Transportation

THE RJUKAN LINE (originally the Vestfjorddalen Line) 

A railway section running between Mæl (originally Rollag) by Lake Tinnsjå and Rjukan (originally Saaheim). The entire line is situated in Vestfjorddalen in Telemark and forms part of a continuous transport chain between Rjukan and Skien. It opened in 1909, was electrified in 1911 — becoming one of the first standard-gauge railways in Norway to be so — and was closed in 1991. The line was privately owned and operated by the Hydro subsidiary Norsk Transportaktieselskab (known as Hydro Transport from 1973 onwards), bearing the reporting mark Rj.B. (R.B. prior to 1921). The name *Rjukanbanen* (or *Rjukanbanene* in the plural) originally referred to all the railway sections between Rjukan and Notodden, whereas the section we define today as the Rjukan Line was originally named the Vestfjorddalen Line. Following the transfer of the Tinnoset Line to the Tinnoset–Porsgrunn Line (T.P.B.) in 1920, the meaning of the name gradually shifted. The Rjukanbanen Foundation was established in 1996 to operate museum services on the line, and in 2012, it became part of the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum. Regular summer tourist services commenced in 2016. The line is a cornerstone of the Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015.

HISTORY  

The Rjukan Railway was built in connection with Norsk Hydro's major industrial projects in Rjukan. There was a need to transport raw materials in and finished products out to the coast. The Rjukan Railway formed the innermost link in what was originally a four-stage transport chain extending from the factory in Rjukan to the port in Skien. The four stages were originally: The Rjukan Railway: the rail line from Rjukan to Mæl (16 km) The Lake Tinn ferries: from Mæl to Tinnoset (30 km) The Tinnoset Railway: from Tinnoset to Notodden (34 km) The Norsjø–Skien Canal: from Notodden to Skien (54 km via barges) In 1917, the Bratsberg Railway opened between Notodden and Borgestad, replacing barge transport between Skien and Notodden. As early as 1904, the Hydro company A/S Rjukanfos began planning an industrial railway between Rjukan and Notodden intended solely to serve Hydro's own needs. However, this plan met with strong local political opposition; there were concerns that the major developments would not benefit the local area, and demands were made for a standard railway capable of handling regular passenger and freight traffic. Industrial development in Vestfjorddalen, along with the associated transport infrastructure, was formally launched on April 13, 1907, when Hydro—together with a German investor group led by Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik—established the so-called "Rjukan companies": Norsk Kraftaktieselskab and A/S De Norske Salpeterverker. Norsk Transportaktieselskab was established on June 21, 1907, as a dedicated operating company for the railway and ferry services, functioning as a subsidiary of Norsk Kraftaktieselskab. The partnership with the German group proved unsuccessful; they were bought out as early as October 1911, and the assets previously held by the Rjukan companies were transferred to Rjukanfos. Construction of the Vestfjorddalen Line — along with the Lake Tinn ferries and the Tinnoset Line to Notodden — began in 1907, following the granting of a concession on July 17. Although the line was originally scheduled for completion by the summer of 1908, various factors caused delays — most notably a major strike by construction workers that lasted from June 29 to October 6. By February 18, 1909, the first internal shipments of construction materials could be transported along the entire length of the line. When King Haakon VII inaugurated the railway connection on August 9, 1909, it formed a continuous 130-kilometer transport route in conjunction with the Norsjø–Skien Canal between Notodden and Skien.

Although the Rjukan lines were built for steam operation, the intention to use electricity from the hydroelectric power plants then under construction to power the railway was already evident when the original concession application was submitted. The concession to electrify the lines was granted on June 7, 1910, and Norsk Transportakteselskab awarded the contract for the electrification work — including all equipment and five locomotives — to the German company AEG. The Vestfjorddalen Line opened for electric operation on November 30, 1911, becoming Norway's second standard-gauge railway to operate electrically, just under five months after the Tinnoset Line, which was the first. The first narrow-gauge railway in Norway to operate electrically was the Thamshavn Line, which opened in 1908, while the Skotfos Line—opened in 1892—was the first industrial railway to do so. The line originally operated on 10 kV, 16 2/3 Hz alternating current, but the voltage was raised to 15 kV — matching the rest of the Norwegian railway network—on March 18, 1966. The most significant realignment of the line took place in 1912, when a tunnel was constructed to route the track behind the planned Såheim power station. The line's operations manager from 1912 to 1929 was the engineer Kristoffer Andreas Holmboe (1871–1956), who had also overseen the construction of the Tinnoset Line. The Rjukan Line will forever be linked to the advent of modern industry in Norway, as well as to Norwegian wartime history. The battle for heavy water during World War II ended when Norwegian saboteurs sank the steam ferry DF *Hydro* at a depth of 430 meters in Lake Tinnsjøen on February 20, 1944. The Notodden – Tinnoset – Rjukan railway line operated its own post office with "conductor mail" service from 1909 to 1948.