Drammen Line
| Length: | Starts: | Ends: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 km | Oslo S | Drammen Station | In service |
The Drammen Line is a 42-kilometre long railway line between Oslo and Drammen. The line has been changed and rebuilt several times after it was opened in 1872. After the opening of Lieråsen Tunnel in 1973, parts of the old line has become a popular bike path.
NSB El 1 at Oslo West Station. Photo: Anders Beer Wilse/Norsk Folkemuseum
Beautiful stations
There were some negative side effects of the upgrade. Many station buildings designed by the architect Georg Andreas Bull in the Swiss style were demolished. Today, only the original station building at Sandvika is preserved.
New railway routes
Construction of double tracks were not completed until 1973 when the nearly 11-kilometre long Lierås Tunnel opened. This was then the longest railway tunnel in Norway until _Romeriksporten_ opened in 1999. Before the opening, the railway followed the route of the current Spikkestad Line and originally ran in a large S-curve from Asker to Spikkestad and Lierbyen before the route swung toward Brakerøya and Drammen. The Drammen line was rerouted when the last part of the Asker Line was opened in August 2011 between Lysaker and Asker.
Old Drammen Line
Lier Municipality has upgraded the old path of the Drammen Line which was in use before the opening of the Lierås Tunnel. This part is today a popular rail trail between Lierbyen and Spikkestad. The upgrade was carried out as part of the Nordic project _Rekreative Ruter_ to improve hiking and bicycle-based tourism. Information boards and benches are set up along the abandoned railway and the remaining two kilometres between Gullaugkleiva and Spikkestad will later be opened. The old station in Lierbyen, Lier Old Station, is now run as train pub. This station was formerly the terminus of the abandoned Lier Line.