Viskadalsbanan

Viskadalsbanan (Viskadal Railway)

Borås-Varberg Line

Borås via Kinna - Varberg.

Viskadalsbanan is a standard gauge railway line in Sweden that connects the cities of Borås and Varberg. The name of the line is an artificial term that was first coined in 1990 when Banverket named it, long after the lines had been built under other names.

Viskadalsbanan History

While Borås received a railway connection as early as 1863, it was not until 1870 that plans were made to connect Varberg to the Västra stambanan. The private company Varberg-Borås Järnväg (WBJ, after the spelling Warberg that was common when the company was founded ) was given the concession to build the railway in 1876. The first freight trains ran between Varberg and Björketorp as early as 1879, and the official opening of the entire route from Varberg to Borås Nedre took place on 25 October 1880. In 1919, the WBJ created a joint administration with the Borås-Herrljunga-Bana, and a final merger of the two railways to form the Varberg-Borås-Herrljunga Järnväg (VBHJ) took place in 1930. As a result of this merger, Borås Nedre station was renamed Borås Central on 15 May 1930. Just ten years later, the state took over VBHJ. In 1949, the entire Varberg–Borås–Herrljunga line was electrified.

Passenger traffic was initially started with electric multiple units of the X7 series. These were later replaced by the X17 series, which in turn were replaced by the X9 multiple units ( Paprikatåg ) in 1979.

In connection with planned line closures in the early 1980s, the discontinuation of passenger traffic was discussed. In 1986, Statens Järnvägar and the transport company Älvsborgstrafiken were able to reach an agreement for the continued operation of the line.

The X9 railcars continued to be used, but they were not very reliable. To ensure the travel times, the timetables were extended. Three three-car trains were converted to one-man operation, received a new paint job and were used under the name Viskadalen. In the summer of 1998, the last of the trains was retired, and since then X12 railcars have been running on the route.

Viskadalsbanan Route

Shortly after Borås, the Viskadalsbana branches off from the Kust till kust-bana and, with a short interruption (Fritsla – Kinna ), follows the valley of the river Viskan downstream to the coastal town of Varberg, where it shortly before connects to the West Coast Railway.

Viskadalsbanan Traffic

The line is operated by Statens Järnvägar AB (SJ) on behalf of Västtrafik, with many trains continuing on the Älvsborgsbana towards Herrljunga / Uddevalla. The line is only used by a few freight trains, with Green Cargo serving the Varberg-Veddige section. The concrete industry in Järlöv is also a freight customer.

Viskadalsbanan Overview

Viskadalsbanan Route Number: 77
Viskadalsbanan Line: Borås – Varberg
Viskadalsbanan Route Type: Passenger Traffic & Goods Traffic
Viskadalsbanan Timetable Route: 67
Viskadalsbanan Route Length: 84km
Viskadalsbanan Track Width: 1435 mm (standard gauge)
Viskadalsbanan Power System: 15 kV, 16.7 Hz ~
Viskadalsbanan Maximum Speed: Bandel 656: 110 km/h
Viskadalsbanan Electrification: Yes

Viskadalsbanan Route Map

              by Herrljunga
              from Gothenburg
133.3    Boras
              to Kalmar/Karlskrona
              Bockaryd
141.7    Rydboholm 129 m above sea level
              Viskan
145.4    Viskafors
147.5    Svaneholm
150.5    Sävsjövik
154.8    Fritsla (former Bf.)
              Källäng
159.7    Kinnahult
              Viskan
162.8    Kinna (former Bf.)
164.2    Small industrial park
165.2    Assberg
166.6    Skene
170.4    Berghem (former station)
176.9    Björketorp (former station)
182.6    Sundholmen
186.1    Horrified
190.3    Jonsjö
196.6    Järlövsby
198.9    Veddige
              Viskan
203.5    Derome (former Bf.)
205.9    The man who died
209.6    Tofta (former Bf.)
              Lindberg
              West Coast Line from Gothenburg
              Varberg-Ätrans Järnväg from Ätran
217.5    Varberg
             West Coast Railway to Malmö