Jæren Line

Jæren Line

Gausel Station
Overview
Type Railway
System Norwegian railway network
Locale Jæren
Termini Stavanger Station
Egersund Station
Stations 18
Operation
Opened 27 February 1878
Owner Norwegian National Rail Administration
Operator(s) Norwegian State Railways
CargoNet
Character Intercity, commuter and freight
Technical
Line length 74.71 km (46.42 mi)
No. of tracks Double (Stavanger–Sandnes)
Single (Sandnes–Egersund)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC

The Jæren Line (Norwegian: Jærbanen) 74.7 kilometres (46.4 mi) long railway line between Stavanger and Egersund, in Jæren, Norway. The line is officially the western-most part of the Sørland Line. Owned by the Norwegian National Rail Administration, the line has double track from Stavanger Station to Sandnes Station, and single track from Sandnes to Egersund Station. The line is electrified at 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC and equipped with centralized traffic control and GSM-R. The line is served by the Jæren Commuter Rail and intercity trains along the Sørland Line, both operated by the Norwegian State Railways. CargoNet runs container freight trains on the line, which terminate at Ganddal Freight Terminal.

The line opened as a narrow gauge stand-alone line on 27 February 1878. The railway was extended from Egersund to Flekkefjord as the Flekkefjord Line in 1904. The Jæren Line's only branch, the Ålgård Line from Ganddal to Ålgård, opened in 1924. In 1944, the Sørland Line was extended to Sira on the Flekkefjord Line, and the Jæren Line was integrated in the main railway network. Because of this, the line was converted to standard gauge.

Contents

Route

The Jæren Line is officially part of the Sørland Line, and consists of the 74.71 kilometres (46.42 mi) between Stavanger and Egersund.[1] The 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) long section from Stavanger to Sandnes is double track,[2] with five intermediate stations: Paradis, Mariero, Jåttåvågen, Gausel and Sandnes Sentrum.[3] Though Sandnes, the line runs on an elevated section.[4] Ganddal Freight Terminal is located close to Ganddal Station and is the only freight terminal in Jæren. It has an annual capacity for 80,000 containers and can handle 600-metre (2,000 ft) long trains.[5] The line continues through the municipalities of Klepp, Time, Hå and Eigersund.

History

During the 19th century, transport along the Jæren coast was dominated by ship. Some simple roads had been built, but these were insufficient for quick and efficient transport. In the mid-19th century, the roads were improved, and ideas were launched to start a traction engine service along the coast. At a meeting at the sheriff's office in Klepp in 1866, Forest Manager Andreas Tanberg Gløersen launched the first idea to build a railway to connect Stavanger and Egersund. Gløersen had been to the Netherlands and both observed and ridden on a train. Later the same year, a meeting was held with representatives from the municipalities of Hå, Klepp and Time.[6]

The meeting concluded that a railway should be built, and the responsibility for the preparatory work was given to County Governor Vilhelm Ludvig Herman von Munthe af Morgenstierne. He started by conducting traffic counting at throughout the district. This resulted in an estimate for a revenue of NOK 215,000 and a cost of NOK 153,000 per year.[7] Originally the proposal was to connect the various villages in Jæren together. But during planning, it became clear from national authorities that the line would be part of a national railway that would connect Rogaland to Eastern Norway, giving the line a straighter profile and running via fewer communities.[7][8]

The proposal was sent to the Ministry of the Interior, who recommended the line to the Parliament of Norway. The plans were presented to parliament on 6 May 1874, and passed in June.[9] During the celebrations in Stavanger that evening, a gunner lost his hand following the explosion of a cannon.[7] The line opened on 27 February 1878.[8]

On 5 February 1875, a railway committee of the parliament published a report recommending that there be built four national railways to connect western and central Norway to eastern Norway. The Sørland Line was part of this plan, and was scheduled to be built between 1876 and 1888.[10] The line was proposed to be built via the Vestfold Line to Skien and onwards along the south coast before connecting with the Jæren Line at Egersund. However, Norway was hit by the Depression of 1882–85, which reduced railway construction to a minimum. In addition, the choice of route through Agder was disputed: either the populated coast, or in the sparsely populated inland. This issue kept the line at bay, and not until 1908 was agreement about the inland route chosen.[11]

