Oslo S–Gjøvik · 1894 to today
From Nordbanen to Gjøvikbanen
Gjøvikbanen began as an answer to the economy of the inland districts. Timber helped make the case, but the line soon became the spine of a much wider branch-railway system.
Timber gave Nordbanen its strongest argument
The districts north of Christiania needed a dependable way to move timber, farm produce and people. Roads were slow and seasonal, while the growing capital and its industries wanted raw materials from the interior. The proposed railway was therefore known as Nordbanen: the northern railway. 04
Parliament approved construction in 1894. The route had to climb from Oslo through broken forest terrain before reaching the more open country of Hadeland and Toten, giving the line the curves and gradients that still shape its operation. 01 04 07
The first trains did not yet run to Gjøvik
The first main section opened between Grefsen and Røykenvik on 18 December 1900. For almost two years, the railway used Alnabanen and Hovedbanen to reach the eastern station in Christiania. 02 03
On 26 November 1902, the railway received its present approach from Oslo and the extension from Jaren to Gjøvik. Gjøvik became the end of the main line, while Røykenvik remained on a branch from Jaren. 03 04
Nordbanen became a through railway from the capital to Gjøvik.
Junctions turned one railway into a regional system
Roa gained the connection to Hønefoss in 1909. Farther north, Jaren served the Røykenvik branch, Eina became the junction for Valdresbanen and Reinsvoll connected with Skreiabanen. These railways linked farms, forest districts and small industrial communities to the main route. 04
Most of the branches later closed, but their former junctions still explain the shape and history of the stations along Gjøvikbanen. Roa–Hønefossbanen survived because it remained valuable as a freight route and as an alternative way to reach Bergensbanen. 01 04
The railway arrived with a family of station buildings
The stations were part of the railway's public face. Paul Due and his son Paul Armin Due designed buildings for the new line, giving rural communities architecture that announced a modern national network as clearly as the rails themselves. 04
Some places grew into junctions, others served local industry or agriculture, and Gjøvik received a terminus beside Mjøsa. Their traffic changed, but the surviving buildings keep the opening years visible along the route.
Electrification arrived in 1963
Electric operation began in 1963. It removed steam traction from the main line and placed Gjøvikbanen within the wider electrified network around Oslo. 01 04
The railway remained single track. Crossing loops and the timetable therefore continued to govern how passenger and freight trains could share the route, especially on the busy section south of Roa. 01
ERTMS changed the northern timetable
ERTMS entered ordinary service between Roa and Gjøvik in November 2024. The change replaced the older signalling system on the northern section, and an hourly passenger service to Gjøvik followed with the timetable change on 15 December. 01 05
North of Roa, the railway mainly carries regional passenger trains. South of Roa, those trains share the line with freight between Eastern and Western Norway. 01
The whole line in time
From Nordbanen to ERTMS
Parliament approves Nordbanen
The railway north from Christiania is authorised after years of argument about timber, farming and access to inland markets.
The railway reaches Røykenvik
The first main section opens from Grefsen through Hadeland to Røykenvik.
Alnabanen opens
The temporary eastern connection gives the new northern railway access to Christiania before its own approach is ready.
Gjøvik becomes the terminus
The present approach from Oslo and the final section from Jaren to Gjøvik open.
Valdresbanen grows from Eina
The branch opens from Eina to Dokka in 1902 and reaches Fagernes in 1906.
The connection to Hønefoss opens
Roa–Hønefossbanen gives Bergen traffic a route between Gjøvikbanen and Hønefoss.
Electric operation
Electric trains replace steam and diesel traction on the main railway.
ERTMS enters service
The new signalling system begins ordinary operation between Roa and Gjøvik.
Two railways in one corridor
Passenger traffic continues to Gjøvik while the southern section also carries freight heading towards Bergen.
Sources
From Nordbanen to Gjøvikbanen
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