History of rail transport in Norway

It was operated by horses and used to transport ore. About the same time, the 1,200 m (3,937 ft) long Gjøsbubanen was built on Otteidanlegget in Mark Østfold.

This was a combined canal and railway construction that made possible the transport of timber between the Store Le and Øymarksjøen lakes.

Its main purpose was to transport lumber from Mjøsa to the capital, but also passenger services were operated.

Finance for the Trunk Line was raised by issuing 2.2 million shares for Norwegian speciedaler.

After the opening of the Trunk Line, there was interest in the development of public railways in several places in Norway.

Private investors were invited to subscribe for shares that could provide dividends if there was a surplus.

[7] By the 1880s, after some mixed experiences with the model under which the Trunk Line was built, the State had control of Norwegian railway construction.

Some of these were developed for the transport needs of individual businesses, while others were ordinary public railways to serve a specific district.

The remainder had, for the most part, already been closed during the interwar years, when they were ousted by road transport.

In the previous two decades, Norway had gained national expertise in railway construction.

However, the great building boom of the 1870s had been financed in large part by government borrowings abroad.

During World War II, the development of the network was a priority for the German occupation forces, as part of the creation of Festung Norwegen.

However, in 1996 the National Rail Administration (Jernbaneverket) was separated from the NSB, and given the task of maintaining the railway network.