Rjukanbanen was built by Norsk Hydro to connect the factories in Vestfjorddalen with national and international markets. Railway, train ferries and Tinnosbanen formed one unbroken transport chain — and during the Second World War that chain also became part of the struggle over heavy water from Vemork.
Rail heritage · Telemark
Rjukanbanen
Rjukanbanen joins railway, ferry and industrial history in the World Heritage landscape created around Norsk Hydro's factories.
PlaceRjukan and Mæl
ExperienceWorld Heritage railway
On the railsElectric railway · Railway ferry
The place
A railway story you can step into
The line moved chemicals and raw materials between Rjukan, the train-ferry quay at Mæl and the wider railway network. Together with the ferries on Tinnsjø and the industrial sites at Rjukan and Notodden, it formed a transport system built for large-scale hydroelectric industry.
Stations, rolling stock, track and ferry facilities survive as parts of the Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site. The museum experience therefore extends beyond a train ride: it is a connected landscape where rail and water transport explain one another.
What you can experience
Look closer
- 01
Preserved railway environments at Rjukan and Mæl
Rjukan and Mæl retain station buildings, track and vehicles from a railway shaped by heavy industry and a valley with no direct conventional rail exit.
- 02
The relationship between electric trains, train ferries and heavy industry
At Mæl, the railway meets the water. The quay and train ferries explain how complete railway vehicles and freight continued across Lake Tinn.
- 03
A railway system embedded in a UNESCO World Heritage landscape
The UNESCO landscape connects transport with hydropower, factories, company towns and social history, placing the railway inside a much larger industrial transformation.
History
Rail and ferry links in a complete industrial transport system
Second World War
Vemork, the heavy-water operations and D/F Hydro
Norsk Hydro produced heavy water at Vemork as a by-product of hydrogen production. During the occupation, the Allies sought to prevent German access to that material because of its possible use in nuclear research. The resulting operations connected the factory at Vemork directly with Rjukan's railway and ferry system. 56
On the night of 27–28 February 1943, the Norwegian Gunnerside team entered the Vemork plant and destroyed the high-concentration cells. The saboteurs escaped; nobody was killed or injured during the operation. Production was interrupted, but the wider Allied effort continued. 56
When heavy-water equipment and stocks were to be transported towards Germany, the route ran by rail to Mæl and onto the train ferry D/F Hydro. A Norwegian sabotage team sank the ferry on Lake Tinn on 20 February 1944. Eighteen people died: fourteen Norwegian civilians and four German soldiers. Their deaths are inseparable from the history of the action. 57
Sources
Read the original history
- 01Directorate for Cultural Heritage
Rjukanbanen — protected industrial railway
- 02Directorate for Cultural Heritage
The protection of Rjukanbanen
- 03Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum
The Rjukan Railway
- 04UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site
- 05Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum
The four heavy-water operations
- 06Store norske leksikon
The heavy-water operations
- 07Norsk Hydro
Bombing, sabotage and the sinking of D/F Hydro
Rail heritage placeOpen the marker for the detailed map
Location & journey
Place it in your route
Getting there
The visitor landscape is spread between Rjukan and Mæl rather than concentrated in one museum building. Plan the road or bus journey between sites and use the official map to decide which areas fit the day.
Planning context
Do not build a visit around an assumed train or ferry departure. Operation varies, while station environments and parts of the World Heritage landscape may still be visited according to the current programme.
Plan your visit
Check before you travel
Train and ferry operation is not guaranteed and the public programme can change between seasons. Check Norsk Industriarbeidermuseum's current information before planning a visit around a specific ride.