Was ready by the end of 2007. Advocates for rail transport and environmentalists have wanted to build high speed railways, including upgrades to 250 km/h on the Sørland Line , Bergen Line , and Dovre Line while others, including Norsk Bane , have suggested construction of a new line through Haukeli to Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen. There are current proposed figures: There are also several operational museum railways in Norway, including

5256-605: 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

5329-692: Was the Hoved Line between Oslo and Eidsvoll and opened in 1854. The main purpose of the railway was to move lumber from Mjøsa to the capital, but passenger service was also offered. In the period between the 1860s and the 1880s Norway saw a boom of smaller railways being built, including isolated railways in Central and Western Norway. The predominant gauge at the time was 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) ( narrow gauge ), but some lines were built in 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) ( standard gauge ). The height of

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