Norsk Transport
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Transport |
| Fate | Closed |
| Founded | 13 April 1907 |
| Defunct | 4 July 1991 |
| Headquarters | Tinn, Norway |
| Parent | Norsk Hydro |
Norsk Transport AS was a railway- and shipping company responsible for the transport of chemicals from Norsk Hydro Rjukan. A subsidiary of Norsk Hydro, the company was founded in 1907 and operated until 1991.
To transport the products to the coastal port at Skien, Norsk Hydro needed to build an extensive railway network. Cargo was stored in tank cars and transported down the 16-kilometre (10 mi) Rjukanbanen to Mæl, where it was transferred to the Tinnsjø railway ferry. After a 30-kilometre (19 mi) ride across the lake, it was again transferred to Tinnoset Line and transported 34 kilometres (21 mi) to Notodden where it was transshipped to barges and transported down the Telemark Canal. After 1919 the final stage was replaced with the 74-kilometre (46 mi) Bratsberg Line; simultaneously the Tinnoset Line was nationalized and taken over by Norges Statsbaner.
Founded as Norsk Transportaktieselskap on 13 April 1907 at the same time as Rjukan Salpeterfabrik, the company was a 50/50 joint venture between Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab (today Norsk Hydro) and Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik (today BASF). It received a thirty-year concession on 17 July 1907 to build—with necessary expropriations—and operate a railway from Rjukan to Notodden.
On 31 May 1913 Norsk Transport and Norges Statsbaner (NSB) agreed to build the Bratsberg Line, which would extend the Tinnoset Line from Notodden to the coastal port. The agreement meant the railway line would become a joint venture between the two, while operations south of Tinnoset would be performed by NSB. Norsk Transport would remain the owner and operator of Rjukanbanen and the ferries. Norsk Hydro was forced to subsidize both the Tinnoset Line and the Bratsberg Line, and on 1 July 1953 Norsk Transport sold their stake to NSB.
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