In 1894, the Railway Committee recommended parliament to prioritize three new lines, the Bergen Line, the Rauma Line and the Gjøvik Line. However, this met protests from representatives from Agder, and it became clear that there would not be a majority to build the Bergen Line unless part of the Sørland Line was built. Jørgen Løvland proposed a compromise in which the Flekkefjord Line be built from Egersund to Flekkefjord, as the first part of the Sørland Line, as well as the Treungen Line. The Flekkefjord Line opened on 31 October 1904.[12]

The Ålgård Line was originally launched as an alternative route for the Sørland Line. In 1910, a committee was appointed that conducted preliminary planning of the line. Although NSB's board supported the line, construction was placed on hold. In 1919, local politicians proposed that the line be built administratively as part of the Jæren Line, but this was rejected by the government.[13] Instead, the ministry wanted to again consider the Ålgård Line as part of the Sørland Line, and proposed that the Ålgård Line be built with standard gauge—which would be used for the Sørland Line—instead of the narrow gauge used by the Jæren Line. However, there would be no need for standard gauge until the Sørland Line was extended to Rogaland, so the line was planned to be built with narrow gauge track, but all other installations would be prepared for standard gauge.[14] The first train to operate on the line went from Stavanger on 20 December 1924,[15] and the Ålgård Line became the last state-owned railway in Norway to be opened with narrow gauge.[16]

The Sørland Line was being built in standard gauge, and when the line was to connect to the Flekkefjord Line at Moi Station, the Jæren Line would have to be rebuilt to standard gauge to avoid a break-of-gauge. Preliminary work to ease the conversion was done during the 1920s.[17] The conversion itself took only two days, during which the line was closed. On 29 April 1944, a test train was run from Sira to Stavanger. The upgrade was officially opened on 1 May, after which the Jæren Line was connected to Oslo, and considered part of the Sørland Line.[18] When the Jæren Line was built, the station in Egersund was located in the city center. With the opening of the Sørland Line, the station was moved 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north of the city center.[17][19]

Sandnes became the third-largest intermediate stop on the Sørland Line, after Drammen Station and Kristiansand Station. To develop a better solution for serving Sandnes, the track through the city center was rebuilt to an elevated railway. Given the unofficial name The High Line (Norwegian: Høybanen), the new Sandnes Station was located further south of the center of Sandnes, at Skeiene. The new station and the elevated section opened on 1 October 1955.[4]

The commuter rail system was introduced from 1 January 1992, after an agreement between NSB, Rogaland County Municipality and the six municipalities along the line. NSB introduced new Class 69 multiple units, while the county municipality introduced a fare coordination with the corresponding bus services.[20] The increase in service involved 15 departures per direction per day, and the travel time from Stavanger to Egersund was reduced from 80 to 55 minutes.[21] In addition, NSB started with a half-hour headway between Stavanger and Sandnes.[22] A new station, Sandnes Sentrum, was opened in the city center of Sandnes at the time the new service started.[23] NSB stated that the goal was to increase the daily ridership from 2,900 to 5,000 passengers by 1994.[21] The stations were also upgraded, including new sheds.[24] The Scanet train radio system was installed between 1993 and 1996.[25]

The service was a success, and NSB received a 112% increase in ridership the first year.[26] In 1993, NSB won Statens Byggeskikkpris, among other things for the new sheds on the Jæren Line.[24] By 1995, ridership was up 150% from before the commuter rail started.[27] In 1997, NSB announced that they would order 36 new electric multiple units, which would among other things replace the aging trains on the Jæren Commuter Rail.[28] The new Class 72 trains were put into service on 8 August 2002, several years after schedule.[29] In April 2004, the rail administration opened Jåttå Station, which was located close to Viking Stadion, the new home ground of Tippeligaen side Viking FK.[30]

