Train routes in Norway
26 routes · classic 14 · night train 1 · scenic 6 · heritage 4 · mountain 1
26 routes cross Norway in the World Train Map atlas. The longest is the Arctic Circle Train at 1,470 km; the fastest is the Flytoget, running up to 210 km/h; the oldest line dates to 1854. Every route links to its facts, photo and story, and to the interactive world map.
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Classic (14)
- Sørlandsbanen
Norway’s south-coast main line, completed in wartime 1944: inland through pine and moor, touching salt water only at Kristiansand and the Jæren flats.
Wikipedia ↗ - Østfoldbanen
Vy’s RE20 traces the Østfold Line down the east shore of the Oslofjord toward the Swedish border at Halden.
Wikipedia ↗ - Gjøvikbanen
Climbs out of Oslo through the deep Nordmarka forest and over Hadeland to Lake Mjøsa at Gjøvik.
Wikipedia ↗ - Vestfoldbanen
RE11 starts at Eidsvoll, calls at the airport, then runs down the fjord’s west side through Tønsberg, Norway’s oldest town, to industrial Grenland.
Wikipedia ↗ - Lokaltog L1
Crosses Oslo end to end: the 1872 Drammen Line’s original alignment out to Spikkestad at one end, Norway’s first railway of 1854 to Lillestrøm at the other.
- Regiontog RE10
Threads Oslo from Drammen, calls at the airport, then follows the east shore of Mjøsa, Norway’s largest lake, north to the Olympic town of Lillehammer.
- Flytoget
Norway’s fastest train at 210 km/h, running out to Gardermoen through the 14.6 km Romeriksporten tunnel under the Romerike ridge.
Wikipedia ↗ - Oslo–Göteborg
The busiest cross-border run in Scandinavia: down Norway’s Østfold Line to the frontier at Kornsjø, then through Dalsland’s forests and lakes to Sweden’s second city; a new fast line is planned to halve the time.
- Oslo–Stockholm
Two Scandinavian capitals across the forests and lakes of Värmland, via Kongsvinger and Karlstad on Lake Vänern: a near-five-hour run that new open-access operators are racing to cut.
- Meråkerbanen
Up the Stjørdal valley from the Trondheim fjord to the Swedish border at Storlien: freshly electrified in 2024, the northern rail gateway between Norway and Sweden toward Östersund.
Wikipedia ↗ - Arendal Line
The surviving southern stub of a line that once ran 90 km inland: electrified feeder trains down from the Sørland main line at Nelaug to the coast at Arendal.
Wikipedia ↗ - Østfoldbanen: Oslo–Ski
The original 1879 Østfold line out of Oslo, hugging the fjord shore through Nordstrand and Ljan before climbing the ridge to Ski, now the all stations companion to the Blix tunnel bored beneath it.
Wikipedia ↗ - Østre linje
Norway’s 1882 eastern line: through the Blix tunnel to Ski in eleven minutes, then out across the grain fields and timber towns of indre Østfold, calling at Askim and Mysen on the way to Rakkestad.
Wikipedia ↗ - Bratsbergbanen
Built in 1917 to carry Norsk Hydro’s fertiliser from the Notodden works to the sea, the Bratsberg line climbs from the Telemark canal towns past Skien and crosses the Sørland main line at Nordagutu.
Wikipedia ↗
Night train (1)
- Arctic Circle Train
Crosses the Arctic Circle bound for the aurora: the Iron Ore Line’s fjord finale into Narvik is pure drama.
Scenic (6)
- Bergensbanen
Northern Europe’s highest main line: over the bare Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 m, through 182 tunnels.
Wikipedia ↗ - Flåmsbana
One of the steepest adhesion railways on Earth: 864 m down to the fjord in 20 km, waterfalls at the window.
Wikipedia ↗ - Dovrebanen
Over the Dovrefjell plateau where wild musk oxen roam: mountain birch, snow fences and midnight sun.
Wikipedia ↗ - Nordlandsbanen
Norway’s longest railway: 729 km of fjordside, forest and bare Saltfjellet plateau, and the country’s only line across the Arctic Circle.
Wikipedia ↗ - Rauma Line
Corkscrews down Romsdalen past the 1,100 m Trollveggen, Europe’s tallest vertical cliff, via the Stavem spiral tunnel and stone Kylling Bridge.
Wikipedia ↗ - Rørosbanen
The original 1877 inland route to Trondheim: diesel country through Østerdalen’s forests to Røros, the UNESCO copper town still timber-built and soot-dark.
Wikipedia ↗
Heritage (4)
- Krøderbanen
Norway’s longest museum railway: 26 km of the 1872 Krøder line preserved whole, with stations, water cranes and NSB steam between Vikersund and the lake at Krøderen.
Wikipedia ↗ - Gamle Vossebanen
The 1883 Voss line’s surviving loop outside Bergen: NSB 18c steam between Garnes and Midttun, bypassed by new tunnels in 1964 and kept alive by volunteers.
Wikipedia ↗ - Thamshavnbanen
Built in 1908 for Orkla’s copper ore: the oldest alternating-current railway still in service, running its original 6.6 kV motor coaches along the green Orkla valley.
Wikipedia ↗ - Setesdalsbanen
Norway’s oldest museum railway, volunteer-run since 1964: 1890s narrow-gauge steam puffing up the Otra river from Grovane to the little terminus at Røyknes.
Wikipedia ↗
Mountain (1)
- Fløibanen
Norway’s best-known funicular (1918): 844 m and ~300 m of rise from central Bergen to the Fløyen viewpoint above the fjord city.
Wikipedia ↗
Photos via Wikimedia Commons; each route page credits the author & licence
What is the fastest train in Norway?
The Flytoget, running Drammen to Oslo Airport at up to 210 km/h. It is one of 26 routes in Norway in this atlas.
Are there night trains in Norway?
Yes, 1 sleeper service in this atlas serves Norway: Arctic Circle Train (Stockholm – Narvik).
Can you cross the border by train from Norway?
Yes, 4 of its 26 routes continue into another country: Arctic Circle Train (Stockholm – Narvik), Oslo–Göteborg (Oslo – Gothenburg), Oslo–Stockholm (Oslo – Stockholm), Meråkerbanen (Trondheim – Storlien).
Which is the most scenic railway in Norway?
Norway has 7 scenic or mountain lines in this atlas. The longest is the Nordlandsbanen, 729 km.
Cross-border lines continue into
Train routes in Sweden 29 routes