Norges Statsbaner (1883–1996)

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NorwayNorway Norges Statsbaner
- NSB -
Consist 1883-1996
Incorporated into Norges Statsbaner BA (passenger transport)
Jernbaneverket (infrastructure)
CargoNet (freight transport)
Mantena (maintenance)
NSB Biltrafikk AS
Statens jernbanetilsyn
Di3 in Fagernes (1986)

Norges Statsbaner (short NSB , German  Norwegian State Railways ) was a Norwegian authority that was responsible for the construction and operation of the railway in Norway from 1883 to 1996 . After restructuring, in 1996 it was converted into the state-owned, limited liability Norges Statsbaner BA . The responsibility for the infrastructure was transferred to the newly established authority Jernbaneverket .

Development of the railway in Norway

In the largely sparsely populated high mountain region of Norway with its fjord coast and its great distances, the construction of the railway network was associated with particular difficulties. Many Norwegian railway lines intended for long-distance traffic were initially narrow-gauge, mostly Cape gauge, in the 19th century . In the 20th century, these were switched to standard gauge, with the renovation work extending over long periods of time, some of which were bridged with three- rail tracks .

In 1854, the first rail line in Norway was the 68-kilometer Hovedbane between Oslo , which was then still called Christiania, and Eidsvoll in standard gauge . In Eidsvoll there was a connection to the steamboat line set up on Mjøsa .

From Hamar on Mjøsa to the north, the Hamar-Grundsetbane was built to Elverum in Kapspur in 1862 .

Kongsvingerbanen between Lillestrøm on the Hovedbane and Kongsvinger was opened in standard gauge in 1862 and was later connected eastward to the Swedish rail network.

In Central Norway, the Trondheim-Støren-Bane was opened again in Kapspur in 1864 . With the gap to the Hamar – Grundsetbanen through the Rørosbane , the first steam-powered inland connection between Oslo and Trondheim was created in 1877 as a combination of full- gauge railway , inland waterway and narrow-gauge railway .

Bergensbanen began in 1875 with the section from Bergen (Norway) to Voss, completed in 1883, as a narrow-gauge railway. It was not until 20 years later, from 1902 to 1909, that the standard gauge line was connected to the rest of the railway network via the Hardangervidda . In 1905 the gauge of the old section was adjusted.

The western part of the Luleå – Narvik railway from Kiruna to the Norwegian port of Narvik , ( Norwegian Ofotbanen ) was completed in 1903. The 15c 125 ordered for the Hell – Sunnanbanen was delivered to the Ofotbane directly from the factory in February 1902. As a loan from NSB District 4 in Trondheim, she drove the Norwegian train to celebrate the unification of the Norwegian and Swedish parts of the Kiruna – Narvik – Fagernes route on November 15, 1902, to Riksgrensen .

Several important railway lines in Norway were only started and completed in the 20th century:

  • from 1913 to 1921 the Dovre Railway , which considerably shortened travel times between Oslo and Trondheim.
  • from 1912 to 1924 the Raumabane to Åndalsnes harbor
  • from 1920 to 1944 the Sørlandsbane in southern Norway
  • The construction of the Nordlandsbane was carried out in many individual sections from 1905 (Trondheim– Steinkjer ) to 1962 ( Bodø at the Arctic Circle).

History of the NSB

The founding of the Norwegian State Railways was decided by Storting in 1882 . From 1883, the joint venture brought together all the state railways that had opened since 1861 under one central administration. Lorentz Henrik Müller Segelcke became the first general director. Before 1883, the state had built and operated railways as independent public limited companies with state majority holdings. These were kept locally and had names that were based on geographical terms. The Vestbanerne , which comprised the three narrow-gauge railways Randsfjordbanen , Christiania – Drammenbanen (CDB) and Vestfoldbanen , should serve as an example .

After a long period of expansion, the Norwegian State Railways stopped building new railways in 1893. The construction of the railway was seen as the most important measure to connect a city or village to the transport network. New construction began in 1890 and in 1894 it was decided that the first part of the Bergen Line to Taugevatn right in Fjell to build. Little by little, the individual railway lines were merged to form a nationwide rail network. In 1921 the construction of the Dovrebane was completed, the Sørlandsbane and the Nordlandsbane had started. The trains were driven by steam locomotives, the latest passenger cars had car bodies that were clad with lacquered teak boards. Some of the finest wagons had large windows and saloons, especially for use on the Bergensbane, which ran ten miles above the tree line through inhospitable terrain.

