Ringerike Line
Ringerike Line | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Native name | Ringeriksbanen |
Status | Planned construction start 2022 |
Owner | Bane NOR |
Locale | Ringerike, Norway |
Termini | |
Stations | 3 (Tolpinrud station is not included in the approved centrally prepared zoning plan) |
Service | |
Type | Railway |
System | Norwegian railway network |
History | |
Opened | 2029 (planned)[1] |
Technical | |
Line length | 40 kilometres (25 mi) |
Number of tracks | Double |
Character | Mixed |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
Electrification | 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC |
Operating speed | 250 km/h (155 mph) |
The Ringerike Line (Norwegian: Ringeriksbanen or Ringeriksbana) is a proposed 40-kilometre (25 mi) extension of the Bergen Line from Jong, Sandvika to Hønefoss, Norway. In 2022, the project was postponed; the government has no commitment to any timeframe (as of Q4 2022).[2][3]
The proposed line would reduce travel from
The project was presented as part of the original proposal of the Bergen Line when approved by
Route
The line would branch off from the
The Norwegian National Rail Administration has proposed a number of upgrades to the Bergen Line that would allow total travel time between the termini to reduce to four and a half hours. The Ringerike Line is seen as the hallmark of this attempt, that was first launched by the director of NSB in 1954; sixty years later travel time remains at six and a half hours. The project was in 2007 estimated to cost NOK 7 billion,[10] of which NOK 4 billion would be for the line.[11] As of 2018 the project including a parallel motorway is estimated to cost NOK 26 billion[12] This includes a train speed raised to 250 km/h and a 23 km long railway tunnel, and a permitted road speed raised to 110 km/h.
Prior to 1989 there were four local trains in each direction from Oslo to Hønefoss;
History
Initial proposals for the Bergens Line route went from Hønefoss via Sandvika to
On the other side of Oslo, the North Line (now named the Gjøvik Line) was being built as standard gauge; it was considered the new mainline northwards, and was to be connected to the mainline through Gudbrandsdalen. By building a branch line from Roa to Hønefoss, the Bergens Line could be connected to Nordbanen, allowing standard gauge trackage all the way to Oslo Østbanestasjon (Oslo Ø). This also gave another advantage, as Oslo Ø was seen as superior to Oslo V; the latter only served limited commuter routes west of town while Oslo Ø was the main station for long-distance trains to Trondheim, as well as Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden, with whom Norway was in a union with at the time. Only by terminating at Oslo Ø would direct transfer to trains to other parts of the country be possible.[16]
When parliament passed the building of the Bergen Line in 1894, the Roa–Hønefoss branch line was made part of the plans; but the line was given a separate name indicating that the
In 1955 the Bergen businessperson Fritz Rieber launched an idea for the shortening of Bergensbanen; the Ulriken Tunnel through the Bergen mountains, electrification from Voss to Bergen, and the construction of the Ringerike Line. Private financing would be provided through a dedicated limited company taking a surcharge on tickets, equal to the reduction in fare induced by the shorter line; within twenty years the debt would be covered. Passed by parliament in 1955, a year later they had changed their minds and only the investments around Bergen were supported; removing the support for Ringerike.[18] Prime Minister Trygve Bratteli commented that private debt financing would have to compete with the debt taken up by the government on other railway projects, since politicians had to see the national economy as a whole, and that private financing would not allow more lines to be built. The cost was estimated at NOK 100 million.[6]
New proposals were debated in parliament in 1978, and again in 1984, but failing to be passed. The final decision to build the line was taken in 1992 as part of a political swap between the
The Ministry of Transport and Communications started an evaluation of the Ringerike Line, carried out by the National Rail Administration, in 2006. The first edition was completed in 2009, but was found to be insufficient, resulting in the process being restarted. A new report was published in June 2011. In September 2012, the ministry concluded that also the second report was insufficient and that it would be discarded. There were two main concerns with the report. Firstly, it was based on a single-track line which would not be built to the standards of high-speed rail. The ministry stated that all new railway plans in Norway were to have double track and be optimized for high-speed rail. Secondly, the report had a simplified economic analysis which was not sufficient to be used for political evaluation. The evaluation were based on the directives given to them and rules valid at the time, but the evaluations of the evaluations showed that the directives had to be updated. The result of the discards was that the planning of E16 was no longer tied to the planning of the railway.[22] In 2015 the railway planning was re-tied to the northern half of the E16 road upgrade which was also delayed.[23]
References
- ^ "Ringeriksbanen og E16 - fellesprosjektet - Bane NOR".
- ^ https://www.nrk.no/osloogviken/ringerike-kommune-har-investert-milliarder-_-vil-saksoke-staten-for-loftebrudd-om-ringeriksbanen-1.16153380 [Feels hoodwinked – now the municipality wants to sue the government]. NRK.no. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ https://www.nrk.no/nyheter/ringeriksbanen-1.12032548. NRK.no. Retrieved 2022-10-27. "28. februar kl. 10:31 Ringeriksbanen og ny E16 utsettes nok en gang"
- ^ Jernbaneverket (31 August 2007). "Ringeriksbanen" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the originalon 27 April 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ Baneforlaget.
- ^ a b c Rødland, Kjartan (1999). Bergensbanen - livsnerven over høyfjellet (in Norwegian Bokmål). Bergen: Alma Mater. pp. 98–102.
- Samferdsledepartementet (31 May 2002). "Bergensbanens forkortelse - Ringeriksbanen: Regjeringen går inn for "Åsa-korridoren"" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the originalon 6 September 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ Aftenposten (6 November 2002). "Fugl koster ny jernbane 700 millioner" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2006.
- ^ Buskerud County Municipality (1 October 1999). "Høringsuttalelse til Ringeriksbanen, konsekvensutredning fase 2" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 14 May 2003.
- Jernbaneverket (31 August 2007). "Rask og effektiv Bergensbane for sju milliarder" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the originalon 21 July 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (9 October 2007). "Blir det 100 nye år?" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the originalon 15 April 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ Ringeriksbanen får 23 kilometer dobbeltspor i samme tunnel (28 April 2017)
- ^ NSB. "NSB rutekart lokaltog Østlandet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ NSB. "Rutetabeller" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- Jernbaneverket (10 April 2002). "Ringeriksbanen : -et godt prosjekt" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 4 June 2008. [dead link]
- ^ ISBN 82-419-0331-6.
- ^ Ringeriksporten (2005). "Ringeriksbanen over 100 år" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ Bjørn, Holøs (1984). Bergensbanen 75 (in Norwegian Bokmål). Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. pp. 99–102.
- ^ Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (17 January 2008). "Mer til tog" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ Statens Vegvesen. "E16 Sandvika - Sollihøgda" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 4 June 2008. [dead link]
- ^ Hallingdølen. "Tilrår bom på E16" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ Mannsverk, Pål Tr. (26 September 2012). "Dropper planen om Ringeriksbanen". Ringerikes Blad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ Ringeriksbanen og E16 - fellesprosjektet
External links
- Jernbaneverket project page (in Norwegian)