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Kongsvinger Line

Length:	Starts:	Ends:	Status:
115 km	Lillestrøm Station	Charlottenberg Station	In service

The Kongsvinger Line is an 115-kilometre long railway line between Lillestrøm and Charlottenberg in Sweden. It is the second oldest standard gauge railway line in Norway.

Sørumsand Station. Photo: Anders Beer Wilse/Norsk Folkemuseum

After the Trunk Line opened in 1854, Norway's first railway line, several farmers and forest owners in the Kongsvinger area demanded to extend the line to Kongsvinger. A railway meeting led by Pastor Rynning was arranged in Kongsvinger in 1855, where it was decided to send a proposal to the Parliament. Several geotechnical investigations were conducted for the construction of the railway. On 1 July 1857, the proposal was sent for a standard-gauged railway line to the Norway-Sweden border. In the same year, the Parliament approved the line, but with Kongsvinger as the terminus. The reason was lack of funding from Sweden to connect the line to the Swedish Värmland Line.

The opening
The Kongsvinger Line was opened by King Carl XV on 3 October 1862. At 10:30, the first train departed from Oslo towards Kongsvinger. The travel time between the cities was radically reduced from two days to four hours. On 4 November 1865, the line was extended to Magnor and connected to the Värmland Line. The 14-kilometre long Vestmarka Line was opened on 15 October 1918, a branch line between Skotterud and Vestmarka.

Kongsvinger Line today
Commuter trains are frequently operating between Oslo and Kongsvinger today. These trains correspond with trains crossing the Norway-Sweden border towards Charlottenberg. The Swedish train operator SJ has daily services between Oslo and Stockholm which stop at Kongsvinger and Lillestrøm. Several of the old station buildings are preserved such as Kongsvinger Station.