The Hell–Sunnan Line () is a railway line between Hell (in Stjørdal Municipality) and Sunnan (in Steinkjer Municipality) in Trøndelag county, Norway. The name is no longer in official use and the line is now considered part of the Nordland Line. The Hell–Sunnan Line branches from the Meråker Line at Hell and runs on the east shore of the Trondheimsfjord passing through Stjørdal Municipality, Levanger Municipality, Verdal Municipality, Inderøy Municipality, and Steinkjer Municipality.
The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) started construction in 1899 and the first part of the line, from Hell to Stjørdalshalsen, opened on 1 February 1902. The railway opened to Levanger on 29 October 1902, to Verdalsøra on 1 November 1904 and to Sunnan on 15 November 1905. Sunnan was chosen as terminus because of its location on the southern end of the lake of Snåsavatnet. The line was further extended to Snåsa in 1926, after which it has been classified as part of the Nordland Line. The railway is the most heavily trafficked non-electrified line in Norway, with the Trøndelag Commuter Rail running south of Steinkjer. It is also used by intercity passenger and freight trains.
Route
The Hell–Sunnan Line constitutes the section of the Nordland Line between Hell, Stjørdal and Sunnan, Steinkjer.Hoås and Stene (2006): 5 At the time of the line's opening, it was long.Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009): 44 The railway is single track,Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009): 6 standard gauge, non-electrified,Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009): 4 and equipped with centralized traffic control,Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009): 37 partial automatic train control,Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009): 40 and GSM-R.Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009): 42 The railway line is owned and maintained by the Norwegian National Rail Administration.Norwegian National Rail Administration (2009): 3
Starting in the south at Hell Station, which is located from Trondheim Central Station (Trondheim S), the Meråker Line branches from the Nordland Line. The latter crosses the river of Stjørdalselva on a truss bridge. It passes the closed Sandferhus Station before reaching Trondheim Airport Station ( from Trondheim S), which serves as an airport rail link and is situated below the terminal of Trondheim Airport, Værnes.Bjerke and Holom (1994): 95 Previously there was a spur from Sandferhus to Værnes and Øyanmoen.Bjerke and Holom (1994): 92 The mainline continues under the airport's taxiway and runway in the two Værnes Tunnels, the latter which is long, after which the line reaches Stjørdal Station ().
The line continues past the closed Vold Station, which was built to serve a mill,Hoås and Stene (2006): 27 to Skatval, through which the line makes a semi-circular detour.Bjerke and Holom (1994): 93 Here it serves Skatval Station () and the closed Alstad Station. Alstad was previously an important station as it was conveniently placed for boat access from Frosta Municipality.Hoås and Stene (2006): 29 Located at above mean sea level (AMSL), it was the highest elevated station on the line. The line then enters the municipality of Levanger, where it first reaches the closed Langstein Station and then the closed Vudu Station. After Vudu, the line reaches its highest elevation of when it crosses over European Road 6 (E6). The line then reaches Åsen Station () before continuing past the closed Hammerberg Station to Ronglan Station ().
Before reaching Skogn Station (), a spur branches off to Fiborgtangen, serving Norske Skog Skogn. The mainline continues past Eggen Station and over the E6, past the closed Sykehuset Levanger Station, which served Levanger Hospital, before reaching Levanger Station (). It then crosses the river Levangselva on a bridge. It passes the closed Elberg Station and to reach HiNT Station (), which serves the Levanger campus of Nord-Trøndelag University College.
The line continues past the closed Østborg Station and Rinnan Station before entering the municipality of Verdal. After Bergsgrav Station (), which serves the neighborhood of Vinne, a spur branches off to Verdal's industrial area. The mainline crosses the river of Verdalselva on a truss bridge before reaching Verdal Station (). It is followed by the closed Fleskhus Station and Bjørga Station before entering the municipality of Inderøy at the Koabjørgen Tunnel. The only station in Inderøy is Røra Station (); however the line does not enter Steinkjer before passing through the Lunnan Tunnel.
After passing the closed Vollan Station, the line reaches Sparbu Station (). It then passes the closed Mære Station and Vist Station and crosses over the bridge over Figgja to reach Steinkjer Station (). The line runs over the river of Steinkjerelva on a truss bridge. Then come two spurs, to Eggebogen and Byafossen. The line continues past the closed Byafossen Station and Fossemvatnet Station and terminates at the closed Sunnan Station (). The Nordland Line continues over a bridge across Snåsavatnet.
History
Planning Planning of a railway to connect Trøndelag and Jämtland, Sweden, started in 1869, with one of the proposals being to build a line from Trondheim via Verdal to Sweden.Røe (1982): 10–11 However, surveys along the Verdal proposed route deemed it unsuitable,Røe (1982): 12–13 and instead the line was built via Stjørdalen and Meråker. To conform with Swedish standards, the line was built with standard gauge instead of the in Norway more common narrow gauge.Røe (1982): 14–15 The Meråker Line opened on 22 July 1882.
