About the Raumabanen (The Rauma Line)

In the olden days, there were no transportation facilities available people used to eat a walk or go on horse cards or animal-driven vehicles from one place to another. This was becoming very difficult, and then there was the invention of railways. Railways are one of the best means of land transport which connects a lot of places.

Railways are used for both transportation of goods and human beings. The railway is also a very cheap means of reaching somewhere. Sometimes the air tickets cost you a lot while the train tickets won’t cost you much.

Talking about railways, it is possible to reach any destination through it anywhere. The railways are available at every corner of the world. When you travel through the railway, you see a lot of scenic views along your way. So when you are traveling through the railway, you should never forget the construction of Raumabanen.

This railway is a very good railway line that is connecting a lot of villages in Norway. So if you want to know about Raumabanen in this article, you will come across all the information about it.

It is a none electrified railway, as most of the others are. But also, it runs through a single track. It lies in the southern part of Norway.  It has been named the most beautiful railway in Europe by Lonely Planet.

History of the Raumabanen

The Rauma Line, also known as the Raumabanen, was initially constructed in the years 1921 and 1924. These railways connect from the cities of Oslo and Trondheim with Dovre in its route.

Initially, the Raumabanen railway line was not to be built because there was intense rivalry between regions, and it was forced to do call a referendum. Later there was a majority, and there was a plan to make this railway. It was then approved by the parliament.

On July 20, in the year 1910, the parliament passed the proposal to co struct the Rauma railway line. But every procedure was done properly in a stepwise order. Let us see in order how it proceeded.

As we all know that before proceeding with any legal construction work, the government has to approve the proposal. The statement is given after making all the considerations like advantageous and none advantageous aspects of the project. Similarly, the construction of the Raumabanen line or the Rauma line, as known commonly, has undergone many approvals and disapprovals.

• In the year 1872, the first plan of the railway line was discussed in the meeting held by the Romsdal County Council.
• In the year 1908, the plan was proposed to be a part of the plan of the national railway. This proposal was passed by the parliament on June 9 and 10 of the same year.
• In the year 1908, August 8, the survey of the site started, which was undertaken by the ministry of labor.
• After that, in the year 1910, The plan was presented to the ministry by the board, which was then passed by the parliament.
• After this also, there were many plans passed which were regarding the concession of the construction of the railway line.

These proposals were part of the plan that was presented by the railway board. Finally, after every approval from the ministry and the Parliament, the concession for the Rauma line to be constructed as a private railway was given.

The construction of The Rauma Line

The construction of the Raumabanen was divided into four divisions based on the demographics. There were four offices which were located at main spots. There were a lot of people employed to work on this project. The railway features to cause which has great elevation and gives you scenic views of mountains all around.

The Rauma Line is around 114 km long railway that is driven. When it was opened for use, there were three stages in which it was to be worked. It was made in use in small intervals and later, they were regular operations on it.

The railway opening took place under three stages, in three different years. First opened was in the year 1921 on November 19. This route was stretching the length of 56.8 kilometers and was connecting the two stations, Dombas and Bjorli.

The second phase was opened on 25 November 1923, which was connecting the stations Bjorli and Verma and had a length of 18.3 kilometers.

But with time, the routes started to increase to other parts of the country and remote municipalities.

More information about the Raumabanen

Currently, the owner of this railway is taken by the Norwegian Rail Administration. It also connects the central or capital city of Oslo to other parts of the country of Norway.

This train is currently providing service for operating as a passenger train for a base in Norwegian state railways. The travel time is approximate 1 hour and 70 minutes which gives you express services on the train.

During the summer season, the train is especially operated for tourists, which has an audio guide with speakers where the train stops as all the landmarks by stopping it. At this time, the travel time becomes 1 hour and 35 minutes. This is because they tell the travelers every detail about the stop they are about to reach.

The Raumabanen train route covers a lot of scenic places on the way. This makes it a tourist attraction for people to travel along the railway route. The routes have a lot of elevations and deviations. Hence it could be a great and thrilling experience for the passengers.

Highlights during the train journey of the Raumabanen

This Raumabanen connects many routes, including the capital city. Hence you can observe and experience the beauty of many calm and green places on your way. Let us now see which places that you can admire while traveling on the train along the route. You get to see mountains, fields, etc.

• The rails pass from the Kylling bridge. The bridge is constructed over the Rauma bridge. And there is a beautiful scenic view that you can capture in your memory to remember. The trees bear different shades of green and yellow, which look blended in the blue skies and river.
• The Rauma river on which the Kylling bridge, and passes through the Romsalden valley is also an attraction that you can see on the way. The length of the river is approximately 68 Kilometers. The central point or the beginning of the river is a lake named Lesjaskogsvatnet, which is present in the Lesja municipality.
• Next, what you will observe besides the river in the valley of Romsalden, this Valley stretches up to 60 kilometers. Another feature of this valley is that there lies an unstable stone known by the name of Mannen. Looking at the bridge, the river, and the valley feel like it had been in the portrait paintings of an artist. Such is its artistic view.
• Trollvegen cliff is one more attraction that you will see on your way. This cliff is also known by the name Troll Wall. It makes some part of the Trolltindene mountain. These all the places are present together with very little distance. Mostly in the boundaries of the same county.

The places mentioned above will be found just after one another or at the same spot. This is because the rail route is the shortest among all the other routes in Norway. And even though it is the shortest railroad, it is also a beautiful path to travel from. You can experience the beauty of nature and a refreshing and calming environment which will also relieve your eyes and mind. Moreover, it is complemented as the most beautiful railway in Europe.