Bane NOR makes the 150-year-old Drammen Line near fjord future-proof

Norwegian infrastructure manager Bane NOR will mark the 150th anniversary of the Drammen Line this weekend. Work is currently being carried out on the Drammen-Kobbervikdalen section to make line as a whole future-proof, amongst others against floods, by the year-end of 2025.

When the upgrade works are finished in 2025, there will be a continuous double track from Norwegian capital Oslo to Tønsberg via Drammen. The anniversary of the Drammen line, which in 1922 became the first electrified railway in Norway, will be marked this weekend with the partial reopening of the upgrade railway station in the town. The line was originally built as a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 1067 mm and opened in 1872, and was later upgraded to standard gauge of 1435 mm.

Part of the railway infrastructure is situated on the banks of the Drammen fjord. In order to safeguard the station from flooding, the entire station area was raised by about 40 centimetres. New tracks and platforms were installed, while the platform canopies were fitted with solar panels. Work on a new underpass is still being carried out.

Once the upgrade of the Oslo-Drammen-Tønsberg line is complete by the end of 2025, capacity will be increased to four trains per hour each way. Work is currently ongoing in the Drammen Tunnel while near Sundland, the project team is making the necessary preparations for the digital signalling system ERTMS.

The project can be followed here.

Further reading:

• Over a quarter of Norwegian network in need of maintenance in coming years
• Bane NOR awards close to 90 million euros in track maintenance contracts
• Bane NOR announces 50-percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030
• Bane NOR mandates environmental certification of all upcoming projects
• Bane NOR to implement six projects to cut emissions at construction sites