The Randsfjorden Line () is an

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

located in

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

connecting

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2022 ...

and

Jevnaker Jevnaker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jevnaker with a population of 4,302. The parish of ''Jævnaker'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see form ...

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

county. The railway is primarily used for passenger trains, and the only scheduled trains on the stretch are Vy Tog express trains on the

Bergen Line The Bergen Line, or the Bergen Railway ( or ), is a long scenic overlook, scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied to the entire route from Bergen to Oslo, including the Randsfjord Line ...

between

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. Freight trains to Bergen go to Hønefoss via the

Gjøvik Line The Gjøvik Line () is a Norwegian railway line between Oslo and Gjøvik. It was originally named the North Line (''Nordbanen'') and ran between Grefsen and Røykenvik. The line was completed to Gjøvik in 1902. The Gjøvik Line was one of t ...

. The railway is owned by

Bane NOR Bane NOR SF is the Norwegian government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the track, stations, and the majority of other infrastructure assets. It took over the operati ...

. The entire line is

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . 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 is the ...

, and the from Drammen to Hønefoss is electrified at . The remaining from Hønefoss to Randsfjorden is not electrified and currently disused. The line gets its name from the lake

Randsfjorden Randsfjorden is Norway's fourth-largest lake with an area of . Its volume is estimated at just over , and its greatest depth is . The lake is located at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in Innlandet and Akershus counties in the m ...

History

On 11 June 1857, railway director Carl Abraham Pihl was demanded by a

Royal Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

to instruct a terrain investigation of the area along the river

Drammenselva Drammenselva () is a river in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, southeastern Norway. Location Drammenselva is one of the largest rivers in Norway, with a drainage basin of about and a Discharge (hydrology), discharge of per second. Drammen R ...

from Drammen to Randsfjorden. He presented the results of the investigation on 31 May 1858, which concluded that the terrain between Drammen and Randsfjorden was favorable for a rail line. Pihl thereupon proposed a rail line from Randsfjorden with a branch line to

Hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen, HEN or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...

. He argued with forester Thorvald Meiddell, who wanted to construct a canal rather than a rail line. In a meeting on 12 September 1859 in the Drammen chairmanship, the rail line solution was decided upon. On 6 March 1863, the final decision was made, with six against three votes. It was also decided to make a government loan of .

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

passed the construction of the rail line on 11 June 1863, with 65 against 44 votes. The construction of the Randsfjord Line was begun on 4 December 1863, and, on 1 September 1866, the line was finished to Vikersund. Two years later, the entire line to Randsfjord Station was opened. A celebration took place at the station, where King

Charles XV Charles XV or Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''; Swedish language, Swedish and Norwegian language, Norwegian officially: ''Karl''; 3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden and List of Norwegian monarchs, Norway, there often referred to as C ...

with his family took part. On 1 December 1867 Skjærdalen and

Tyristrand Tyristrand is a village in Ringerike municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. Background Tyristrand parish was designated a municipality following a split from Hole on 1 July 1916. The municipality of Hole made been established on 1 January ...

were connected to the line and finally on 12 October 1868

Hønefoss Station Hønefoss Station () is a railway station located at Hønefoss in Ringerike, Norway. The station is located at the intersection between the Bergen Line, the Randsfjorden Line and the Roa–Hønefoss Line. Hønefoss is served by express trains ...

opened and the line could stretch all the way to Randsfjorden. The line was the fifth railway line to be built in Norway. When the Bergen Line was built a new line between Roa on Gjøvikbanen and Hønefoss was opened in 1909, providing two different lines between Hønefoss and Oslo.

Images

File:Honefoss-stasjon-1900-corr.jpg,

around 1900 File:Vikersund station.jpg, Vikersund Station File:Hokksund station.jpg, Hokksund Station File:Mjøndalen Railway Station TRS 061106 003.jpg, Mjøndalen Station File:Drammen1.jpg,

Drammen Station Drammen Station (''Drammen stasjon'') is a railway station located in downtown Drammen in Buskerud, Norway. History Drammen Station was first opened in 1866 in Conjunction with the opening of the Randsfjorden Line. The station is the terminu ...

File:Hen stasjon.jpg, Hen Station

References

Bibliography

* {{Coord, 59.9693, 9.9981, region:NO-30, format=dms, display=title Railway lines in Akershus Railway lines in Buskerud Railway lines opened in 1866 Electric railways in Norway 1866 establishments in Norway Sørlandet Line 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Norway

History

Images

See also

References

Bibliography