Construction of a new freight terminal at Ganddal started in 2005, was completed in 2007 and opened on 21 January 2008. The terminal cost NOK 500 million and replaced the terminal at Stavanger Station.[5] Both the terminal and the double track were to use the newly developed signaling system Merkur, but the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate would not give permission for the system to be installed.[31][32] Because of this, the signaling system at the terminal is operated manually and therefore cannot be used with full capacity.[33]

To further increase capacity and regularity, the Norwegian National Rail Administration decided to rebuild the section from Stavanger to Sandnes to double track. The upgrade involved closing Hillevåg Station, and building three new stations: Paradis, Jåttåvågen and Gausel. Construction was started in 2006 and estimated to cost 2.2 billion Norwegian krone.[34] From April to November 2009, the section from Ganddal to Stavanger was closed while the last part of the upgrade was completed.[35] The new line was opened on 16 November 2009 and from 14 December, the 15-minute headway was introduced between Stavanger and Sandnes.[2]

Service

The Jæren Commuter Rail is a local services operated by NSB between Stavanger and Egersund. The service between Stavanger and Sandnes operate with a fixed schedule every 15 minutes. Of the trains to Sandnes, half continue onwards to Nærbø, giving a 30 minute headway. One train per hour operate all the way to Egersund. On weekends and late evenings, there is a reduced service. Travel time from Stavanger to Sandnes is 19 minutes, from Stavanger to Nærbø is 37 minutes, and from Stavanger to Egersund is 1 hour and 7 minutes.[3] The operating deficits are covered through subsidies by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications.[36] NSB uses four-car NSB Class 72 electric multiple units on the service.[37]

NSB also operates up to eight daily intercity services to Kristiansand Station. Up to five of these services continue onwards to Oslo Central Station. Travel time from Stavanger to Kristiansand is 3 hours, while travel time all the way to Oslo is seven and a half hours. One of the services to Oslo is a night train. Intercity trains along the Jæren Line only call at Egersund, Bryne, Sandnes Sentrum and Stavanger, with travel time from Stavanger to Egersund being slightly less than an hour.[38] CargoNet operates up to five container freight trains from Oslo per day and one from Drammen per day to Ganddal Freight Terminal.[39]

Future

The National Rail Administration has developed a plan for possible expansion of the commuter rail. The main possibilities have been discussed: rebuilding the section from Sandnes to Egersund to double track, taking back into use the Ålgård Line, which branches off at Ganddal, and building a new branch from south of Gausel to Stavanger Airport, Sola. An alternative to several of the options is a light rail, which may or may not be built as a tram-train, which would use parts of the existing double track between Stavanger and Sandnes.

The Ålgård Line is a 12.24-kilometer (7.61 mi) long railway which branches from the Sørland Line at Ganddal. It runs via Foss-Eikeland and Figgjo to Ålgård,[16] and was opened on 20 December 1924.[15] Passenger services were terminated on on 1 November 1955, making it the line with the most frequent passenger traffic in Norway to be closed. Freight trains operated until the 1988.[40] The first 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) are used for freight trains to access a cement factory. The line has officially been closed, but has not been abandoned. The National Rail Administration retains ownership and can in the future renovate the line for operation.[41] The annual traffic potential for the Ålgård Line is 600,000 passengers. Plans call for stations at Vagle, Figgjo, Kongeparken and Ålgård. It is possible to operate the trains that currently terminate at Sandnes to Ålgård without new infrastructure investments to the Sørland Line. However, the line would need a full upgrade, including new tracks, electric system and signaling. Ålgård is also a good location for a park and ride for European Route E39.[42]

A branch to Sola has been considered to allow the trains to operate to Sola and the airport. The line would branch from the Sørland Line south of Gausel, and be built so trains from the branch could run both northwards and southwards. Proposed stations include the airport, Solakrossen, Forus West, Statoil's head office and possibly the shopping center Kvadrat. This would give a travel time of 17 minutes from the airport to the city center, and 10 minutes from the airport to Sandnes. This route has, however, also been proposed as part of the light rail system. This will give about 2.5 million annual passengers.[43]

