Transport in Norway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Transport in Norway is highly influenced by Norway's low population density, narrow shape, and long coastline. Norway has old water transport and shipping traditions, but rail, road, and air transport have increased in importance during the 20th century. Due to the low population density, public transport is less built out than in many European countries.
The main governing body is the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, which performs operations through numerous subsidiaries. Tasks related to public transport and some roads have been delegated to the counties and municipalities.
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[edit] Rail transport
The main railway network consists of 4087 km of lines, of which 219 km is double track and 60 km high-speed rail (210 km/h) while 64% is electrified. The main network consists of lines from Oslo and westwards along the south coast (Sørlandsbanen) and to Bergen; north to Åndalsnes and via Trondheim to Bodø. Commuter trains operate around the major cities, while regional and express trains operate on longer distances. Norges Statsbaner (NSB) operates all passenger trains while there are multiple operators of freight trains. The government agency Jernbaneverket owns all track.
[edit] Urban rail and tram systems
Tram systems were built in Oslo, Bergen (1897) and Trondheim (1893) in the last quarter of the 19th century. While the first trams were horse-drawn, the tram systems were electrified around the turn of the century. Due to the suburbization of the Norwegian cities in the 20th century, less of the population have access to tram systems than when they were built. Light rail transit systems have been proposed as a solution, and one such system is under construction in Bergen.
Opened in 1875, the Oslo Tramway was the first tramway system in Norway. The Oslo Tramway system reached its greatest extent in 1939. After World War II, the tramway system started to be replaced by diesel buses, with a complete dismantlement being the goal. As the Oslo T-bane subway system was being built in the 1960s, a number of tramway lines were replaced with subway lines. However, the decision to close the tramway system was overturned and several new lines were added in the 1990s and 2000s.
[edit] Road transport
Norway has a road network of 90,741 kilometres, of which 67,602 km are paved and 270 km are expressway. The road network is dominated by vast rural areas with little population, and difficult traverses of mountains and fjords. The heaviest investments in roadways are in the dense populated areas, as well as in tunnels and bridges that often have replaced car ferries in the country. Roads are managed by municipalities, counties and the national government, but only national roads are numbered en route. The core road network consists of national roads marked as European route (E). The E6 goes north-south through the entire country, while E39 follows the West Coast. Due to rough winters, some stretches of mountain-crossing roads close all winter or for a certain time during bad weather. At certain times in winter months, "column driving" practices are applied, where cars drive after a snowplough in a column.
Regional bus transport is organized by the counties, while express coach services offered by the alliance NOR-WAY Bussekspress provide the majority of express routes that connect various towns and villages in Southern Norway to Oslo.
[edit] Water transport
[edit] Waterways
1,577 km along west coast; navigable by 2.4 m draft vessels maximum
[edit] Pipelines
refined petroleum products 53 km
[edit] Ports and harbors
Arendal, Bergen, Bodø, Drammen, Flekkefjord, Fredrikstad, Florø, Grimstad, Halden, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Horten, Kragerø, Kristiansand, Kristiansund, Larvik, Mongstad, Moss, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Sandefjord, Sandnes, Skien, Sortland, Stavanger, Tromsø, Trondheim, Tønsberg, Vadsø, Vardø and Ålesund
[edit] Merchant marine
total: 788 ships (1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over) totaling 21,460,260 GRT/34,178,125 metric tons of deadweight (DWT)
ships by type: bulk 100, cargo ship 142, chemical tanker 111, combination bulk carrier 9, combination ore/oil 35, container 18, liquefied gas 86, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 11, petroleum tanker 157, refrigerated cargo 11, roll-on/roll-off 48, short-sea passenger 22, car carrier 37 (1999 est.)
The government has created an internal register, the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS), as a subset of the Norwegian Ship Register; ships on the NIS enjoy many benefits of flags of convenience and do not have to be crewed by Norwegians (1998 est.)
[edit] Aviation
There are a total of 99 airports in Norway, of which 51 are public airport. Most of these are operated by Avinor, a government agency. Airplane is the most common used transportation on longer distances, and the routes between Oslo and Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger are all among the ten largest in Europe. Seven airports have more than one million passengers annually.
The main gateway to Norway is Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, located about 56 km north of Oslo with departures to most European countries and some intercontinental destinations. It is hub for the two major Norwegian airlines Scandinavian Airlines System and Norwegian Air Shuttle. A significant number of the airports are regional airports served by Widerøe, particularly in Western and Northern Norway.
- Further information: List of Norwegian airports
[edit] Airports
99 (2006 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total:
10,000 ft (3,048) and over: 1
8,000 to 9,999 ft (2,438 to 3,047 m): 12
5,000 to 7,999 ft (1,524 to 2,437 m): 13
3,000 to 4,999 ft (914 to 1,523 m): 12
under 3,000 ft (914 m): 29 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 36
3,000 to 4,999 ft (914 to 1,523 m): 5
under 3,000 ft (914 m): 31 (1999 est.)
[edit] Heliports
6, including:
- Værøy Heliport as the sole heliport with scheduled flights on Public Service Obligation from the Norwegian government. Other heliports are co-located with airports mainly serving offshore installations in the North Sea.
