The Hornbæk Line ( da, Hornbækbanen) is a long standard gauge

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

passenger

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

north of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

. It runs along the coast of

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width ...

between

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northe ...

and

Gilleleje Gilleleje () is a fishing town and seaside resort on the north coast of the peninsula North Zealand, Denmark. The town is located at the northernmost point of the island of Zealand. It is one of the main towns of the Gribskov municipality in Reg ...

, through an area with many

holiday home A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

s. The name ''Hornbækbanen'' refers to the town

Hornbæk Hornbæk () is a seaside resort town on the north coast of the Danish island of Sjælland, facing the Øresund which separates Denmark from Sweden. It is part of Helsingør Municipality and is located 12 km north-west of Helsingør, and is m ...

about halfway between Helsingør and Gilleleje. The section from to opened in 1906, and the section from to in 1916. The railway is currently owned by Hovedstadens Lokalbaner and operated by the

railway company A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains and the track, while, particularly in the European Union, operation of the track is undertake ...

Lokaltog. Lokaltog runs frequent

local train Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

services from to with most trains continuing from Gilleleje along the

Gribskov Line The Gribskov Line or the Gribskov Railway ( da, Gribskovbanen, GDS) is a local passenger railway line in North Zealand north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The line runs north from Hillerød through the Gribskov forest and splits into two branches to t ...

to .

History

The first long section of the railway line from

opened on 22 May 1906 as the Helsingør-Hornbæk Banen (HHB). Initially, trains on the Hornbæk Line terminated at Grønnehave station in the northern part of Helsingør, but from 1908 all trains were continued via a connecting track along the

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

Helsingør station Helsingør station () is the principal railway station serving the city of Helsingør ( en, Elsinore), Denmark. It is the terminus of the Coast Line to Copenhagen, the Little North Line to Hillerød and the Hornbæk Line to Gilleleje. It a ...

, arriving and departing from a special railway halt in the street next to the station building. The next long section from Hornbæk onwards to } opened on 11 July 1916 and the railway changed its name to Helsingør-Hornbæk-Gilleleje Banen (HHGB). In 2002, train operation on the Hornbæk Line was transferred from the operating company Helsingør-Hornbæk-Gilleleje Banen A/S (HHGB) to the newly formed railway company Lokalbanen A/S (LB) responsible for train operation on five local railways north of Copenhagen. Lokalbanen A/S merged with Regionstog A/S on 1 July 2015 to form the railway company Lokaltog A/S which is currently responsible for train operation and related passenger services on the Hornbæk Line.

Route

The Hornbæk Line originates from

, running north via a connecting track along the

to Grønnehave station in the northern part of the city. From Grønnehave station the line continues to the northwest, following the coast line of the

and serving the seaside towns of

Ålsgårde Ålsgårde is a former fishing village on the north coast of Zealand, Denmark, located six kilometer northwest of Helsingør. Formerly Ålsgårde was a separate town, but today it has merged with the neighbouring town of Hellebæk into an ur ...

and

Dronningmølle Dronningmølle () is a seaside resort town in Esbønderup parish, Gribskov Municipality in the Capital Region of Denmark, of eastern Denmark. Dronningmølle is located four kilometers west of Hornbæk, six kilometers east of Gilleleje and 22 kil ...

. From Dronningmølle the line continues due west, before curving north to reach its terminus at

where the line connects with the tracks of the

at Gilleleje station.

Operations

Trains on the Hornbæk Line are operated by the

Lokaltog. Lokaltog operates a fairly intensive timetable on the Hornbæk Line with light DMUs working a fixed 30-minute frequency most of the day. Most passengers connect from

Kystbanen Kystbanen ("The Coast Line") is a regional railway line between Helsingør (Elsinore) and Copenhagen in Denmark. It was opened in 1897, and it is today the busiest railway line in Denmark. Kystbanen, along with an extensive network of railwa ...

regional trains at Helsingør. Until late 2007, transfers to and from

Gribskovbanen The Gribskov Line or the Gribskov Railway ( da, Gribskovbanen, GDS) is a local passenger railway line in North Zealand north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The line runs north from Hillerød through the Gribskov forest and splits into two branches to t ...

were also possible at Gilleleje, but after major changes to Gilleleje station, trains now operate through Gilleleje to Hillerød along

. This has eliminated the need to change at Gilleleje, but at the cost of going from 20-minute to 30-minute intervals.

Heritage train

During the summer months of July and August, Nordsjællands Veterantog operates weekend steam trains on the Hornbæk Line between Grønnehave and Gilleleje. This has been a tradition since 1971.

Stations

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Cultural references

Both and stations and the section of the railway between them are used as a locations in the first Olsen Gang film.

References

External links

*
Lokaltog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hornbaekbanen Hovedstadens Lokalbaner Railway lines in Denmark Railway lines opened in 1906 Railway lines opened in 1916 1906 establishments in Denmark Rail transport in the Capital Region of Denmark