Plans have been made that would either double or triple the frequency on all the services on the existing commuter rail network. However, increased frequency south of Sandnes will require double track. Should the frequency be doubled, double track would have to be built to where the current service to Nærbo terminates. Plans call for these trains to possibly be extended to either Varhaug or Vigrestad. Should the frequency be tripled, double track would be needed all the way to Egersund. Parts of the Jæren Line is straight enough to permit speeds between 200 and 250 kilometers per hour (120 and 160 mph). However, several shorter parts need to be rebuilt to allow this, particularly between Egersund and Ogna, and from Bryne to Ganddal. In particular, the section from Ogna to Egersund would probably have to follow an all-new route, should it be rebuilt to double track. The effect of higher maximum speeds is greatest for intercity trains, as the commuter trains have so frequent stops they have little to gain from the increased speeds.[44]

Egersund Station has been proposed moved back to its old location for the commuter rail, giving Egersund two stations: one for commuter trains and one for regional trains. The right-of-way still exists for this route, making construction easy. A new Sørland Line has also been proposed, which would run south instead of north from Egersund. This would mean that a city center location for Egersund Station would be better for intercity trains as well.[19]

Rogaland County Municipality is in the planning process of building a light rail in Greater Stavanger. The initial plans call for a Y-shaped service which could be operational by 2018, with possibilities for further expansion. As of 2010, the plans call for a 16.2 kilometres (10.1 mi) line from Stavanger to Sandnes, and a 7.7 or 8.8 kilometres (4.8 or 5.5 mi) branch to the airport. The travel time from Sandnes to Stavanger would be 29 minutes, and is therefore a supplement to the commuter rail. The light rail would have interchange with the Jæren Line at Stavanger, Paradis, Jåttåvågen, Gausel and Sandnes Sentrum. Several new branches of the light rail have been proposed for later construction.[45]

