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Ringerike Line
The Ringerike Line (Bokmål: Ringeriksbanen, Nynorsk: Ringeriksbana) is a proposed 40-kilometre (25 mi) extension of the Bergen Line from Jong, Sandvika to Hønefoss, Norway. In 2022, the project was postponed; the government has no commitment to any timeframe (as of Q1 2026). Regional authorities and political groups continue to advocate for the project, which is fully planned but lacks funding and a construction start. If construction eventually begins, it is estimated to take 10–12 years to complete due to extensive tunnelling and civil works.
The proposed line would reduce travel from Oslo to Bergen by 60 kilometres (37 mi) and 50 minutes. Currently trains from the Bergen Line to Oslo must run via Drammen on the Randsfjord Line and the Drammen Line, or via Roa on the Roa–Hønefoss Line and the Gjøvik Line.
The project was presented as part of the original proposal of the Bergen Line when approved by Parliament in 1894, but due to the narrow gauge on the Drammen Line at the time, a temporary solution via Roa was chosen instead. Later proposals have been launched, and parliament has voted over it in 1954, 1978, 1984 and 1992; only the last being passed, but not followed up by funding, and Bane NOR has not allocated any date to start construction; detailed plans have however been produced.
The line would branch off from the Asker Line just west of Sandvika Station, and continue mostly in tunnel to Hønefoss Station, with an intermediate station at Sundvollen. Originally it was planned to build only single track, sufficient passing loops every six to eight kilometers, each at 750 metres (2,460 ft), allowing 600 metres (2,000 ft) long freight trains. Capacity would have been eight trains per hour operating at 200 km/h (125 mph). Current plans are to build the line as double track for a speed of 250 km/h, permitting both freight and passenger trains through 22.5 tonne axle load and maximum 1.2% gradient; electrification would be at the Norwegian standard 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC. In 2002 a route over Åsa was preferred to a route over Kroksund by parliament; despite less passenger potential for local traffic and NOK 700 million more expensive, this would give a smaller environmental impact. Travel time for the quickest trains from Hønefoss to Oslo would be 30 minutes, compared to 60 minutes by bus or 95 minutes by current trains.
The Norwegian National Rail Administration has proposed a number of upgrades to the Bergen Line that would allow total travel time between the termini to reduce to four and a half hours. The Ringerike Line is seen as the hallmark of this attempt, that was first launched by the director of NSB in 1954; sixty years later travel time remains at six and a half hours. The project was in 2007 estimated to cost NOK 7 billion, of which NOK 4 billion would be for the line. As of 2018 the project including a parallel motorway is estimated to cost NOK 26 billion This includes a train speed raised to 250 km/h and a 23 km long railway tunnel, and a permitted road speed raised to 110 km/h.
Prior to 1989 there were four local trains in each direction from Oslo to Hønefoss; followed by one rush hour service each, but this single service has since been terminated; mainly due to quicker travel times by coaches. The Ringerike Line would allow the Oslo Commuter Rail once again to serve Ringerike; other places served usually have one hourly service, with additional services in rush hour. Reducing travel time from Hønefoss to Oslo to 30 minutes would probably cause larger population growth in Ringerike.
Initial proposals for the Bergens Line route went from Hønefoss via Sandvika to Oslo Vestbanestasjon (Oslo V), but the proposal met technical and political restrictions. At the time Norway had two rail gauges: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge and narrow gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm). The former was taking predominance over the latter, with among others the Voss Line, the initial stage of the Bergen Line from Bergen to Voss, being converted from narrow to standard gauge. Drammenbanen, that connected Sandvika to Oslo, was narrow gauge, as was most of the rest of the western network, including the Vestfold Line; hundreds of kilometers of railway would have to be converted.
On the other side of Oslo, the North Line (now named the Gjøvik Line) was being built as standard gauge; it was considered the new mainline northwards, and was to be connected to the mainline through Gudbrandsdalen. By building a branch line from Roa to Hønefoss, the Bergens Line could be connected to Nordbanen, allowing standard gauge trackage all the way to Oslo Østbanestasjon (Oslo Ø). This also gave another advantage, as Oslo Ø was seen as superior to Oslo V; the latter only served limited commuter routes west of town while Oslo Ø was the main station for long-distance trains to Trondheim, as well as Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden, with whom Norway was in a union with at the time. Only by terminating at Oslo Ø would direct transfer to trains to other parts of the country be possible.
