Arendal Line
The Arendal Line is a long railway line between Arendal and Simonstad in Norway. At Nelaug, north of Arendal, the line intersects with the Sørland Line. The southern section is electrified and provides a feeder passenger service. The line originally ran north from Arendal to Treungen and the lake Nisser, but the upper-most part has been removed. The line is owned by the Bane NOR and operated by Go-Ahead Norge using Class 69 trains.
Originally named the Arendal–Åmli Line, the first part of the line, from Arendal to Froland, opened on 23 November 1908. The line was extended to Åmli on 17 December 1910 and to Treungen on 14 December 1913, and was named the Arendal–Treungen Line. The line also had a branch, the Grimstad Line built 1907, from Rise to Grimstad. At this time this was the only railway at any of its stations, as the Sørland Line was not built in this region yet. Originally the line was narrow gauge; in 1935, the Sørland Line was extended to Nelaug, and the section to Arendal rebuilt to standard gauge to allow the Sørland Line to have a temporary terminus in Arendal. The line became a branch again in 1938 and in 1946 the upper section, received standard gauge. The southern section was gradually named the Arendal Line, while the northern section became the Treungen Line. The latter was closed in 1967, following the closing of a mine which had used it for iron ore and a reduction in lumber transport. The section south of Nelaug was electrified in 1995.
Route
The Arendal–Treungen Line was originally a long railway. Since 1971, the line has only run to Simonstad, which is from Arendal. At Nelaug, from Arendal, the line meets with the Sørland Line. The line is owned by Bane NOR. Although electrified at, it lacks centralized traffic control and Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway.Of the demolished part of the line, particularly between Simonstad and Sandå, most has been converted to a highway. However, part of the route lies in forests; part of this is again used as forestry roads. Although there remains tracks and a water tower at Simonstad, the station building has been demolished. All station buildings further north on the line have been preserved. The station area at Åmli is a bus station, while the station building itself is a library. Many of the other station buildings are used for housing, although at Tjønnefoss it is a café. At Treungen, the entire station area remains, including the main building, water tower, cargo building, roundhouse and housing for railway employees.
Service
The line operates with a single-fare structure so tickets cost the same no matter where passengers travel. The exception is between Arendal and Stoa, where all passengers travel on children fare. The line has stops at Arendal, Stoa, Bråstad, Blakstad, Froland, Bøylestad, Flaten and Nelaug.History
Planning
Planning of the line started in 1874, when Aust-Agder County Municipality established a railway committee. It was created based on the national ambitions of creating a Vestland Line which would connect Rogaland and Agder to Oslo and Eastern Norway. There was controversy regarding the choice of route; while many proposals existed, the two main was an inland route and a coastal route. Nedenes County Railway Committee supported an inner route, stating the large amount of lumber which was logged in the interior parts of the county, and which depreciated in value during log driving—which could take up to three years.During the early 1880s, Norway fell into a recession and railway construction halted. By 1884, planning of the Vestland Line had halted, and instead municipalities started planning lines which would connect the coastal towns to inland lakes. The hope was that if an inland line was later built, these would also act as branch lines, giving the towns railway connections to the capital. In Nordenes, it was proposed that both Arendal and Grimstad would have a branch line, which would connect somewhere north of towns, and continue northwards into the interior. In 1891, an agreement was reached between local politicians to build a line from the lake Nisser through Åmli and Moripen to Messel, where the line would branch to Grimstad and Arendal. Originally the proposal had called for the branching to occur even closer to the coast, at Rykene. Representatives from Arendal wanted an even further away branching point, and proposed Bøylestad.
In 1892, the Ministry of Labour proposed several lines in the area. One went from Grimstad via Arendal to Nisser via Nelaug, the other were the Kragerø Line and a line connecting to Risør. It was followed up by a proposal for a line from Kongsberg—then terminus of the Sørland Line—to Grovane, which had a railway to Kristiansand. The proposed line would have branches to Skien, Kragerø, Arendal, Åmli, Risør, Grimtad, Tvedestrand and Notodden. In 1893, the proposal was rejected by the Parliament of Norway, although the section from Arendal to Åmli was approved.
The plans were based on a station on the southern shore Langesævannet in Arendal, with a branch which would continue to the port at Ormviken. Along this route it would also be possible to continue the line to Grimstad. The line passed by parliament would run from Arendal via Harebakken, Blaakestad, Lyngraat Grube and Hersel to Bøylestad to Åmli. The plans, which were not voted over, involved the line continuing northwards to the country border to Telemark, where it would branch in two and run to Drangsvannet and Tveitsund. On 1 March 1894, parliament passed The Great Railway Compromise, which in addition to among other things the Bergen Line saw several smaller lines be passed, including from Arendal to Åmli.
The parliamentary decision required that 20 percent of the 4.2 million Norwegian krone cost be granted locally. Arendal Municipality guaranteed for half of this, but the other municipalities and the county municipality were not willing to grant sufficient sums. In 1895 and 1896, a new route was surveyed via Messel instead of Hersel, and in 1896 the county council increased their grant from NOK 80,000 to 150,000 on condition that the new route be chosen. The new route was long and had a more difficult terrain.
The Norwegian State Railways supported the Hersel line because it would be NOK 388,000 cheaper, while the lumber industry supported the Messel route. At the time, the branch to Grimstad was being planned built as a private railway, and from Messel to Blakstad the Messel route and the Grimstad Line would follow the same right-of-way. The ministry supported the Messel route, and that the section south of Nelaug was to be built with trunk route standard, resulting in higher standards. The route was passed by parliament on 11 June 1898, who also reduced local grants to 15 percent.