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Egersund" (in Norwegian). Norwegian National Rail Administration. http://www.jernbaneverket.no/no/Jernbanen/Stasjonssok/-E-/Egersund/. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "Første heilskaplege bane sidan Gardermobanen" (in Norwegian). Norwegian National Rail Administration. 17 November 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5u4FX16tx. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 
  3. ^ a b "Egersund–Stavanger S" (in Norwegian). Norwegian State Railways. http://www.nsb.no/getfile.php/www.nsb.no/nsb.no/Bilder/Rutetabeller/PDF-059-Stavanger-Egersund-16-08_11-12-10-stor%282%29.pdf. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
  4. ^ a b Klippen, Viktor (18 December 2009). "Hypermoderne anlegg må vrakes" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5uBKhW2ru. Retrieved 12 November 2010. 
  5. ^ a b Daniel, Isioma (21 January 2008). "Navarsete åpnet Ganddal godsterminal" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5uBHLKV21. Retrieved 12 November 2010. 
  6. ^ Jubileumskomitéen Sørlandsbanen Vest (1994:6)
  7. ^ a b c Jubileumskomitéen Sørlandsbanen Vest (1994:7)
  8. ^ a b Jubileumskomitéen Sørlandsbanen Vest (1994:8)
  9. ^ Bergsgård (1964:208)
  10. ^ Jubileumskomitéen Sørlandsbanen Vest (1994:9)
  11. ^ Jubileumskomitéen Sørlandsbanen Vest (1994:10)
  12. ^ Jubileumskomitéen Sørlandsbanen Vest (1994:11)
  13. ^ Thime (1999:8)
  14. ^ Thime (1999:9)
  15. ^ a b Thime (1999:13)
  16. ^ a b Aspenberg (1994:227)
  17. ^ a b Jubileumskomitéen Sørlandsbanen Vest (1994:46)
  18. ^ Jubileumskomitéen Sørlandsbanen Vest (1994:47)
  19. ^ a b Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009a:61)
  20. ^ "Bedre togtilbud i Rogaland" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten: p. 11. 31 August 1990. 
  21. ^ a b "Nye Jærbanen" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 27 January 1992. 
  22. ^ "Nytt opplegg for NSBs lokaltrafikk på Jæren" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 2 January 1992. 
  23. ^ "Sandnes sentrum" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Railway Club. http://forsk.njk.no/stdb/index.php?mod=st&aut=&detaljert=1&baneID=166&Stnr=5108,02&sid=1897. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 
  24. ^ a b Stafne, Anne Lise (17 November 1993). "Byggeskikkprisen til NSB: Reise i god form" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten: p. 11. 
  25. ^ Solberg, Bjørn Olav (1994). "Train radio system for Norwegian State Railways". Telektronikk (Telenor) (4): 73–81. Archived from the original on 24 October 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5tiypSO3C. Retrieved 24 October 2010. 
  26. ^ "Trønderbanen skal gi NSB stor trafikkøkning" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 1 September 1993. 
  27. ^ Width, Henrik (6 October 1995). "Toget går fra statsbanene" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten: p. 23. 
  28. ^ Thompson, Svein (9 January 1997). "Bortkasted opprusting" (in Norwegian). Dagens Næringsliv: p. 8. 
  29. ^ Bø, Trond (9 August 2002). "To års ventetid over – nye pendlertog på vei til Oslo" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten: p. 3. 
  30. ^ Andersen, Atle (17 April 2004). "14 dager igjen: Her stopper Viking-toget" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad: p. 30. 
  31. ^ "Avslag på søknad om godkjenning av Merkur signalanlegg" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Railway Inspectorate. 24 November 2008. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5uBJIKYzR. Retrieved 12 November 2010. 
  32. ^ Birkevold, Harald (21 January 2008). "Skaper uro for dobbeltsporet" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5uBJUrLbp. Retrieved 12 November 2010. 
  33. ^ Birkevold, Harald (26 November 2008). "Hypermoderne anlegg må vrakes" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5uBJbykQW. Retrieved 12 November 2010. 
  34. ^ "To spor Sandnes – Stavanger" (in Norwegian). Norwegian National Rail Administration. October 2006. Archived from the original on 7 November 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5u4FHxfry. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 
  35. ^ "Offisiell åpning Sandnes-Stavanger 14. desember" (in Norwegian). Norwegian National Rail Administration. October 2006. Archived from the original on 7 November 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5u4FiUBIt. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 
  36. ^ "Kjøp av persontransporttjeneter" (in Norwegian). Government.no. http://www.regjeringen.no/dep/sd/tema/jernbane_og_jernbanetransport/kjop-av-persontransporttjenester.html?id=449035. Retrieved 27 December 2009. 
  37. ^ "Type 72" (in Norwegian). Norwegian State Railways. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5pXwtgryV. Retrieved 7 May 2010. 
  38. ^ "Kristiansand–Stavanger S" (in Norwegian). Norwegian State Railways. http://www.nsb.no/getfile.php/www.nsb.no/nsb.no/Bilder/Rutetabeller/PDF-51-Kristiansand-Stavanger%20S-2011.pdf. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
  39. ^ "Sørlandsbanen" (in Norwegian). CargoNet. http://www.cargonet.no/epibrowser/Dokument/Norge-dok/laste-%20og%20lossetider/2010/S%C3%B8rlandsbanen_f.o.m.13.%20juni2010.pdf. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
  40. ^ Aspenberg (1994:230)
  41. ^ Ådnøy, Åsmund (30 July 2008). "Jernbaneverket vil beholde Ålgårdbanen" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad: p. 3. 
  42. ^ Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009a:52–6)
  43. ^ Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009a:57–8)
  44. ^ Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009a:31–5)
  45. ^ Tunmo, Truls (15 March 2010). "Milliardbanen Kleppa kan stoppe" (in Norwegian). Teknisk Ukeblad. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5u5TecZqT. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
Bibliography