Nordbanen
Encyclopedia
Nordbanen is one of six radial S-train
lines in Copenhagen
. It connects Copenhagen with the city of Hillerød
, and with several northern suburbs.
which stops at all stations until Holte, and E
which runs with limited stops until Holte and then stops at all stations until Hillerød.
Between 1950 and 1989 rush-hour and limited-stop on the radial ran under service letters C, Cc and Cx. Service A
ran on Nordbanen from 1979 to 2007, first as the stopping service until Holte and later (from 1989) as the limited-stop service to Hillerød.
before the more direct Kystbanen
opened in 1897. The section from Hillerød to Elsinore still exists and is today the Lille Nord part of the Lokalbanen
system of local railways around Copenhagen.
South of Hellerup the original Nordbanen followed a much more westerly route than the current line, taking it along the present ring line
alignment to Ryparken and thence through Nørrebro
to the 1863-1911 central station at present-day Kampmannsgade. The trains to Holte and Hillerød moved to the current line in 1921, but the old alignment was used by freight trains until 1930 and still leaves clear traces on a modern street map.
The line from Hellerup to the new central station had four tracks of which trains on Nordbanen used the two western ones and trains on Kystbanen
used to two eastern ones. In 1928 two new tracks for local trains
to Klampenborg
were added to Kystbanen; these connected to Nordbanen's tracks at Hellerup. Thus when the first S-trains were introduced on the Klampenborg line in 1934 it was the Nordbanen tracks between København H and Hellerup that were electrified. But then plans to also electrify Nordbanen as far as Holte were already underfoot.
Early on, a service pattern had been established in which local trains between Copenhagen and Holte were complemented by trains to Hillerød and Helsingør which ran non-stop until Holte. The local trains to Holte were converted to S-trains in 1936, but trains to Hillerød and beyond were still steam trains for several decades, even though they shared the S-train tracks south of Holte.
The Hillerød trains became a problem in the 1960s when capacity on the central S-train section became a limiting factor for service extensions on the western radials. The steam trains had poor acceleration relative to the S-trains and therefore tied up the tracks for twice as long as an S-train would. In order to free this capacity the line from Holte to Hillerød were electrified in 1968 and the steam train replaced by S-trains.
Extending the S-trains to Hillerød turned out to be oddly controversial in the very areas whose service would be improved. Perhaps the inhabitants of the traditionally well-off cities north of Holte were afraid that disagreeable persons form Copenhagen would get too easy access to their neighbourhoods? For several years, in order to counter this opposition DSB
maintained an official fiction that the trains to Hillerød were not really "S-trains" but simply trains that happened to be electrically propelled. One of the consequences was that the Hillerød trains carried a first-class car, otherwise not seen on the S-train network. The first-class cars were declassified to second class in 1972.
Likewise, the Hillerød trains kept the stopping pattern of the steam trains and ran non-stop all the way from Østerport to Holte. Only from 1989 did this tradition break down, and the Hillerød services gradually gained intermediate stops at Hellerup (1989) and Lyngby (1991), and finally (1995) at all stations between Østerport and Hellerup.
S-Train
The S-train network is a combined urban rapid transit and suburban rail network of Metropolitan Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects the city center with the inner suburbs of Copenhagen, and has close to half of the stations within the urban city. The first line was opened in 1934...
lines in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. It connects Copenhagen with the city of Hillerød
Hillerød
Hillerød Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden . The municipality covers an area of 191 km² , and has a total population of 46,568...
, and with several northern suburbs.
