railway company A rail transport company is a company active within the rail industry. It can be: * a manufacturing company, * a rail transport operations, railway undertaking providing services through operating rolling stock, * a railway infrastructure manager ...

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

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 ...

CargoNet CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight rail transport, freight trains on the rail transport in Norway, Norwegian railway system. It was originally formed as NSB Gods after Vy, NSB (now Vy) was split into separate passenger and freight ...

Norwegian State Railways (1883–1996) The Norwegian State Railways ( or NSB) was a state-owned railway company that operated most of the rail transport in Norway, railway network in Norway. The government agency/directorate was created in 1883Jernbaneverket and the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate. In 2002, the freight operations were split to the subsidiary

CargoNet CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight rail transport, freight trains on the rail transport in Norway, Norwegian railway system. It was originally formed as NSB Gods after Vy, NSB (now Vy) was split into separate passenger and freight ...

, and the maintenance department became Mantena. It was controversially renamed Vygruppen in 2019; the then-opposition parties vowed to reverse the name change.

History

On 1 December 1996, the largest structural change in Norwegian railway history in the 20th century occurred. The old Norwegian State Railways was split into three separate governmental agencies. The ownership, maintenance and construction of the track was transformed to the newly created government agency Norwegian National Rail Administration while a new Norwegian Railway Inspectorate was created to supervise all railway operations in the country. NSB was renamed NSB BA and created as a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

, wholly owned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Also, NSB was made a concern, with NSB Biltrafikk (now Vy Buss) and NSB Eiendom (later ROM Eiendom, in 2017 succeeded 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 ...

Eiendom) made subsidiaries of NSB. In 1998, the new Oslo Airport, Gardermoen opened, replacing the old Oslo Airport, Fornebu that had been too small since the 1980s. As part of the political compromise to build the new airport, NSB faced a dual mandate. On one hand, the imperative was to establish environmentally sustainable ground infrastructure, prompting the decision to construct a

high-speed railway High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

spanning from Oslo Central Station to the airport, resulting in a 19-minute travel time. Concurrently, political stipulations dictated that the airport's development should not burden taxpayers financially; thus, the entire project was slated for financing through loans. The result was that the airport was to be financed, built and operated by the Civil Aviation Administration subsidiary Oslo Lufthavn AS while the rail connection was to be financed, built and operated by the NSB subsidiary NSB Gardermobanen. But problems arose during the construction of the Gardermoen Line because of a leak in the Romerike Tunnel, resulting in major budget overruns and a delay in the opening of the tunnel. Still, Norway's first high speed railway line opened on time on 8 October 1998 at the same time as the new airport, though the Romerike Tunnel was not opened until 22 October 1999, more than a year after its scheduled opening. The service is operated using 16 custom built Class 71 electric multiple units, with a capacity for 168 passengers and maximum speed of . NSB tried to modernize itself in the late 1990s through the acquisition of new rolling stock and a new

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

image. The first stock to be delivered were 22 El 18 electric locomotives. These were meant to take over passenger train traffic in Southern Norway while the El 16s and El 14s were moved to the freight division and the El 17s were scrapped, relegated to shunting or sold to the

Flåm Line The Flåm Line () is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. The li ...

. The new locomotives were capable of speeds up to . For the diesel lines, NSB attempted to buy 12 Di 6 from

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

, but had to return them after they failed to operate sufficiently in the northern Norwegian cold. NSB also decided to re-brand itself with three district brands: NSB Signatur (express trains), NSB Agenda (regional trains) and NSB Puls (local trains). At the same time, NSB ordered new electric multiple units, first of all for the new Airport Express Train service, Class 71. This was followed up with 16 new Signatur trains of Class 73 that were to be used on the express services 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 ...