The renaming route issue was in Arendal and from the town to Solbergvann, a small lake just outside. Six lines were proposed in 1902: one via Strømsbusletten, one via Kittelsbukt, one via Barbudalen, two via Strømsbubukten, and one through the city center. In Arendal, the original plans was to build the station outside of town at Strømsbusletten. Sam Eyde was hired to make a new plan, and he proposed filling up Kittelsbukt and placing the station in the town center. The issue was voted over in parliament on 8 June 1903, but without any decision. In 1903, Nikolai Prebensen was elected to parliament from Arendal, with his support for the Kittelsbukt alternative a major cause for him winning the election. Five proposals were made by the ministry when they again sent the issue to parliament.
Prebensen and Minister Hans Christian Albert Hansen supported the Kittelsbukt alternative, while NSB and the majority of the Railway Committee supported the Barbu alternative. Parliament first voted against the Kittelsbukt alternative, then against an alternative for Kittelsbukt where the municipality covered half of the extra expenditure, and then finally voted unanimously for the Barbu alternative. At the same time, parliament decided to build the line with narrow gauge, although the right-of-way was to be built to allow it to be converted to standard gauge later. The cost saving of building with narrow gauge was minimal, but this would allow the line to take over excess rolling stock from lines being converted from narrow to standard gauge. The upper section was to be built as class III, a light standard with a minimum curve radius of and level crossings instead of underpasses for public roads. A proposal to build the line with electric traction was rejected. On 1 July 1907, parliament amended their decision by changing the route slightly at Bøylefoss and Flatenfoss to allow dams to be built.
Construction
Construction started the section between Solbergvannet and Blakstad on 17 December 1900. By March 1903, 75 percent of the leveling was completed. Work on the lower part started in 1904, and construction of the Barbu Tunnel started in September. The earthworks from the tunnel was used to fill up part of the port. Breakthrough was made on 26 May 1906 and the tunnel was completed in June 1907. Particularly the section from Arendal to Rise and from Froland to Simonstad required much leveling, and along the from Evenstad to Foløya there was no road. Eleven barracks were built to house workers on the section.On 1 July 1907, parliamentarian Finn Blakstad criticized the progress in the construction. By then, only of the line had been leveled in addition to a few bridges being started. Given that construction had been going on for seven years, he estimated that at that speed the line would be completed in 1940. The Vestland Line Railway Committee sent a petition to the ministry on 28 November, stating that construction was going too slow, and that the municipalities had paid the necessary dues years ago. On 23 December, Lund stated that the long section between Arendal and Froland would be opened the following year. This was among other things possible after Minister of Labour Nils Ihlen had promised to increase the number of workers from 300 to 600. In 1908, a large number of new navvies came from work at the Rjukan Line, which was at the time experiencing a strike.
Work on the Bøylefossen Bridge started in early 1908 and was completed in late 1909. Several embankments were built; the largest two were at Kilandskilen, made with of earthwork, and at Foløysund, which was made with. The navvies were paid NOK 2.50 for a ten-hour work day. One person, Gustav Albertsen, was killed during construction, while laying ballast at Simonstad.
The Grimstad Line had been built faster, and was opened on 14 September 1907. On 17 October 1908, the first train ran between Arendal and Froland. However, regular services did not start until 23 November. The line had two train per day per direction, using a single train. Travel time was between 52 and 58 minutes, with intermediate stops at Bråstad, Rise and Blakstad. The first official opening of the line took place on 17 December 1910 by Prime Minister Wollert Konows, when the whole section from Arendal to Åmli was taken into use. Regular service from Froland to Åmli started the following day. The section from Arendal to Åmli cost NOK 5.3 million and received Class IV locomotives. During the early years, trains could be as long as having three locomotives and 22 cars. On Sundays, the train was used by people in Arendal to visit the surrounding areas, and these trains could have up to 400 passengers.
From the opening, there were two or three train per direction per day, of which one train only went between Froland and Arendal. Travel time between Arendal and Åmli was between two and a half and three hours. The morning trains from Åmli to Aendal and the afternoon express service the other way carried post. Post offices were established at Bøylestad, Flaten and Simonstad. Two additional stations, at Torbjørnsbu and Rossedalen, were taken into use on 1 May 1911. The same year, parliament decided that the Arendal Line would be its own district and not be administered along with the Setesdal Line from Kristiansand.
The decision to extend the line to Tveitsund was taken by parliament on 20 July 1908. The details for the section in Bratsberg was taken in 1910, and the remaining part in 1911. Construction started in late 1910 in the north, while the southern part started construction at the end of the year. About 300 people worked on the line, which saw a strike from 1 May 1912 until the end of August. Laying of track started during late 1912. North of Gaukås, the terrain was more hilly. At one place, of earth and needed to be removed to create a cutting. The line had a minimum curve radius of and had gravel ballast. The permanent way was built wide enough for the line to be converted to standard gauge.
The long section from Åmli to Tveitsund was officially opened on 14 December 1913. However, the station buildings were not yet ready, and dispatch of passenger and freight was at first done from sheds. The stations were gradually completed by 1914. All trains running to Åmli were extended to Treungen, and the line received some new rolling stock, including two Class XXIIId locomotives. The whole railway from Arendal to Tveitsund cost NOK 9.9 million.