In Stjørdal, controversy arose over the route. The river of Stjørdalselva creates a barrier just north of Hell, which made it cheaper to build the line on the south shore of the river to Hegra. However, the major population center was located at Stjørdalshalsen, on the north shore of the river. Locally, there were many protests against the line bypassing such a large town, but the cost of the bridge made Parliament choose the southern alternative. This gave residents in the town a route to the train, since they had to cross the river to get access to the railway.Museumskart 116: Deler av Trondhimsfjorden: Nord-Trøndelag,Sør-Trøndelag (1897) This decreased the railway's ability to compete with the steam ships and thus the overall profitability of the line.Røe (1982): 16–17 With the arrival of the railway, transport to Trondheim became much easier than to Stjørdalshalsen and Levanger, helping Trondheim grow as a regional center.Røe (1982): 44–46
The Nordland Line was first publicly proposed by Ole Tobias Olsen in a letter to the editor in Morgenbladet in 1872, where he argued for a railway between Trondheim and his home county of Nordland.Hoås and Stene (2006): 14 The same year, Nord-Trøndelag County Council voted in favor to start planning of a railway between Trondheim and Namsos.Hoås and Stene (2006): 15 The county council appointed a railway committee in 1875,Hoås and Stene (2006): 18 who on 23 August 1876 published a report to encourage national authorities to consider the line,Hoås and Stene (2006): 19 which resulted in surveying starting in 1877. On 27 April 1881, the committee made its recommendation to the county council and ceased its work. No planning was done the next three years, until three county councilors, Vilhelm Andreas Wexelsen, Peter Theodor Holst and Bernhard Øverland, made a new proposal.Hoås and Stene (2006): 20 However, it was not until 1889 that the county council appointed a new railway committee, which was led by Wexelsen.Hoås and Stene (2006): 21
In 1891, the county's road committee, led by Øverland, sent an official request to the railway committee, asking for details about their plans, so the appropriate roads could be planned. This spurred the committees work and a cooperation with Nordland County Council was initiated to increase the projects priority by national politicians.Hoås and Stene (2006): 22 On 2 March 1896, with 87 against 27 votes, Parliament passed legislation approving a railway from Hell to Sunnan. Costs were estimated at 8.75 million Norwegian krone (NOK), of which 15 percent was to be financed with local grants and the remainder by the state. Construction was scheduled to take 15 years. The decision initially called for the railway to be built in two stages, with the split at Rinnan in Levanger—the site of the military camp Rinnleiret.Hoås and Stene (2006): 23 Final approval of construction was made by Parliament on 11 June 1898.Hoås and Stene (2006): 24
Construction At Hell, there arose a disagreement about where the Hell–Sunnan Line should branch from the Meråker Line. Initial proposals were to place the branch from a location before Hell Station, thus forcing trains to back up from Hell Station before continuing northwards. The station building at Hell was also too small for the increased traffic, so it was moved to Sunnan Station and a new station building, with capacity for 25 employees, was built at Hell.Hoås and Stene (2006): 26 In Skatval, there was a controversy as to whether the station should be built at Mæhre or Alstad. Mæhre (later Skatval) had support from the municipal council and was closer to the larger share of the area's population. However, the military wanted Alstad, as it was a rally point for the military in case of a Swedish invasion, and gave easy waterway access from Frosta.Hoås and Stene (2006): 28 The station was placed at Mæhre, while a passing loop was built at Alstad.
The most difficult work was through Grubbåsen, near Åsen. The ground consisted of quick clay, which the railway was to pass through in a trench. On 5 May 1900, a landslide filled the trench, killing three navvies.Hoås and Stene (2006): 30 Past the lake of Nesvannet, there was also weak soil mechanics, resulting in the need for piling. One worker was killed after getting hit by a piling log.Hoås and Stene (2006): 31 In Levanger, there was debate as to whether the station should be on the west or east side of the tracks, with the decision falling on the west side.Hoås and Stene (2006): 32 The section from Hell to Stjørdal started revenue service on 1 February 1902. The section from Stjørdalshalsen to Levanger was officially opened on 27 October 1902,Hoås and Stene (2006): 35 with ordinary services starting on 29 October.Hoås and Stene (2006): 37
Construction on the line's second part, from Levanger to Sunnan, started in 1901. Part of the reason for the early start was to help employ older navvies who were working on the southern section during the summer.Hoås and Stene (2006): 45 By early 1904, the right-of-way to Fleskhus was completed and the laying of tracks could begin.Hoås and Stene (2006): 46 The bridge over Verdalselva was built using of stone, which had to be transported from Bagloåsen in Levanger. The superstructure was built by Vulkan of Oslo and was installed between 9 September and 27 November 1903.Hoås and Stene (2006): 47
In Verdalsøra there again arose a debate over which side of the tracks the station should be on. The townspeople wanted it on the west side, which was on the same side as the town center, while farmers wanted it east side, which was most accessible from the valley. The result was that the station was placed on the east side.Hoås and Stene (2006): 50 The section from Levanger to Verdal was opened on 1 November 1904, although the station building was not completed until 1905. At the time there were two trains per direction per day, one passenger train and one post train.Hoås and Stene (2006): 51