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You are here: Frontpage / Nordland LineHistory

Nordland Line

Length: Starts: Ends: Status:
729 km Trondheim S Bodø Station In service
The Nordland Line is the longest railway line in Norway which runs between Trondheim and Bodø. The line has a length of 729 kilometres and lacks electrification. The Nordland Line was opened earlier than planned by the Germans during the German occupation of Norway.
Trondheim Central Station. Photo: Anders Beer Wilse/Norsk Folkemuseum
Trondheim Central Station. Photo: Anders Beer Wilse/Norsk FolkemuseumPublic domain
The Nordland Line was not fully completed until 1962. It was continuously extended northward in several stretches. A railway line between Trondheim and Hell was already completed in 1881, which was a part of the Meråker Line. In the Dunderland Valley there existed a private and isolated industrial railway which ran between Tverrånes and Storforshei, opened in 1904. The Nordland Line had two branch lines which are abandoned today — the Namsos Line between Grong and Namsos and the Sulitjelma Line between Finneid and Fagerli. The Germans had plans to extend the Nordland Line to Kirkenes during the World War II, but decided later that Narvik should be the final terminus. This extension was never completed.

Continuous extensions
In 1873, the Parliament approved the stretch between Trondheim and Hell, later known as the Meråker Line. The stretches belonging to the Nordland Line, were thereafter approved in Parliament, first the stretch between Hell and Sunnan on 1 March 1894. The stretch Sunnan—Grong was approved on 10 July 1908 and Grong–Bodø on 17 November 1923. The completion of all these stretches were done by continuous extensions, divided into 19 stages including the stretch between Trondheim and Hell. The opening dates of the most important extensions are: Sunnan on 15 November 1905 (134 km), Storforshei on 15 May 1942 (523 km), Fauske on 1 December 1958 (674 km) and Bodø on 1 February 1962 (729 km). At Gullsmedvik and Storforshei, the Nordland Line was connected to the existing Dunderland Line in 1942. The Nordland Line was officially opened by King Olav on 7 June 1962.

Bloody extension
Most of the Nordland Line north of Mosjøen was constructed by the Germans during the World War II. Thousands of Soviet, Polish and Yugoslavian prisoners of war became a major part of the workforce. In the beginning, Kirkenes should be the final terminus. Hitler revised his plans and decided to open the railway to Narvik instead in June 1945. This part is known as the Polar Line. The workforce consisted of 30,000 workers, whereas 13,400 were prisoners of war. The working conditions were horrible and thousands died during the construction. Few historical descriptions exists of the several camps that were built along the line, probably because Norway was afraid of potential war reparations from the Soviet Union during the Postwar Period.

Polar Line
When the war ended, the Germans had completed the Nordland Line to Storforshei. Further north towards Narvik, only isolated parts were completed as well as some tunnels and bridges. The construction of the Polar Line between Fauske and Narvik terminated and the line was abolished. When the Nordland Line was extended to Bodø in 1962, some politicians proposed the completion of the Polar Line, but these plans were never approved in Parliament. Several remains of tunnels and bridge parts exist of the Polar Line between Fauske and Drag at Tysfjord. The only concrete plans for the Nordland Line today is the electrification between Trondheim and Steinkjer. This project will be completed within 2023 according to the Railway Infrastructure Company (Bane Nor).