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Follo Line

Follo Line
NSB type 69 ved Ski stasjon TRS 070804 022.jpg
Ski Station will serve as the southern terminus of the Follo Line
Overview
Native name Follobanen
Type High-speed railway
System Norwegian railways
Status Planned
Termini Oslo S
Ski
Operation
Opened 2020-2021 (estimate)
Owner Norwegian National Rail Administration
Character Passenger
Technical
Number of tracks Double
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Electrification 15 kV 16 23 Hz AC
Operating speed 250 km/h (155 mph)
Route map
Oslo Central Station
Hoved Line
Loenga–Alnabru Line
Østfold Line
Østfold Line
Ski Station
Eastern Østfold Line
Østfold Line

The Follo Line (Norwegian: Follobanen) is a planned 22.5-kilometer (14.0 mi) high-speed railway between Oslo and Ski, Norway. Running parallel to the Østfold Line, it will be engineered for 250 km/h (155 mph). Terminal stations will be Oslo Central Station and Ski Station. Most of the line, 19 kilometres (12 mi), will be in a single tunnel, which will be the longest railway tunnel in the country. Construction is estimated to start in 2014, and may be completed by 2020/21. The Follo Line will increase capacity from twelve to forty trains per hour along the South Corridor, and will allow express and regional trains to decrease travel time from Ski to Oslo from 22 to 11 minutes. The line is prospected to cost over 20 billion Norwegian krone (NOK).

The project is a continuation of the Norwegian National Rail Administration's plan to build four tracks along the three main corridors out of Oslo; the Gardermoen Line was completed in 1998, and the Asker Line has been completed in 2011. Between 1989 and 1996, the Østfold Line south of Ski to Moss was upgraded to double track and higher speeds. To take full advantage of this and allow the rest of the Østfold Line to be upgraded for high speeds, it is necessary to increase capacity through the bottleneck from Oslo to Ski. The first plans for the Follo Line were launched in 1995, and also included an intermediate station at Vevelstad and Kolbotn. The new line is predicted to increase rush hour rail ridership 63%, and increased freight on rail would remove 750 trucks daily from European Route E18.

The first railway in the Follo district was the Østfold Line of the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) that opened on 2 January 1879, between Oslo East Station and Halden. Later the same year, the line was extended to the Swedish border, where it connected to the Norway/Vänern Line. The importance of Ski Station increased on 24 November 1882, when it became the station where the Eastern Østfold Line split, and went via Inner Østfold to Sarpsborg, where the two lines reconnected. Electrification of the section from Oslo to Kolbotn was completed on 18 January 1937, and the section to Ski finished in 1939; the whole Østfold line was completed in 1940. Between 1924 and 1939, NSB built double track along the route between Ski and Oslo. From 1989 to 1996, NSB upgraded the track to double track from Ski to Sandbuka, just north of Moss. This section is capable of speeds of 200 km/h (120 mph), however the maximum is 160 km/h (99 mph) due to short distances between stops and limitations of the rolling stock.


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Wikipedia

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