Norge/VänerbananNorge/Vänerbanan (Norway/Vänerbanan)Norge/Vänerbanan runs between Gothenburg and Kil. Part of the route also goes to Norway via the border crossing at Kornsjö. The stretch from Gothenburg to Öxnered has double track, the rest of the track is single track. Norge/Vänerbanan is a 300 km long railway line that runs between Gothenburg - Erikstad's church - Kornsjø, and Gothenburg - Erikstad's church - Kil. The stretch Gothenburg–Erikstads church is shared and often it is this stretch that is referred to as the Norge/Vänerbanan. The Göteborg–Kornsjø stretch is also called the Nordlänken. The branch point is a few hundred meters from Erikstad's church, but is also called Skälebol after a farm next to it. The lengths of the route are Gothenburg–Kornsjø 180 kilometers and Gothenburg–Kil 232 kilometers, while between Gothenburg and the branch point Erikstad is 112 kilometers. Norge/Vänerbanan Traffic International Trains: Norway–Gothenburg The connection between Norway and the European continent is via Norway/Vänerbanan. Various train lines from Oslo and south have run over the years, currently the Oslo train ends in Gothenburg. This connection has previously been on the decline in passenger numbers, because Gothenburg-Oslo buses are faster, and because the governments do not want to invest money in foreign traffic. NSB, now Vy, has been the operator since 2005 and has acquired modern express trains with tilting carriage bodies ( Type 73B ) for this line and has succeeded in stabilizing the number of passengers. The trains run as regional trains Halden - Oslo and stop quite often. There are three trains per weekday all the way in each direction. 200 kilometers per hour is permitted on almost half the route in Sweden (pretty much the entire Gothenburg-Öxnered route as well as the route built outside Mellerud in 1995) and on long sections in Dalsland 160 kilometers per hour is permitted. The Vy type 73B trains are approved for 210 kilometers per hour in Norway, but that speed is not allowed in Sweden (nor on the Norwegian route, Oslo-Kornsjö). The track has wooden posts for the contact line in parts, on both sides of the border, which is unusual in Sweden. Norge/Vänerbanan Long-Distance Train: Karlstad–Gothenburg SJ regional trains run between Karlstad and Gothenburg. They stop in Kil, Grums, Säffle, Åmål, Mellerud, Öxnered and Trollhättan. SJ's traffic is carried out with Regina trains on behalf of Västtrafik and Region Värmland. The contract runs until December 2028.
Every hour (half an hour in rush hour) there is a regional train between Vänersborg and Gothenburg. They stay in Öxnered, Trollhättan, Lödöse södra, Älvängen, Bohus and Gamlestaden. Norge/Vänerbanan Commuter Train: Älvängen–Gothenburg On the Gothenburg–Älvängen route, commuter trains run every 15 minutes during rush hour. Gothenburg-Kil Line History The Gothenburg–Kil line was built by Bergslagernas Järnvägar, part-owned by Gothenburg municipality, and went to Falun which was the longest single railway in Sweden. The Gothenburg–Kil line was inaugurated in 1879. The entire route (Gävle-)Falun–Kil–Gothenburg is served by freight trains and the route is quite important.
