The Vendsyssel railway line ( da, Vendsysselbanen) 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

which runs through the

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing soci ...

Vendsyssel Vendsyssel () is the northernmost traditional district of Denmark and of Jutland. Being divided from mainland Jutland by the Limfjord, it is technically a part of the North Jutlandic Island, but the name often used informally for the entire island. ...

between

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of ...

and

Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The town ...

in North Jutland. It constitutes the northernmost part of Den Østjyske Længdebane, the through route through the

Jutland Peninsula Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

from Padborg to Frederikshavn. The section from

Nørresundby Nørresundby () is a city in Aalborg Municipality, north of Limfjorden, in Vendsyssel, in Denmark. The urban area has a population of 23,718 (1 January 2021). It is located just north of Aalborg, which lies south of Limfjorden. Statistically its o ...

to Frederikshavn opened in 1871. In 1879 the route was continued from Nørresundby to Aalborg across the

Limfjord The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking times. However, it now has inlets both from ...

as the

Limfjord Railway Bridge The Limfjord Railway Bridge ( da, Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden) is a railway bridge carrying the Vendsyssel railway line across the Limfjord, a shallow sound separating the North Jutlandic Island from the rest of the Jutland Peninsula, betw ...

was inaugurated, thus connecting the Vendsyssel railway line with the Randers–Aalborg railway line as well as the rest of the Danish railway network. The Vendsyssel railawy line runs north from Aalborg to

Hjørring Hjørring () is a town on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Hjørring Municipality in the North Jutland Region. The population is 25,644 (acc ...

and turns east from there to Frederikshavn, making the rail distance about 80 km, where the road distance is about . The line is owned and maintained by the

railway infrastructure manager A railway infrastructure manager is "any body or undertaking that is responsible in particular for establishing and maintaining railway infrastructure. This may also include the management of infrastructure control and safety systems. The functions ...

Rail Net Denmark and served with

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...

s by the national

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 ...

Danish State Railways (DSB) and local and

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of rail transport, railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of Railroad car#Freight cars, freight cars (US) or goods wagon ...

s by the

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

railway company Nordjyske Jernbaner. The southernmost section from

to Lindholm is also served by the

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...

service Aalborg Commuter Rail. The line has three remaining

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

s: from

the Aalborg Airport railway line branches west to

Aalborg Airport Aalborg Airport ( da, Aalborg Lufthavn) is a dual-use (civilian/military) airport located in Nørresundby, Aalborg Municipality, Denmark, which is northwest of Aalborg. Facilities The airport is at an elevation of above mean sea level. It h ...

, from Hjørring the Hirtshals railway line branches north to the town and

ferry port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Hirtshals Hirtshals is a town and seaport on the coast of Skagerrak on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe. It is located in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland. The town of Hirtshals has ...

, and from Frederikshavn

Skagen railway line The Skagen railway line ( da, Skagensbanen) is a long standard gauge single track railway line between Skagen and Frederikshavn in Vendsyssel, Denmark. The railway links the fishing port and seaside resort of Skagen with the Danish rail ne ...

branches north to the town and

fishing port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen ...

History

Erste Eisenbahnbrücke über den Limfjord 001

Work on the section from

to Frederikshavn started in May 1869. It was opened on 16 August 1871 in the presence of King Christian IX. Passengers crossing the

, a shallow

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

separating the

North Jutlandic Island The North Jutlandic Island (), Vendsyssel-Thy, or Jutland north of the Limfjord (''Jylland nord for Limfjorden''), is the northernmost part of Denmark and of Jutland. It is more common to refer to the three traditional districts Vendsyssel, Han ...

from the rest of the

, between

Nørresundby station Nørresundby () is a city in Aalborg Municipality, north of Limfjorden, in Vendsyssel, in Denmark. The urban area has a population of 23,718 (1 January 2021). It is located just north of Aalborg, which lies south of Limfjorden. Statistically its o ...