, the

Dovre Line The Dovre Line () is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim (city), Trondheim. Definition *Dovre Line is the main line between Eidsvoll Station and Trondheim Station, used b ...

and the Sørlandet Line and equipped with tilting technology. This was an attempt to create a high speed railway service using existing rail track, though the operating times between Oslo and the termini were only reduced by about 10 minutes. These trains were painted blue and grey, and were the first non-red trains to be operated by NSB in decades. At the same time, NSB announced the introduction of the Agenda concept, that was to replace the NSB InterCity Express services and the diesel services. While the Class 70s were simply repainted, the diesel services on the Nordland Line, the

Rauma Line The Rauma Line () is a long railway between the town of Åndalsnes (in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county), and the village of Dombås (in Dovre Municipality in Innlandet county), in Norway. Running down the Romsdalen valley, the line ...

and the

Røros Line The Røros Line () is a rail transport, railway line which runs through the districts of Norway, districts of Hedmarken, Østerdalen, and Gauldalen in Innlandet and Trøndelag, Norway. The line branches off from the Dovre Line at Hamar Station ...

were upgrades with 15 new Class 93 units in 2001, though criticized for lack of comfort, have increased the speed on the railways. NSB also discontinued night train services on the Rauma Line and Røros Line. Starting in 2002, NSB also received 36 new electrical local trains, Class 72. These were painted grey/green (for the use of the brand name ''Puls'') and were put in the Oslo Commuter Rail and Jæren Commuter Rail. NSB has now discontinued the use of brand names on its rail products. By 2002, the Bondevik's Second Cabinet wanted to further deregulate the Norwegian railway sector, and made NSB a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

NSB AS on 1 July. NSB had been through a process of making the company more of a corporation, with the IT section made the subsidiary Arrive and the maintenance transformed to Mantena. NSB also purchased part of the Swedish Tågkompaniet while the old freight train section NSB Gods was transformed to

CargoNet CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight rail transport, freight trains on the rail transport in Norway, Norwegian railway system. It was originally formed as NSB Gods after Vy, NSB (now Vy) was split into separate passenger and freight ...

. 45% of the subsidiary was then sold to the

Statens Järnvägar The Swedish State Railways () or SJ, originally the Royal Railway Board (), was the former Government agencies in Sweden, government agency responsible for operating the state-owned railways in Sweden. History The Swedish State Railways wa ...

successor

Green Cargo Green Cargo AB is a Swedish state-owned logistics company that transports various types of goods by train. It was created on 1 January 2001 out of the logistics division of Swedish State Railways (SJ). While organised as a public limite ...

. In 2004, the government also split NSB Gardermobanen in two, deleting the companies debt, transferring the track it owned to Jernbaneverket and the train operations to a new, government-owned enterprise, the Airport Express Train. On 24 April 2019, NSB was renamed Vygruppen and rebranded as Vy (it is a Scandinavian word meaning vision, outlook, overview or prospect). According to a survey by the

Language Council of Norway The Language Council of Norway (, ) is the administrative body of the Norwegian state on language issues. It regulates the two written forms of the Norwegian language: Bokmål and Nynorsk. It was established in 2005 and replaced the Norwegian Lan ...

, the name change was only supported by 7% of Norwegians.

Services

Vy operates with three main types of passenger rail transport: intercity trains, regional trains and commuter trains.

Inter-city services

Long-haul electric passenger trains services are offered 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 ...

. The four day trains are operated with traditional locomotive hauled trains (electric locomotives El18 and coaches Class 7). A night train service with WLAB2 sleeping coaches is also offered on these lines.

Regional services

Vy has two regional rail services. All regional trains are to receive the new livery of red and grey. NSB has previously used the brand name ''Agenda'' on its regional services. Regional services use Class 74 (R10

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

–

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

) and Class 73b (R20 Oslo S –

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

– (

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

)). The service is provided hourly along the Trunk Line, the Vestfold Line and the Østfold Line. The trains running between Lillehammer and Skien serve Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, providing an alternative to the Airport Express Train. *

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 ...