The track was nationalized in 1948. In 1956, a track was opened in Mellerud which eliminated the need to turn the trains towards Oslo. The trains then no longer passed Mellerud station. In 1995, the single track Erikstads kyrka – Dals Rostock was opened, shortening the distance to Norway by six kilometers and eliminating two very long and sharp curves. The passenger traffic from Oslo to Gothenburg was for a long time partly made up of international long-distance trains such as the Skandiapilen, the Paris Express, the Skandia Express, the "Hamburgaren" and others. These trains went directly or indirectly to major cities on the continent such as Hamburg, Munich, Basel and Paris. The longest distance was the sleeping car connection that went all the way to Moscow via Berlin and Warsaw. Actually, the connections to Paris, Moscow, etc. were not made up of whole trains but of coach cars, i.e. sleeping cars that are changed between trains and finally end up at the intended destination. Such carriages are largely gone, partly because aviation has taken over such long-distance travel. In the years around the turn of the century in 2000, the traffic between Sweden and Oslo was transferred to a company called Linx, owned by SJ and NSB, when they wanted to separate the foreign traffic. Regular locomotive trains ran between Oslo and Gothenburg. The traffic was unprofitable despite relatively high prices, which is why SJ pulled out. Neither SJ, the Swedish government nor Rikstrafiken wanted to contribute to unprofitable foreign traffic. Faced with the threat of not having traffic to Sweden (or Denmark), Norway chose to run on its own. Even before 1995, the connecting track in Mellerud was demolished which allowed trains to go between Kil and the Norwegian border. No trains had gone there for many years. In 2004, the private freight train company Hector Rail started running trains Halden - Hallsberg several times a day. They can turn around in Brålanda. Gothenburg–Öxnered 2006–2012 In 2006–2012, the railway was expanded to double track for high-speed trains between Gothenburg and Öxnered (which is a railway junction on the south-western outskirts of Vänersborg ). The double track has been built without level crossings and is adapted for 250 km/h. It is so far only approved for 200 km/h due to the ATC signaling system. The stretch Gothenburg–Lödöse will not be able to be approved for 250 because platforms are not allowed directly on such fast tracks. In rush hour traffic with commuter trains every 15 minutes, high speed becomes pointless, because fast trains catch up with the previous commuter train if they have a running time Gothenburg-Älvängen more than 10 minutes faster than the commuter trains. Since the commuter trains take 27 minutes, fast trains must take at least 17 minutes, which corresponds to an average speed of 110 km/h between Gothenburg and Älvängen. Between Älvängen and Trollhättan, the trains can go faster. The journey time has decreased by approximately twenty minutes for the Gothenburg–Öxnered route to just over 40 minutes, in some cases just under 40 minutes. The cost of the railway expansion between Gothenburg and Öxnered (49 kilometers) was around 6.5 billion kroner, of which the EU contributed 90 million (9.5 million euros), i.e. 1.5 percent. Between Agnesberg and Älvängen, a motorway and railway were built at the same time (20 kilometres), which was estimated to cost around four billion, of which 1.5 billion for the railway. The expansion was divided into nine stages, reported in the following table, from north to south. Partial Stretch Length (km) Tunnels and bridges Traffic start
Norge/Vänerbanan Expansions The Track Öxnered–Halden The Swedish Transport Administration has made preparations, including test drilling, for a railway tunnel of between four and five kilometers between Dals Rostock and Dalskog (on the Norge branch). Such a tunnel would leak water given the rock types, including slate it would have to be sealed at high costs, such as the Hallandsås tunnel. The tunnel could provide a travel time gain of around four minutes. There are plans for an extension of the double track from Öxnered up to Erikstad's church. The tunnel plus some straightening further west plus level crossing measures had meant speeds of 200 kilometers per hour on most of the Öxnered–Ed section, and the Göteborg–Ed section (now 161 kilometers) would take under an hour versus 1:25 (average speed: 113 km/h ) in 2007, 1:20 (average speed: 121 km/h) in 2018 and 1:13 (average speed: 132 km/h) in 2023. These plans are dormant and will not be implemented before 2025, probably much later. Between Ed and Halden (52 km) there are no known closer construction plans. The track is crooked, especially