At the beginning the five districts Kristiania, Drammen, Hamar, Throndhjem and Stavanger were founded. These were expanded in 1883 with the construction of new routes around the Bergen district, Kristiansand followed in 1896, Narvik in 1902 and Arendal in 1910. Arendal was merged with Kristiansand in 1938 in connection with the opening of the Sørlandsbane . Each district had its district leader and its own administration. In 1926 the state had completed the takeover of shares in Hovedbane , so that from March 4, 1926, it became a state railway in the Oslo district. Hovedbanen and the Oslo district had shared administration since 1921 after a long cooperation.

Districts

  1. Kristiania ( Smaalensbanen and Kongsvingerbanen), from 1921 administrative community with the Hovedbane, which was incorporated in 1926
  2. Drammen (Drammenbanen, Randsfjordbanen, Vestfoldbanen)
  3. Hamar ( Hedmarksbanen , Hamar – Tynset section of the Rørosbane)
  4. Trondheim ( Meråkerbanen and the Tynset – Støren – Trondheim section of the Rørosbane)
  5. Stavanger ( Jærbanen )
  6. Bergen (1883–), ( Vossebanen and the later Bergensbane , Hardangerbana and Flåmsbana )
  7. Kristiansand (1896–), ( Setesdalsbanen and later parts of the Sørlandsbane )
  8. Narvik (1902–), ( Ofotbanen )
  9. Arendal (1910–1938), ( Arendal – Åmlibanen and later Grimstadbanen and the extension of Treungenbane )

From steam to electricity and diesel

In the 1920s a new era began for the railroad in Norway. Technically, there was a gradual transition to forms other than steam operation, electric traction and operation with motor vehicles emerged, which first ran on petrol and later on diesel fuel . There was competition from motor vehicles and buses . A number of routes have been discontinued and replaced by so-called compensation roads. Only Sørlandsbanen and Nordlandsbanen were completed in 1944 and 1962. The Second World War brought a renewed upswing for rail traffic. Passenger traffic doubled before falling again in 1945, but was still at a higher level than before the war.

In 1952, with the so-called Vekk med dampen program, parliament approved the abolition of steam operations. The electrification plan was designed in such a way that with the electrification of half of the route network, 80% of the traffic could be handled electrically. In addition, new diesel locomotives ( NSB Di 2 and NSB Di 3 ) were put into service, along with diesel multiple units and small shunting locomotives ( Norwegian ski tractors ) that replaced small steam locomotives. This plan was completed in almost ten years and steam operations ceased in 1970.

From the mid-1930s, passenger cars were made of steel to improve safety in the event of an impact. So practically a vekk med trevognene program was carried out. Wooden wagons were largely abolished on the most important trains from 1970, the last disappeared only in the 1980s.

Modernization and closure of train stations

In 1963, the modernization of the train stations began. Many places have switched to remote control of the stations with the Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) system. In this way, the occupation of the stations and their opening times could be reduced, they were only manned with staff where there was an economic basis for the sale of services to customers. Until 1973 general cargo could be posted at all occupied train stations. When the goods traffic was transferred to the new company Linjegods , the general cargo traffic was reduced to a few stations that had a sufficiently large volume to justify transport by rail. Many goods handling operations were abandoned, which helped the stations to close.

Despite these far-reaching structural changes, there was no decrease in the number of transport cases, especially not in passenger transport. There were strong fluctuations in freight transport, and since 1996 the trend has been falling.

Role of the NSB in society

Norges Statsbaner has long been Norway's largest employer. At the end of 1950 there were around 20,000 permanent employees. In addition, there were seasonal workers, so that at that time almost 30,000 people were working. The director general earned more than a minister of state. Employment at NSB was a secure position in life. NSB introduced its own health insurance and pension scheme very early on . This contributed to NSB being an attractive employer, especially in times of uncertainty in the job market. The railroad workers also had extensive, organized volunteer organizations. It was not uncommon for grandfather, father, and son to work on the railroad. Some stayed in one job their entire life.

NSB Biltrafikk

Since 1925, NSB operated automobile lines in both passenger and freight transport in various parts of the country, but above all in connection with or as an extension of the existing rail network. This division had had different names over the years. NSB Biltrafikk AS , known as Nettbuss AS since 2000 , was founded on December 1, 1996 and was the successor organization to NSB Biltrafikk . Freight traffic on the road was carried out from 1996 by Nettlast AS , which was sold to Posten Norge .

Successor company

literature

  • Just Broch: Av Norges statsbaners historie. 2: Attachments for syttiårenes lys inn i åttiårenes mørke . Cappelen, Oslo 1936, urn : nbn: no-nb_digibok_2007011100110 (Norwegian).

Web links

Commons : Railways in Norway  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ NSB steam locomotive type 15c. gamlenarvik.no, accessed February 21, 2014 (Norwegian).