Since its official launch on 2 January 2017, Bane NOR has pursued the modernisation and expansion of the rail network; various contracts and partnerships were issued between 2017 and 2020 covering technical cooperation, component supply, design services, civil engineering works, and replacement of obsolete infrastructure.

On 2 January 2017, the agency, which is organised as a state enterprise, officially launched during a ceremony held at Oslo Central Station.

For this purpose, it has operated an ERTMS Pilot Line between Ski and Sarpsborg in eastern Norway, which achieved a relatively high punctuality rate of 94 per cent in 2019.

[9] Bane NOR hopes intelligent digital railway infrastructure will help cut construction costs via better modeling, improve safety margins and minimise service disruptions via real-time monitoring, and increase capacity via automatic train operation.

[12] In October 2019, a contract between Bane NOR and the engineering consultancy firm COWI was signed for the development of a new double-track section of Bergen-Fløen line, which was the busiest single-track route in Northern Europe, to better serve the freight terminal at Nydårdstangen.