on the Norwegian side, and has a very steep grade (almost three percent) at Halden which limits freight traffic. The journey time Ed-Halden is 37-41 minutes. Västtrafik during the 2010s has started running county trains Ed–Trollhättan, 2 per direction in 2020 (in addition, Vy runs 3 trains Oslo–Gothenburg per direction). The Västra Götaland region wants a stop to county trains in Bäckefors, Dals Rostock, Brålanda and Frändefors, according to a 2018 investigation. Norge/Vänerbanan Fast Track in Norway There has been rather little interest in long-distance rail traffic from Norwegian political quarters, the average speeds of 70-80 kilometers per hour are the same as for several decades. The Norwegian lack of interest has meant that the Swedish Rail Administration/Trafikverket has not done anything to the Norge branch beyond the 1995 stretch and does not plan to build anything for the time being. The Swedish average speed is much higher than the Norwegian one anyway: the average speed Oslo–Ed is today 84 kilometers per hour (188 km in 2:14 ). In January 2012, the report on building a brand new high-speed network in Norway was presented, from Oslo to Bergen, Trondheim, Kristiansand/Stavanger, Gothenburg and Stockholm. A high-speed line Oslo–Gothenburg with a speed of up to 250 kilometers per hour and a journey time of about 1 hour and 40 minutes was proposed, and was estimated to have 1.2 million travelers in 2024. It is proposed to follow approximately the same route on Swedish soil as today, except a new station south of Ed. However, Norway will neither build nor pay for railways in Sweden. For Norwegian land, Østfoldbanen, a rebuilding of the existing section Oslo–Moss–Fredrikstad–Sarpsborg–Halden is proposed which would then have a travel time of 1 hour and 8 minutes (compared to 1:45 in 2012 for 136 km), with a cost of NOK 18.7 billion. The proposal for a high-speed line directly Oslo-Sarpsborg-Halden (about 100 km in about 40 minutes) is rejected. From Halden to the border (33 kilometers) not much is planned. The travel time will be relatively unchanged Gothenburg-Halden, approximately 1:50, and then the real travel time Gothenburg-Oslo will instead be 3:00. In the first instance, a new high-speed Oslo-Ski line, the Follobanan, with a length of 22 kilometers (including Norway's longest train tunnel of 19.5 kilometers) is to be built. Construction started in 2014 and the track is expected to be ready for service in December 2022. It should provide increased capacity, reduce travel time by 10 minutes and reduce the risk of delays. Öxnered–Kil/Karlstad For the Grums – Karlstad route, a shortcut is being discussed, which would shorten the route by at least ten kilometres. It is called "Vålbergssvängen" or " Vålbergsrakan ". There is from 2008 a preliminary study on it with a price of 1.8 billion and a construction start in 2008 planned before 2020 if the government chooses to increase the Swedish Transport Agency's funding. However, that project has not been prioritized since and is not included in the plan for the start of construction in 2018-2029. The Swedish Transport Administration's Implementation Plan The Swedish Transport Administration's implementation plan provides an overview of planned measures in the transport system for the next six years, 2024-2029. The Norge/Vänerbanan Overview Norge/Vänerbanan Route: Gothenburg – Kil/Kornsjö. Norge/Vänerbanan Length: 22.6 miles. Norge/Vänerbanan Double Track: Yes, between Gothenburg and Öxnered. Norge/Vänerbanan Traffic: Freight trains and passenger trains. Norge/Vänerbanan Included in Route: Gävle-Borlänge-Kil-Gothenburg Norge/Vänerbanan Place: Sweden Norge/Vänerbanan Connecting Lines: Bergslagsbanan Värmlandsbanan Fryksdalsbanan Dal–Västra Värmlands Railway Älvsborgsbanan Lilla Edet-banan Bohusbanan Gothenburg Harbor Line Västra mainline Westkustbanan Østfoldbanan Norge/Vänerbanan Owner: The state Norge/Vänerbanan Infrastructure Manager: The Swedish Transport Administration Norge/Vänerbanan Traffic Operator: SJ Vy Tågåkeriet in Bergslagen Norge/Vänerbanan Ticket Operator: SJ Vy Tågåkeriet in Bergslagen Västtrafik Värmlandstrafik Norge/Vänerbanan Length: 300 kilometers Norge/Vänerbanan Number of Tracks: Double track Göteborg–Öxnered 78 km Single track with meeting track other sections Norge/Vänerbanan Gauge: 1435 millimeters (normal track) Norge/Vänerbanan Maximum permissible axle load: 25 tons Norge/Vänerbanan Maximum permitted weight per meter: 8.0 tons/m Norge/Vänerbanan ATC: ATC-2 Norge/Vänerbanan Remote Blocking: Yes, System H Norge/Vänerbanan Top Speed: 200 km/h Norge/Vänerbanan Electrified: 1939-1940 Norge/Vänerbanan Feed: 15 kV 16 ⅔ Hz (catenary line) | |||||
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