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You are here: Frontpage / Trunk LineHistory

Trunk Line

Length: Starts: Ends: Status:
68 km Oslo S Eidsvoll Station In service
The Trunk Line between Oslo and Eidsvoll is the oldest railway line in Norway. It opened as a 68-kilometre long standard gauge line on 1 September 1854 and radically changed the transportation behaviour in the operating area.
The Stockholm train at Oslo East Station. Photo: Herman Neupert/Norsk Jernbanemuseum
The Stockholm train at Oslo East Station. Photo: Herman Neupert/Norsk JernbanemuseumPublic domain
In 1852 the part between Oslo and Strømmen of the Trunk Line was finished. From 5 November it was possible for freight trains to operate on this part, and for passenger trains from 4 July 1853. The Trunk Line was officially opened on 1 September 1854 as the Norwegian Trunk Railway and became Norway's first railway line. The wood industry started soon to use the railway. It was more efficient to transport timber by rail compared to the old transport network by horse and cart.

State railway
The Trunk Line was built by British capital. A new double track was opened between Bryn and Lillestrøm on 1 October 1903 and extended to Oslo on 1 September 1904. The State took over the line in 1926 and it was now operated by Norwegian State Railways as the Trunk Line. The part between Oslo and Lillestrøm was electrified in 1927 and the rest in 1953. This modernisation reduced the travel time since newer trains could now operate on the line.

The Trunk Line today
Most of the passenger traffic disappeared in 1988 when the double-tracked high-speed Gardermoen Line opened between Oslo and Eidsvoll. The Trunk Line today is mainly used by freight trains, but also by commuter trains between Oslo and Dal.