Stations
| Name | Services | Opened | S-trains | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| København H København H Copenhagen Central Station is the largest train station in Denmark, located in Copenhagen, with entrances to Bernstorffsgade , Banegårdspladsen, Reventlowsgade and access to platforms from Tietgensgade... |
B, E | November 30, 1911 | May 15, 1934 | Central station; also all other radials; bus terminal; cross-link express bus 250S |
| Vesterport | B, E | May 15, 1934 | Also all other radials | |
| Nørreport | B, E | July 1, 1918 | May 15, 1934 | Also all other radials; transfer to metro Copenhagen Metro Copenhagen Metro is a rapid transit system serving Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Tårnby in Denmark. The system opened between 2002 and 2007, and has two lines, M1 and M2. The driverless light metro supplements the larger S-train rapid transit system, and is integrated with DSB local trains and... ; bus terminal; cross-link express buses 150S and 350S |
| Østerport | B, E | August 2, 1897 | May 15, 1934 | Also all other radials; named Østerbro until 1934 |
| Nordhavn Nordhavn station Nordhavn station is an S-train station served by the A, H, B, C, and E services in Copenhagen, Denmark. The station opened on 15 May 1934.... |
B, E | May 15, 1934 | Also Farum Hareskovbanen Hareskovbanen is one of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It connects the city center to a number of northwestern suburbs and the cities of Værløse and Farum, with the terminus placed in the latter.-Stations:... and Klampenborg Klampenborgbanen Klampenborgbanen is the shortest of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It runs parallel to the Kystbanen regional line from central Copenhagen until Klampenborg, and serves residential neighbourhoods in eastern Gentofte as well as popular recreational destinations at Klampenborg such as... radials |
|
| Svanemøllen Svanemøllen station Svanemøllen station is an S-train station served by the A, H, B, C, and E services in Copenhagen, Denmark.... |
B, E | May 15, 1934 | Also Farum Hareskovbanen Hareskovbanen is one of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It connects the city center to a number of northwestern suburbs and the cities of Værløse and Farum, with the terminus placed in the latter.-Stations:... and Klampenborg Klampenborgbanen Klampenborgbanen is the shortest of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It runs parallel to the Kystbanen regional line from central Copenhagen until Klampenborg, and serves residential neighbourhoods in eastern Gentofte as well as popular recreational destinations at Klampenborg such as... radials |
|
| Hellerup Hellerup Station Hellerup Station is a railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark, serviced by S-trains on the B, C, E, and F services, and by Kystbanen regional trains. The station was designed by V.C.H. Wolf and opened on 22 July 1863, simultaneous with the start of service on the Klampenborg line.... |
B, E | July 22, 1863 | May 15, 1934 | Also Klampenborg Klampenborgbanen Klampenborgbanen is the shortest of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It runs parallel to the Kystbanen regional line from central Copenhagen until Klampenborg, and serves residential neighbourhoods in eastern Gentofte as well as popular recreational destinations at Klampenborg such as... radial; transfer to ring line Ringbanen Ringbanen is an S-train line in Copenhagen. It runs roughly semicircularly around the central part of Copenhagen and connects the S-train radials about 5 km out.... ; bus terminal |
| Bernstorffsvej Bernstorffsvej station Bernstorffsvej station is a station on the Hillerød radial of the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was opened on the 15th of May, 1936, together with the S-train line Hellerup-Holte.... |
B | May 15, 1936 | ||
| Gentofte Gentofte station Gentofte station is a station on the Hillerød radial of the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark.It is located centrally in Gentofte municipality.... |
B | October 1, 1863 | May 15, 1936 | |
| Jægersborg Jægersborg station Jægersborg station is a station on the Hillerød radial of the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark.It is also the southern terminus of the Nærumbanen local railway.... |
B | May 15, 1936 | Transfer to Nærumbanen Nærumbanen Nærumbanen is a short railway in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, now part of the Lokalbanen system. It runs light trains that connect to the S-train system at Jægersborg and serve mainly local neighborhoods in Lyngby-Taarbæk municipality and Nærum in Rudersdal.-Stations:-Operations:Despite... |
|
| Lyngby Lyngby station Lyngby station is a station on the Hillerød radial of the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located centrally in Kongens Lyngby. With its large bus terminal, it is an important hub for public transport in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen.... |
B, E | October 1, 1863 | May 15, 1936 | Major bus terminal; cross-link express buses 200S, 300S, 400S |
| Sorgenfri Sorgenfri station Sorgenfri station is a station on the Hillerød radial of the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves the southern part of Virum and is named for the nearby Sorgenfri palace.-References:... |
B | May 15, 1936 | ||
| Virum Virum station Virum station is a station on the Hillerød radial of the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves the neighbourhood of Virum north of Lyngby.-References:... |
B | May 15, 1936 | ||
| Holte Holte station Holte station is the railway station in Holte near Copenhagen, Denmark. It is served by S-trains on the Hillerød radial.... |
B, E | June 8, 1864 | May 15, 1936 | Service B terminates; bus terminal |
| Birkerød Birkerød station Birkerød station is the railway station in Birkerød north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is served by S-trains on the Hillerød radial.The railway station was built in 1864 and the first S-trains were used in 1968.... |
E | June 8, 1864 | May 26, 1968 | Cross-link express bus 500S |
| Høvelte | (E) | ?? | May 26, 1968 | Military base train station; not in the public timetable; only few trains from Copenhagen, none to Copenhagen |
| Allerød Allerød station Allerød station is the railway station in Allerød north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is served by S-trains on the Hillerød radial. Originally it was named Lillerød, but the name was changed in 1952 to prevent confusion with nearby Hillerød.... |
E | June 8, 1864 | May 26, 1968 | Named Lillerød until 1952 |
| Hillerød Hillerød station Hillerød station is the railway station in the city of Hillerød north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the terminus of four railways lines:* An S-train line from Copenhagen* Frederiksværkbanen, part of the Lokalbanen system... |
E | June 8, 1864 | May 26, 1968 | Transfer to Frederiksværkbanen, Gribskovbanen Gribskovbanen Gribskovbanen is a local passenger railway north of Copenhagen in Denmark, now part of the Lokalbanen system. It runs north from Hillerød where transfers from the S-train system as well as other Lokalbanen lines are possible, and through the Grib Skov forest... , Lille Nord; major bus terminal; cross-link express bus 600S |
Service patterns
The basic service consists of service BB (S-train)
B is a service on the S-train network in Copenhagen. It runs between Høje Taastrup and Holte and provides stopping services on the S-train system's Tåstrup radial and the inner part of the Hillerød radial....