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Ringerike Line
The Ringerike Line (Bokmål: Ringeriksbanen, Nynorsk: Ringeriksbana) is a proposed 40-kilometre (25 mi) extension of the Bergen Line from Jong, Sandvika to Hønefoss, Norway. In 2022, the project was postponed; the government has no commitment to any timeframe (as of Q1 2026). Regional authorities and political groups continue to advocate for the project, which is fully planned but lacks funding and a construction start. If construction eventually begins, it is estimated to take 10–12 years to complete due to extensive tunnelling and civil works.
The proposed line would reduce travel from Oslo to Bergen by 60 kilometres (37 mi) and 50 minutes. Currently trains from the Bergen Line to Oslo must run via Drammen on the Randsfjord Line and the Drammen Line, or via Roa on the Roa–Hønefoss Line and the Gjøvik Line.
The project was presented as part of the original proposal of the Bergen Line when approved by Parliament in 1894, but due to the narrow gauge on the Drammen Line at the time, a temporary solution via Roa was chosen instead. Later proposals have been launched, and parliament has voted over it in 1954, 1978, 1984 and 1992; only the last being passed, but not followed up by funding, and Bane NOR has not allocated any date to start construction; detailed plans have however been produced.
The line would branch off from the Asker Line just west of Sandvika Station, and continue mostly in tunnel to Hønefoss Station, with an intermediate station at Sundvollen. Originally it was planned to build only single track, sufficient passing loops every six to eight kilometers, each at 750 metres (2,460 ft), allowing 600 metres (2,000 ft) long freight trains. Capacity would have been eight trains per hour operating at 200 km/h (125 mph). Current plans are to build the line as double track for a speed of 250 km/h, permitting both freight and passenger trains through 22.5 tonne axle load and maximum 1.2% gradient; electrification would be at the Norwegian standard 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC. In 2002 a route over Åsa was preferred to a route over Kroksund by parliament; despite less passenger potential for local traffic and NOK 700 million more expensive, this would give a smaller environmental impact. Travel time for the quickest trains from Hønefoss to Oslo would be 30 minutes, compared to 60 minutes by bus or 95 minutes by current trains.
The Norwegian National Rail Administration has proposed a number of upgrades to the Bergen Line that would allow total travel time between the termini to reduce to four and a half hours. The Ringerike Line is seen as the hallmark of this attempt, that was first launched by the director of NSB in 1954; sixty years later travel time remains at six and a half hours. The project was in 2007 estimated to cost NOK 7 billion, of which NOK 4 billion would be for the line. As of 2018 the project including a parallel motorway is estimated to cost NOK 26 billion This includes a train speed raised to 250 km/h and a 23 km long railway tunnel, and a permitted road speed raised to 110 km/h.
Prior to 1989 there were four local trains in each direction from Oslo to Hønefoss; followed by one rush hour service each, but this single service has since been terminated; mainly due to quicker travel times by coaches. The Ringerike Line would allow the Oslo Commuter Rail once again to serve Ringerike; other places served usually have one hourly service, with additional services in rush hour. Reducing travel time from Hønefoss to Oslo to 30 minutes would probably cause larger population growth in Ringerike.
Initial proposals for the Bergens Line route went from Hønefoss via Sandvika to Oslo Vestbanestasjon (Oslo V), but the proposal met technical and political restrictions. At the time Norway had two rail gauges: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge and narrow gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm). The former was taking predominance over the latter, with among others the Voss Line, the initial stage of the Bergen Line from Bergen to Voss, being converted from narrow to standard gauge. Drammenbanen, that connected Sandvika to Oslo, was narrow gauge, as was most of the rest of the western network, including the Vestfold Line; hundreds of kilometers of railway would have to be converted.
On the other side of Oslo, the North Line (now named the Gjøvik Line) was being built as standard gauge; it was considered the new mainline northwards, and was to be connected to the mainline through Gudbrandsdalen. By building a branch line from Roa to Hønefoss, the Bergens Line could be connected to Nordbanen, allowing standard gauge trackage all the way to Oslo Østbanestasjon (Oslo Ø). This also gave another advantage, as Oslo Ø was seen as superior to Oslo V; the latter only served limited commuter routes west of town while Oslo Ø was the main station for long-distance trains to Trondheim, as well as Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden, with whom Norway was in a union with at the time. Only by terminating at Oslo Ø would direct transfer to trains to other parts of the country be possible.