Brevik Line
| Length: | Starts: | Ends: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 km | Myrane Station | Brevik Station | Abandoned |
The Brevik Line is a 9.4-kilometre long branch line of the Vestfold Line which ran between Eidanger and Brevik. It was a part of the transport chain to Sørlandet until the coastal ferry between Brevik and Kristiansand was terminated. Only freight trains are operating today after the line was closed for passenger service in 1968.
Dalen Portland Cement Factory. Photo: Anders B. Wilse/Norsk Folkemuseum
The Line was approved
Parliament's decision on the construction of Brevik Line was finally approved on 4 July 1891. The Liberal Party led the government at that time and had worked for a national rail plan led by Hans Hein Nysom. The Brevik Line was supported by Nyson, for he wished Brevik was going to be a hub of steamship traffic between Eastern and Western Norway. Brevik Line was going to be constructed as a narrow-gauge railway with a 750 mm gauge track.
The opening
The construction work started in November 1892 and lasted until the autumn of 1895. Up to 200 men worked on the line during the construction phase. The official opening took place in Brevik on October 15 by King Oscar II. Passenger traffic was quickly a success. It was set up daily direct train from Oslo to Brevik as well as night trains with sleeping wagons. Night train corresponded with the newly opened steamship route from Brevik to Kristiansand. All postal deliveries to Southern Norway was now sent with the Brevik Line and further with the coastal route.
Conversion to standard gauge
The Brevik Line was converted to standard gauge in 16 June 1921, nearly 30 years before the Vestfold Line. Direct trains from Oslo was thus diverted via Kongsberg on the Sørlanet Line and the Bratsberg Line which were standard gauge railways. The Night train service, which was closed in 1920, was discontinued. When the Kragerø Line opened in 1927, the coastal route
was closed down in 1934.
Passenger traffic closes down
Despite the fact that the coastal route was discontinued, frequent commuter trains were operating on the Brevik Line until the 1960s. The peak was in 1957 when up to 39 daily passenger trains were operating on the Brevik Line. Passenger services were closed down 26 May 1968, but lime trains and other freight trains were still operating to Norcem' cement plant at Ørvik. The tracks around the station in Brevik was demolished. In 1993 the Grenland Terminal opened at Heistad outside Brevik. The terminal was connected the Brevik Line by a spur line. Today the blue-marked coastal trail follows the old track from Ørvik to Brevik.