Raumabanen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raumabanen is the 114.2 km long stretch of railway from Dombås (on Dovrebanen) to Åndalsnes in Norway. The line is a sidetrack to the main line between Oslo and Trondheim, and it is not electrified. Raumabanen is the only railway extending into Møre og Romsdal county. There are five stations, of which three are manned by the National Rail Administration. The five stations are Dombås, Lesja, Lesjaverk, Bjorli and Åndalsnes. This is because the Rauma line is not remotely controlled, but in need of being run manually at the stations. Originally there were twelve stations along the line. The line is operated by NSB, which runs four passenger trains each way daily. From Åndalsnes there are bus correspondences to Ålesund,Molde and Kristiansund, and from Dombås there are train correspondences to Oslo and Trondheim. In the summer there are special tourist trains running from Åndalsnes to Bjorli, some of which are steam operated.
[edit] History
A committee to build a railway to the cities of Møre og Romsdal was first settled in 1869, and five years later stocks were sold to contribute to the construction, which was not approved by the parliament of Norway. In 1908, however, the parliament decided to build a railway to the Romsdal fjord. The construction started on January 12, 1912 and was finished nearly 13 years later; November 30, 1924. The first part from Dombås to Bjorli opened for traffic as early as 1921.
[edit] Interesting sites
The railway passes the well-known mountain formation Trollveggen, as well as a piece of engineering art at Kylling bru, the two turning tunnels at Verma, and Mongefossen, the world's third tallest waterfall, the latter of which may be viewed during the Summer months to the North of the railway station at Flatmark.
