Ganddal – Ålgård railway line

Ganddal – Ålgård
Route length:	12.2 km
Gauge :	1067 mm from May 1, 1944: 1435 mm
Maximum slope :	15  ‰
Minimum radius :	300 m
Operating points and routes
Legend Jærbanen by Sandnes 18.49 0.00 Ganddal (1878) 21.2  moh. according to Klepp Storåna (10 m) 20.00 - Holane (1927, until 1941 Stokkeland) Track connection to the front of the transformer station Track connection to the transformer station tunnel 20.67 - Vagle (1951) 21.95 2.94 Foss-Eikeland (Hp from Dec. 21, 1924) 25.2  moh. Siding Spenncon Sandnes Figgjo (30 m) 22.63 - Kallberg (from July 14, 1928) 25.05 6.06 Bråstein 52.4  moh. 27.06 - Figgjo Fajanse (1952–1955) Fylkesvei 294 - bridge expanded 27.52 8.53 Figgjo 85.8  moh. Rail connection to the Ålgård wool factory 87.3  moh. 28.19 - Figgjo Fabrikker (1930) 29.69 Figgjoveien (50.6 m) 30.57 11.58 Ålgård 94  moh. Mileage data up to June 2, 1957 based on Stavanger , then from Ganddal

The railway line Ganddal - Ålgård ( Norwegian Ålgårdbanen or Ålgårdsbanen ) is a 12.2 km long Norwegian railway line , which runs from Ganddal to Ålgård in the municipality of Gjesdal in Rogaland .

history

The line is a branch line of the Jærbane . It was opened on December 20, 1924. In 1988, the line belonging to Jernbaneverket , which overcomes a height difference of 72.8 meters between the start and end stations, was shut down due to a decision by Storting .

First considerations about a railway line to Ålgård existed as early as the 1870s. Ålgård was already an important industrial city back then. But it was a long time before the final decision about building it was made.

The railway was built in connection with a parliamentary decision of July 20, 1921, which determined the construction of an Indre Linje from Klungland and Bjerkreimselva via Vikeså to Ålgård from 1923. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on December 21, 1921. By deciding that the line should be part of the Sørlandsbane , it was built according to the highest standards of the time. The stations were designed by R. Werenskiold from the NSB architects' office and drawn in neoclassicism . The track width was set at 1067 mm like that of the Jærbane. Since it was decided at that time that Jærbanen should be converted to standard gauge in the near future, the substructure of the line for this gauge was prepared during the construction. At that time, the Ålgårdbane was the most modern railway system in Rogaland.

There was a locomotive shed and a turntable in Ålgård .

In 1937 the parliament made a new decision, as a result of which the standard gauge Sørlandsbane should lead via Egersund and Jæren .

Indre stambane

In 1941 a regional railway committee chaired by Sigval Bergesen planned to extend Ålgårdbane via Hunnedalen and Setesdalsheiene to Lunde in Telemark as Indre stambane . The route was to be built to the highest standard and allow a travel time between Stavanger and Oslo in four to five hours. A route between Ålgård and the border to Telemark has already been laid out for this route.

Re-gauging

It was also assumed that the beginning of the Sørlandsbane should begin approximately between Nord-Jæren and Sørlandet. So it did not happen, the Sørlandsbane, which opened on May 1, 1944, took a different route. In this context, the line was converted from narrow gauge to standard gauge. However, the line remained a branch line with little traffic.

Cessation of operations

Because of the little-used trains, passenger traffic was stopped on November 1, 1955. The drive from Ganddal to Ålgård took about 20 minutes. Freight traffic between Foss-Eikeland and Ålgård ended in 1988. Statens vegvesen then had the railway bridge north of Figgjo dismantled, as it hindered heavy loads with its clearance. The bridge was saved. The tracks in Ålgård station were demolished.

In 1998 and 1999 there were Sunday trips on the Ganddal – Figgjo section, organized by Jernbaneverket, the Sandnes Cultural Office and the Figgjo train station restaurant. The BM 86 22 railcar and a control car were used for this purpose, with which over 1000 passengers were transported on a few days.

Until 2001, the first three kilometers of the route were used to transport concrete elements. Jernbaneverket uses the northern part of the route for heavy transport of transformers that are loaded onto wagons. For this purpose, part of the sleepers on part of this route was replaced.

In 2008 the Figgjo District Committee requested the removal of the Ålgårdbane tracks, which Jernbaneverket did not approve. Transformer transports to Vagle were carried out until 2012.

Figgjo train station

From the Figgjo stop, which is now a museum, the route to Ålgård can be used in the summer by trolleybuses. The Skd 220c 197 shunting locomotive and the BF 19904 passenger car are on display in the station.

Future prospects

As part of the 2013 election campaign, the recommissioning of the route was examined. According to rough estimates, the complete repair would cost between 580 and 750 million crowns. After a technical upgrade of the line and the use of new trains, the connection between Ålgård, with around 10,000 inhabitants, and Stavanger could be operated in around 30 minutes.

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  Route (2008)

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  Figgjo train station

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  Foss-Eikeland railway station

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  Ålgård railway station

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Thor Bjerke, Finn Holom: Banedata 2004 . Data from infrastructures to the railroad in Norway. Ed .: Jernbaneverket, Norsk Jernbanemuseum and Norsk Jernbaneklubb Forskningsavdelingen. NJK Forskningsavdelingen, Hamar / Oslo 2004, ISBN 82-90286-28-7 , p. 284 (Norwegian).
2. ↑ Network Statement 2015. VEDLEGG / ANNEX: 3.2.2.2. Jernbaneverket , accessed March 5, 2014 (Norwegian). 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Ålgårdbanen. Histories. Ålgårdbanens Venner, accessed March 1, 2014 (Norwegian). 
4. ↑ Dresinsykling på Ålgårdbanen. Stavanger region, accessed February 28, 2014 (Norwegian). 
5. ^ Photo Skd 220c 197. Norsk Jernbaneklubb, accessed on March 25, 2014 (Norwegian). 
6. ↑ Ålgårdbanen i (valg) vinden. (PDF) In: jernbane.no. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015 ; Retrieved August 26, 2019 (Norwegian). 
7. ↑ Ålgårdbanen kan få nytt liv. (PDF) In: rosenkilden. 2012, p. 15 , archived from the original on March 12, 2016 ; Retrieved August 26, 2019 (Norwegian, no.11). 

literature

• Nils Carl Aspenberg: Glemte spor: boken om sidebanenes tragiske liv . Baneforlaget, 1994.
• Rune Gjertsen: Gjenåpning av Ålgårdsbanen for personal graphics . Candidateoppgåve Rogaland distriktshøgskule, Stavanger 1986.
• Torkel Thime: Ålgårdbanen gjennom 75 år . Stavanger 1999.

Web links

Commons : Ålgårdbanen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Overview map. In: openstreetmap.org. Retrieved February 28, 2014 . 
• Ålgårdbanen. Stasjonsdatabasen. Norsk Jernbaneklubb, accessed March 1, 2014 (Norwegian).