Railway field guide
The lines beneath the journeys
A timetable name rarely tells the whole story. This field guide follows the operational boundaries beneath the journeys from the cab, then opens the historical layers beneath them.
Start with the whole system
How Norway built one railway — and divided responsibility again
The national story begins before NSB, follows the decision to bring the state railways under one administration, and documents the shifting political majorities, EEA rules and ERA powers behind today's sector.
Featured route · Oslo-Bergen
One train
Several railways
The guide uses the official names and boundaries of each railway. Tunnels are shown on the railway they belong to rather than being treated as separate lines.
01Oslo S → Lysaker Drammenbanen
The western city corridor
02Lysaker → Asker Askerbanen
Bærumstunnelen · Sandvika
03Asker → Drammen Drammenbanen
Back onto the older main line
04Gulskogen → Hokksund Sørlandsbanen
Boundary area · Drammen / Gulskogen
05Hokksund → Hønefoss Randsfjordbanen
North through Modum
06Hønefoss → Bergen Bergensbanen
Across the mountain · via Voss
Historical layer · Bergen-Voss
Before it was the western end of Bergensbanen, it was Vossebanen
Opened as an independent narrow-gauge railway in 1883, rebuilt to standard gauge in 1904 and absorbed into the completed through connection in stages during 1908 and 1909.
Read the historyThe official boundary begins Sørlandsbanen at Gulskogen. Broader route material sometimes abbreviates the transition to Drammen. The dedicated line history keeps that boundary visible.
Explore the railways
The railways behind the journeys
Begin with the national overview, then follow each railway's story — from Norway's first main line to the routes over Dovrefjell, through Røros, across the mountains to Bergen and south to Stavanger.
See all tunnel guidesNorway's railway story
From the first line and NSB to the political settlements, EEA rules and ERA powers behind the present sector.
Hovedbanen
Norway's first railway and the southern approach to Dovrebanen
Dovrebanen
The national main line through Gudbrandsdalen and over Dovrefjell
Rørosbanen
The older inland route north through Østerdalen and Røros
Drammenbanen
The western city corridor, used on both sides of Askerbanen
Askerbanen
The faster pair of tracks beneath Bærum and through Sandvika
Sørlandsbanen
The complete southern main line, assembled over nearly eight decades
Randsfjordbanen
The surviving operational line north through Modum
Bergensbanen
The main railway across the mountain
Flåmsbana
The steep branch from Bergensbanen down Flåmsdalen to the Sognefjord
Kongsvingerbanen
The Glomma corridor and Norway's first international railway
Gardermobanen
Norway's first high-speed railway and the airport link through Romeriksporten
Gjøvikbanen
The northern railway through Nordmarka, Hadeland and Toten
Roa–Hønefossbanen
The connecting railway built with the final approach to Bergensbanen
Alnabanen
Oslo's short freight link between Alnabru and Gjøvikbanen
Godstogsporet Loenga–Alnabru
The freight route between the port, the Østfold corridor and Alnabru
Oslo S and Oslotunnelen
How two terminal railways became one through station beneath the city centre.
Vossebanen
The historical railway beneath the western end of today's Bergensbanen.