The Randers–Aalborg railway line (Danish: Randers–Aalborg jernbane) is a 80.7 km (50.1 mi)[3] long standard gauge double track railway line in Jutland, Denmark which runs through the historical region of Himmerland between the cities of Randers and Aalborg. It constitutes a section of the East Jutland longitudinal railway line (Danish: Den Østjyske Længdebane), the through route along the east coast of the Jutland Peninsula from the German border at Padborg to the port city of Frederikshavn in North Jutland.
| Randers–Aalborg line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The track and platforms at Skørping station in 2009 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | Randers–Aalborg Jernbane | ||
| Owner | Banedanmark | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 8 | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Railway | ||
| System | Danish railway | ||
| Operator(s) | DSB Nordjyske Jernbaner[1] | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 18 September 1869[2] | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 80.7 kilometres (50.1 mi)[3] | ||
| Number of tracks | Double | ||
| Character | Passenger trains Freight trains | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Electrification | None | ||
| Operating speed | 180 km/h (Randers-Hobro) 120 km/h (Hobro-Aalborg)[4] | ||
| |||
The railway opened in 1869.[2] From 1940 to 1953, the original single track railway line was converted to double track.[5] The line is owned and maintained by Rail Net Denmark and served with passenger trains operated by the Danish State Railways (DSB). The northernmost section from Skørping to Aalborg is also served by the Aalborg Commuter Rail operated by Nordjyske Jernbaner.[1]
History edit
The British civil engineering consortium Peto, Brassey and Betts was granted concession to build the Randers–Aalborg line on 18 March 1861.[2] Work on the railway line started in October 1865, and was completed in the late summer of 1869.[6] It was opened on 18 September 1869 in the presence of King Christian IX.[7]
Operations on the line commenced the following day with three trains daily in each direction.[8] The line was operated by the state-owned railway company De jysk-fyenske Jernbaner (the Funen and Jutland Railways), which merged with De sjællandske Statsbaner (the State Railways of Zealand) in 1885 to form one national railway company, De danske Statsbaner (the Danish State Railways).
During World War I traffic on the line became busy enough to be beyond the capacity of a single track. As a consequence, it was decided already in 1918 to expand the single track to a double track. However, the duplication work was only completed in different sections between 1940 and 1956, with the section from Skørping to Støvring being the last to be completed on 1 June 1956.[5]
In 2003, the Aalborg Commuter Rail, a commuter rail service in and near Aalborg, started operating on the northernmost section of the railway line from Skørping to Aalborg.[9] In 2017, operation of the regional rail services from Aalborg station to Skørping station were transferred from DSB to the local railway company Nordjyske Jernbaner.[10]
Stations edit
| Station | Distance from Randers (km) |
Distance from Aalborg (km) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Randers | 0 | 80.7 | |
|
Hobro | 31.3 | 49.4 | |
| Arden | 46.8 | 33.9 | ||
|
Skørping | 54.4 | 26.3 | |
|
Støvring | 61.8 | 18.9 | Closed in 1974, reopened in 2003 |
|
Svenstrup | 71.5 | 9.2 | Closed in 1972, reopened in 2003 |
|
Skalborg | 76.4 | 4.3 | Closed in 1972, reopened in 2003 |
|
Aalborg | 80.7 | 0 |
References edit
Citations edit
- ^ a b "Om Nordjyske Jernbaner" (in Danish). Nordjyske Jernbaner. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ a b c Jensen 1976, p. 6.
- ^ a b "Line information (TIB)" (PDF) (in Danish). Banedanmark. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
- ^ "Hastighed på Banedanmarks jernbanenet" (PDF) (in Danish). Banedanmark, 27 November 2012. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
- ^ a b Jensen 1976, p. 9–10.
- ^ Jensen 1976, p. 8–9.
- ^ Jensen 1976, p. 8.
- ^ Jensen 1976, p. 9.
- ^ "Aalborg Nærbane" (in Danish). Nordjyllands jernbaner. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
- ^ "Historien bag Nordjyske Jernbaner" (in Danish). Nordjyske Jernbaner. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
Bibliography edit
- Jensen, Niels (1972). Danske Jernbaner 1847–1892 (in Danish). Copenhagen: J. Fr. Clausens Forlag. ISBN 87-11-01765-1.
- Jensen, Niels (1976). Nordjyske jernbaner (in Danish). Copenhagen: J. Fr. Clausens Forlag. ISBN 87-11-03756-3.
Further reading edit
- Gardner, Nicky (2 November 2022). "Rail route of the month: the slow train to Skagen, Denmark, where the North Sea meets the Baltic". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
External links edit
- (in Danish) Banedanmark – government agency responsible for maintenance and traffic control of most of the Danish railway network
- (in Danish) DSB – largest Danish train operating company
- (in Danish) Nordjyske Jernbaner – Danish railway company operating in North Jutland Region
- (in Danish) Danske Jernbaner – website with information on railway history in Denmark
- (in Danish) Nordjyllands Jernbaner – website with information on railway history in North Jutland