and

Aalborg station Aalborg railway station ( da, Aalborg Station or ') is the main railway station serving the city of Aalborg, Denmark. It is located in central Aalborg, on the southwestern edge of the city center, with entrances from John F. Kennedys Plads and ac ...

had two opportunities: a ferry or crossing the

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow- draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry. ...

located further east on foot. On 7 January 1879 the route was continued from Nørresundby to Aalborg as the

spanning the

was inaugurated, and the Vendsyssel railway line was connected with the Randers–Aalborg railway line as well as the rest of the Danish railway network. In 1938, the original railway bridge was replaced by the current Limfjord Railway Bridge which was inaugurated on 23 April 1938. In 1972, several stations (including

Sulsted Sulsted is a small Danish town with a population of 1,524 (1 January 2022)Tylstrup) were closed. In 2003, however, two new stations

Aalborg Vestby Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of A ...

(in Aalborg, south of the Limfjord) and Lindholm (in Nørresundby, about north of the old station) were opened as part of Aalborg Commuter Rail. In 2021, a new station Hjørring East was opened in the eastern part of Hjørring. On 28 March 2012 the Limfjord railway bridge was hit by a ship and severely damaged so it was unusable for trains. For more than a year, there was no train service, only bus service, between Nørresundby and Aalborg until the bridge had been repaired and opened again for traffic on 29 April 2013. In 2017, the

regional rail 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 ser ...

services on the Vendsyssel railway line were transferred from the national

DSB to the

railway company Nordjyske Jernbaner.

Route

The Vendsyssel line runs north from Aalborg, crossing the

on a long

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

, the

, to Nørresundby. From Nørresundby, the Aalborg Airport railway line branches west to

. The main line passes west of Lindholm Høje and

Hammer hills A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as ...

and continues north to

Brønderslev Brønderslev is a city in Denmark with a population of 12,549 (1 January 2022). The city is the largest urban area in Brønderslev Municipality and is the municipal seat. It is the fourth largest city of Vendsyssel within the North Jutland Region ...

and

. From Hjørring, the

Hirtshals Line The Hirtshals railway line ( da, Hirtshalsbanen) is a long standard gauge single track railway line between Hjørring and Hirtshals, Denmark. The railway links the fishing and ferry port of Hirtshals with the Danish rail network. The railway l ...

branches north to the town and

. The main line continues

east East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

, passing through

Tolne hills Tolne is a small village and railway town in Vendsyssel, Denmark. It is located in Hjørring Municipality in Region Nordjylland. Its population was 209 as of 2015. It is located in Tolne Hills, a popular excursion trip destination. Tolne ...

to its terminus at Frederikshavn, located on the east coast of Vendsyssel. From Frederikshavn, the Skagen Line branches north to the town and

Operations

The line is owned and maintained by the

Rail Net Denmark, a

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

under the

Danish Ministry of Transport The Danish Ministry of Transport ( da, Transportministeriet) is the Danish ministry in charge of coordinating and realizing the transport politics Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentiona ...

. It is served with

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at ma ...

and

regional 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 ...

s by the national

Danish State Railways (DSB) and local and

s by the

railway company Nordjyske Jernbaner (NJ). Since 2003, the

service Aalborg Commuter Rail, operated by DSB, has also served the southernmost section from

to Lindholm.

Stations

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Banedanmark
–

responsible for

maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doctrine ...

and traffic control of most of the Danish railway network
Nordjyske Jernbaner
– Danish

operating in

North Jutland Region The North Jutland Region ( da, Region Nordjylland), or in some official sources, the North Denmark Region, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform, which abolished the tra ...

DSB
– largest Danish

train operating company A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993. Th ...

Nordjyllands Jernbaner
– website with information on railway history in North Jutland
Danske Jernbaner
– website with information on railway history in Denmark {{DEFAULTSORT:Vendsyssel Line Railway lines in Denmark Railway lines opened in 1871 1871 establishments in Denmark Rail transport in the North Jutland Region