-

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 ...

(Bergen Line) * Fauske-

Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

(NSB-Bus)-

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(Train) (Sweden) *

Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

-

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

(NSB-Bus)

Commuter services

Around the cities of

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 ...

,

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

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

Vy operates commuter train services using Class 69, Class 72, Class 74 and Class 75 electric multiple units and Class 92 diesel multiple units. The services usually have hourly or semi-hourly frequency. NSB tried using the brand name ''Puls'' for the commuter trains, and have painted some of the trains green. The Puls brand has been discontinued. The Oslo Commuter Rail provides the following services, with Class 69, Class 72 and Class 75: * L1 ( Spikkestad)–

Asker Asker (), also called Asker proper (''Askerbygda'' or ''gamle Asker'' in Norwegian), is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway, located approximately 20km southwest of Oslo. From 2020 it is part of the ...

–Oslo– Lillestrøm (Trunk Line ) * L12

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

–Oslo–Drammen–

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production and fo ...

(Trunk Line and Sørland Line) * L13 Drammen– Skøyen–Oslo–

Jessheim Jessheim is a town in the Ullensaker municipality in Akershus of Norway. History The railway station with the Jessheim station was built in 1854 as part of the Hovedbanen line from Oslo to Eidsvoll. The railroad had at the initial construction o ...

–

Dal Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal ...

(Trunk Line and Drammen Line) * L14 Asker– Lillestrøm– Årnes– Kongsvinger ( Kongsvinger Line) * L2 Stabekk–Oslo– Ski (Østfold Line) * L21 Stabekk–Oslo–

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

(Østfold Line) * L22 Skøyen–Oslo–

Mysen Mysen is the administrative center of the municipalities of Norway, municipality of Eidsberg in the counties of Norway, county of Østfold in Norway. The town is named after the old farm of Mysen (Old Norse, Norse ''Mysin'', from ''*Mosvin''), si ...

–(

Rakkestad Rakkestad is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rakkestad. It is divided into the parishes of Rakkestad, Degernes, and Os, Øst ...

) (Østfold Line) Other commuter train services: * The

Bergen Commuter Rail Bergen (, ) is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 2025 the population is 294 029 according to Statistics Norway. The municipali ...

: Bergen–

Voss Voss () is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages inclu ...

– Myrdal (Bergen Line) with Class 69 * Porsgrunn–

Notodden is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Aust-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden. Other population centres include the villages of Bolkesjø, G ...

( Bratsberg Line) with Y1 class railcar In 2005, services on Gjøvik Line were transferred to NSB Gjøvikbanen (now Vy Gjøvikbanen) after the NSB subsidiary had won a public tender bid for a ten-year

public service obligation In the context of European Union law, a public service obligation or PSO is an obligation imposed on an organisation by legislation or contract to provide a service of general interest within EU territories. PSOs may operate in any field of publi ...

contract with the Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communication. The Norwegian Minister of Transportation and Communications, Liv Signe Navarsete ( Centre Party), has announced that the present government (as of 2006) will discontinue the previous government's announcements to put more rail line operations on public tender.

Rolling stock

The Norwegian passenger train division has a fleet of 36 Class 72 and 82 Class 69 electric multiple units (EMU) and 14 Class 92 diesel multiple units (DMU) for commuter services. The company has a further 22 Class 73 and 16 Class 70 EMUs and Class 93 DMUs for regional and intercity trains, which are also provided by 22 El 18 and 5 Di 4 locomotives which haul Class 5 and Class 7 passenger cars. Vy receives subsidies to operate unprofitable route from its owner, while services on the Gjøvik Line have been made subject to

public service obligation In the context of European Union law, a public service obligation or PSO is an obligation imposed on an organisation by legislation or contract to provide a service of general interest within EU territories. PSOs may operate in any field of publi ...

s, which is operated by Vy's subsidiary Vy Gjøvikbanen. During the 1990s, NSB modernized their rolling stock, expanding their fleet of multiple units and retiring many of the traditional locomotive-hauled trains. Most of the locomotives were sold to the freight company CargoNet AS, but the models El18 and Di4 remain to haul passenger trains. Some of the new trains were plagued with troubles, in particular a brand new Class 73 derailed at low speed at Nelaug in 2000 because of an axle breaking due to

metal fatigue In materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, typically producing striation (fatigue), striati ...

