Østfold Line

Østfold Line turns southward right after Oslo Central Station and runs alongside Bunnefjorden`s shoreline until Ljan, where the route takes a more eastern inland corridor to Moss. This means following flat valleys in north-south direction, passing Kolbotn, Ski and Vestby. In Moss Østfold Line again reaches Oslofjord shore but soon deviates eastward and, for the second time, crosses over in the coastal hinterland, this time to Fredrikstad. From there on, heading northeast, the line uses the Glomma valley to Sarpsborg, bridges the river, turns southward and reaches Halden after running through mostly flat terrain in southern Viken (county).

The lack of early interest in a railway in Østfold was caused by the ice-free Oslofjord and the perceived non-necessity of build a line where a suitable waterway already existed.[5] Proposals for a railway through the county then known as Smaalenene were first launched with two independent letters to the editor in 1866. They exemplified the debate which would follow, with one proposing a route along the coast through the larger coastal towns, while the other proposed an inner route via Askim and Rakkestad.[5] Preliminary surveys were carried out the following year, which also investigated two routes to the Swedish border, one via Tistedalen and one along Iddefjord. The government was at first less enthusiastic, in part because they were concerned that no line would be built on the Swedish side.[6]

The original Ljan Station

By 1872 the disagreement over an interior or coastal route was raging and a compromise was proposed in which the line would be built with two branches.[7] The government recommended a twin-armed line on 5 April 1873 and was approved in Parliament on 5 June. Detailed surveying was led by Carl Abraham Pihl and concluded on 31 March 1874. The route was still controversial, especially relating to how Fredrikstad should be served. The main line could be shortened by 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) if the town was served with a branch line.[8] With increasing cost estimates, Parliament decided to reduce the standard on the Eastern Line. There was also a controversy if that line should bypass Mysen.[9]

In Halden there was a significant opposition to the line, as there was worry that it would capture lumber traffic which would otherwise run to Halden. Traders and politicians there were more concerned with being connected with the Swedish province of Dalsland, from which a large part of the town's lumber export originated. To secure the Swedish part of the link, the Dalsland Line was built as a private railway with eighty percent Norwegian capital and its head office in Halden.[10]

The Ljan Viaduct was perhaps the most spectacular steel bridge along the line. It was ultimately demolished in 1929.

Construction commenced in 1874, initially only on the section from Oslo to Halden. Work was subdivided into eleven sections on the Western Line and four on the Eastern Line. The former received a rail weight of 30 kilograms per meter (60 lb/ft).[11] Work on the Eastern Line did not start until 1877. It received a track weight of only 25 kilograms per meter (50 lb/ft). A recession hit in 1877 and the government stopped all construction for a period, initially only continuing it on the Western Line.[12] Most of the workforce were Swedish immigrants. Groundwork was conducted directly by the railway based on accords, with the track was laid by contractors.[11]

The Østfold Line was the first railway in Norway were all bridges were built with iron. This allowed for the construction of viaducts at some places, which changed the mass balance allowing the line to follow a better gradient. Two of the most prominent were the Ljan Viaduct and the Hølen Viaduct. The latter was the first in the world to use the pendulum pillar principal. The bridges and viaducts were all designed by Axel Jacob Petersson.[13]

The original Sarp Bridge was modified with an upper level to carry the railway. It was demolished after a new railway bridge was completed in 1931.

The Western Line from Oslo to Halden was taken into revenue service on 2 January 1879.[14] However, the official opening did not take place until 18 July. By then the rail connection onward to Gothenburg had been completed.[15] Construction of the Eastern Line was delayed and was opened in stages between 18 July and 24 November 1882.[16]

The first rolling stock consisted of eight NSB Class 9 steam locomotives for passenger train, three NSB Class 10 units for freight trains[17] and two NSB Class 14 locos.[18] Passenger cars were at first 60-compartment coaches.[19] A commuter train service was introduced from Oslo to Ljan Station from 1883, allowing the areas of Nordstrand to open up to large-scale housing.[20] The railway allowed for faster postal services and the trains carried markers with the weather forecast, which was announced at the stations.[21] A direct international train service was not introduced until 1 July 1886, when a direct service to Gothenburg and Hamburg was introduced. Travel time to Copenhagen was at that time twenty and a half hours. The following year sleeper cares were introduced.[22]

Steam train waiting for departure from Fredrikstad Station sometime during the 1920s

The commuter traffic increased and in 1893 a new commuter station was opened at Kolbotn.[23] Two branch lines were built from Sarpsborg. A branch to Borregaard opened in 1891 and the Hafslund Line opened eight years later.[24] To avail the problem in Oslo with human manure, depots were built at Drømtorp, Ås and Vestby to give farmers access to the resource. Manure trains ran until 1929.[25] Construction of interlocking systems started on some of the busiest stations in 1897, although fail-safe functionality was not available until the 1920s.[26] A faster inter-Scandinavian service was introduced in 1900, cutting travel time to Copenhagen to 16 hours and 20 minutes.[27] The higher demands caused the railway to order nine new NSB Class 27 locomotives, delivered between 1910 and 1916, which allowed the maximum speed on the line to increase from 70 to 75 km/h (43 to 47 mph).[28] NSB introduced Ea 1, an accumulator electric locomotive, on local services between Fredrikstand and Skjeberg in 1916, where it remained in use until 1920.[29]

