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Numedal Line

Length:	Starts:	Ends:	Status:
93 km	Kongsberg Station	Rødberg Station	Abandoned

The Numedalen Line is the 92.8-kilometre long abandoned railway line between Kongsberg and Rødberg. The line was closed in 1989, but the part between Kongsberg and Flesberg was reopened for freight trains in 2013.

The Numedalen Line at Bjørnsrud. Photo: Anders Beer Wilse/Norsk Folkemuseum

A railway line up the Numedal Valley was already debated in 1873 when the route of the Bergen Line was not yet decided. When the Bergen Line was approved to run through the Halling Valley, the Numedal Line was not debated until the 1920s when it was decided to build several hydroelectric power plants near Rødberg. After the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905, the government started to buy water rights from landowners in order to get national control of the waterfalls. In 1917, the Parliament granted funds in order to build the Nore Hydroelectric Power Station in the Numedal Valley. The power plant, Nore I, was approved in Parliament in 1918. In order to transport heavy equipment to the construction of the power plant near Rødberg, the Parliament approved a 93-kilometre long railway line up the Numedal Valley on 3 August 1918. The line was build with used tracks and sharp curves in order to reduce construction costs.

The opening
The construction work started in March 1921. In November 1923, which was the most active period, the workforce consisted of 856 construction workers. The Numedal Line was officially opened by King Haakon VII at Rødberg Station on 19 November 1927. The Crown Prince Olav as well as several members of parliament and officials were also attending.

Steam locomotives
The passenger service was run by a railcar, but steam locomotives were especially used during the Easter holidays. Passenger carriages were pulled by steam locomotives as late as 7 April 1969, although steam locomotives were used for freight transport until 27 May 1970. This was also the day when the last regular steam locomotive was in service operated by the National State Railways (NSB).

Closed
In 1953 it was already debated to close the Numedal Line due to low ridership and few operating freight trains. The passenger trains terminated on 31 December 1988. The Parliament approved to close the line on 1 January 1989.

Preservation
The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage approved the preservation of the upper stretch between Rollag and Rødberg in September 2013. The reason was because the track with all the station buildings on this part were considered to be authentic and unchanged since the opening in 1927. On the other hand, trains can not operate on this stretch due to several track damages. Instead, draisine rentals are available at Veggli where it is possible to ride all the way up to Rødberg.

Reopening
The 30-kilometre long stretch between Kongsberg and Flesberg was reopened for freight trains during Autumn 2013. An increase in the demand for timber and flies in Sweden made this part profitable. After a derailment in April 2014, it was decided to upgrade the stretch with new sleepers during Summer 2014.