. As of 2005, however, these trains have been performing satisfactorily. In August 2008, NSB announced it had ordered 50 new five-car electric multiple units of the Class 74 and 75. These will be used for local service in the Greater Oslo area (24 sets) and also regional service in southern Norway (26 sets). The delivery is scheduled for 2012 but delayed because of accident during testing, by that time much of the rail network is expected to be upgraded to

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...

, enabling an increase in frequency. The contract which is worth approximately 840 mill.

Swiss franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...

s gives NSB an option to buy an additional 100 sets. These trains have been specifically modified to operate in Norwegian climate and have a maximum speed of .

Locomotives

*2 Di 2 class diesel

shunter A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), station pilot (British English), or shifter locomotive ( Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distan ...

s *9 El 17 class

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

s, three used for shunting and six run on the

Flåm Line The Flåm Line () is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. The li ...

. *22 El 18 class electric locomotives, used on all main electrified lines.

Electric multiple units

*80 Class 69 class 2-car or 3-car commuter trains, used around

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 ...

. *16 Class 70 class 4-car intercity (medium distance) trains, used around Oslo. *36 Class 72 class 4-car commuter trains, used around Oslo. *16 Class 73A class 4-car intercity trains, used for service in and out of Oslo. *6 Class 73B class 4-car regional version of the Class 73 used on Østfold Line. *50 Class 74 intercity trains and Class 75 commuter trains, based on the

Stadler FLIRT Stadler FLIRT (, ) is a passenger multiple unit trainset made by Stadler Rail of Switzerland. The baseline design of FLIRT is an electric multiple unit Articulated car, articulated trainset that can come in units of two to twelve cars with two t ...

has been introduced. With the first for profit operation on May 2, 2012.

Diesel railcar

*3 Y1 used until 2015 on the Bratsberg Line between

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

and

Notodden is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Aust-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden. Other population centres include the villages of Bolkesjø, G ...

.

Carriages

*The non-motorized passenger carriages in operation are the B3-series (the oldest), B5-series and B7-series. The B5- and B7-series are in service on long distance express trains while the B3-series in green color are used in tourist trains on the Flåm Line (Myrdal-Flåm).

Subsidiaries

* Complete ownership of Arrive (IT services) * Complete ownership of Vy Buss (Bus operations) * Complete ownership of Vy Gjøvikbanen (Operates train services on the Gjøvik Line) * Complete ownership of Vy Tåg (Sweden) * Complete ownership of CargoNet AS * 55% of Trafikkservice, the other 45% owned by ISS (Cleaning services)

Vy Tog

Vy's subsidiary ''Vy Tog AS'' was on 9 December 2019 awarded the contract for all passenger 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 ...

by the Norwegian Railway Directorate, starting from December 2020. This includes long-distance trains F4 Oslo–Bergen, regional trains R40 Bergen–Voss–Myrdal and local trains L4 Bergen–Arna.

Chief executives

*1996–2000: Osmund Ueland *2000–2000: Randi Flesland (acting) *2000–2001: Arne Wam (acting) *2001–2011: Einar Enger *2011–2019: Geir Isaksen *2020–present: Gro Bakstad

References

External links

Official websitetog.webuda.com - Long-distance trains in Norway - Train configurations and seating maps
{{Authority control Government-owned companies of Norway Ministry of Transport (Norway) Norwegian brands Railway companies established in 1996 Railway companies of Norway 1996 establishments in Norway