As the main international railway out of Norway, the Østfold Line had some of the highest demands for speed and axle loads. In an effort to increase train weights and speeds, the Norwegian State Railways approved an upgrade plan in 1910 which was initially to be completed by 1919. All bridges and track was to be upgraded to tolerate a higher train weight.[30] The break-out of the First World War led to material and funding shortages,[31] and the upgrades were not completed until a new Sarp Bridge was finished in 1930.[32]

The line was originally named the Smaalenene Line (Smaalenenebanene), with the spelling changing to Smålenene (Smålenenebanen) in 1921. During this period it was also commonly known as the South Line (Sydbanen), although this was never official. As the line was named for the county, it changed its name after the county changed its name from Smålenene to Østfold.[33]

CargoNet freight train hauled by an El 14 at Kornsjø Station

Parliament approved double track from Oslo to Ljan in 1916. Construction took its time and opened in two stages, from Bekkelaget to Ljan on 1 June 1924 and from Oslo Ø to Bekkelaget on 15 May 1929.[34] South of Ljan the line crossed the Ljan Viaduct, which could not be upgraded to the new standards. A new double-tracked line had to be built around,[35] which opened on 15 February 1925.[36] By the 1930s the railway was meeting increased competition from buses and trucks. Although slower, they offered more pick-up locations than the train. NSB therefore decided that the Østfold Line, and especially the section closest to Oslo, needed to receive increased capacity, electric traction and more stations.[37] Double tracking continued southwards, opening to Kolbotn on 15 December 1936 and to Ski on 14 May 1939.[33] Meanwhile, NSB introduced gasoline railcars which stopped at the new flag stops.[38]

Electrification was carried out in several smaller steps, with the first part from Oslo Ø to Ljan completed on 9 December 1936 and the last section from Sarpsborg to Halden, on 11 November 1940.[33] NSB Class 66 was introduced as an express service on the Østfold Line, running a round trip from Oslo to Halden each day, bringing travel time down to two hours.[39] This lasted until 1956, when they were replaced with the slower NSB Class 65.[40] The international trains were from 1948 served with the Swedish State Railways' SJ X5 units, able to run from Oslo to Copenhagen in less than ten hours. The fast service was named Skandiapilen.[41] A landslide in 1953 washed away part of the track past Bekkelaget, resulting in the Bekkelaget Tunnel opening there five years later.[42] The regional traffic received the new NSB Class 68 multiple units from the mid 1950s.[43] A regular train with pyrite started running in 1966, hauling up to 600,000 tonnes per year from Hjerkinn on the Dovre Line to Borregaard. They remained until the 1990s.[44]

Class 72 near Ås Station on the upgraded double track section

By the 1960s it was becoming evident that the infrastructure was outdated.[45] A particular problem were the many level crossings which were a safety hazard,[46] causing reduced speed, especially between Ski and Moss. Capacity was also used up and the section was the busiest section of single track in the country.[47] Already during the 1950s NSB proposed building double track, but this was dismissed by Parliament.[48] To avail the situation NSB introduced its InterCity Express services in 1983. This involved limiting stops to Rygge, Råde, Fredrikstad, Saprsborg and Halden south of Moss, causing a large number of stations to be closed.[47]

Upgrade plans between Ski and Moss were revitalized during the 1980s. Especially at Vestby Station had reliability issues and there was a need for new passing loop at Tveter Station and Kjenn Station. However, this would not be sufficient to meet future needs, and in 1985 Parliament passed the construction of a double track from Tveter via Vestby to Kjenn.[48] These plans were initially proposed as merely doubling the track to increase capacity, but NSB soon started looking at also raising the speed and standard. From Rustad to Smørbekk the route was planned and placed parallel to European route E6. As the planning progressed, NSB gradually increased the dimensioning, so that the last planned section was capable of 200 km/h (120 mph).[49]

Hølendalen Bridges carry both the Østfold Line and E6 past Hølen

The first part of the double track, from Tveter to Vestby, was opened on 30 November 1989. The whole section cost 1.6 billion kroner and was opened for service on 22 October 1996. It was the first railway line to permit such high speeds in Norway. Due to disagreements with the Moss City Council on the route through the city, the double track stopped short at Sandbukta, 1.5 km (0.93 mi) north of Moss.[48] NSB Class 70 trains were introduced on the InterCity Express services in 1994, replaced by NSB Class 73 from 2003.[50]

On 28 June 2000, a new 7-kilometer (4.3 mi) section of double track was opened past Rygge Station. Including a full upgrade of the station, 21 road crossings were removed. The 500-million-kroner project reduced travel time between Moss and Fredrikstad by seven minutes.[51] Since 2007, Rygge Station has also served as an airport rail link via a shuttle bus to the nearby Moss Airport, Rygge.[52]