which stops at all stations until Holte, and E
E (S-train)
E is a service on the S-train network in Copenhagen. It runs between Køge and Hillerød, serving the outer ends of the Køge radial and the Hillerød radial...
which runs with limited stops until Holte and then stops at all stations until Hillerød.
Between 1950 and 1989 rush-hour and limited-stop on the radial ran under service letters C, Cc and Cx. Service A
A (S-train)
A is a service on the S-train network in Copenhagen. It is one of the base services on the network, running every 20 minutes from about 5:00 to 0:30 every day, and every 10 minutes from about 6:15 to 19:00. It runs between Hundige and Farum, serving all stations on the inner part of the Køge radial...
ran on Nordbanen from 1979 to 2007, first as the stopping service until Holte and later (from 1989) as the limited-stop service to Hillerød.
History
Nordbanen was the second railway to reach Copenhagen in 1863. It was originally the main line to ElsinoreElsinore
Helsingør is a city and the municipal seat of Helsingør municipality on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. Helsingør has a population of 46,279 including the southern suburbs of Snekkersten and Espergærde...
before the more direct Kystbanen
Kystbanen
The Coast Line is a regional railway line between Helsingør and Copenhagen in Denmark. It was opened in 1897, and it is today the busiest railway line in Denmark...
opened in 1897. The section from Hillerød to Elsinore still exists and is today the Lille Nord part of the Lokalbanen
Lokalbanen
Lokalbanen A/S is a Danish company responsible for train operation and related passenger services on various railways around Copenhagen. Owned by the Greater Copenhagen Authority , Lokalbanen was established in 2001 following HUR's acquisition of the share of the railway lines previously owned by...
system of local railways around Copenhagen.
South of Hellerup the original Nordbanen followed a much more westerly route than the current line, taking it along the present ring line
Ringbanen
Ringbanen is an S-train line in Copenhagen. It runs roughly semicircularly around the central part of Copenhagen and connects the S-train radials about 5 km out....
alignment to Ryparken and thence through Nørrebro
Nørrebro
Nørrebro is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate , which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station.-Geography:...
to the 1863-1911 central station at present-day Kampmannsgade. The trains to Holte and Hillerød moved to the current line in 1921, but the old alignment was used by freight trains until 1930 and still leaves clear traces on a modern street map.
The line from Hellerup to the new central station had four tracks of which trains on Nordbanen used the two western ones and trains on Kystbanen
Kystbanen
The Coast Line is a regional railway line between Helsingør and Copenhagen in Denmark. It was opened in 1897, and it is today the busiest railway line in Denmark...
used to two eastern ones. In 1928 two new tracks for local trains
to Klampenborg
Klampenborgbanen
Klampenborgbanen is the shortest of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It runs parallel to the Kystbanen regional line from central Copenhagen until Klampenborg, and serves residential neighbourhoods in eastern Gentofte as well as popular recreational destinations at Klampenborg such as...
were added to Kystbanen; these connected to Nordbanen's tracks at Hellerup. Thus when the first S-trains were introduced on the Klampenborg line in 1934 it was the Nordbanen tracks between København H and Hellerup that were electrified. But then plans to also electrify Nordbanen as far as Holte were already underfoot.
Early on, a service pattern had been established in which local trains between Copenhagen and Holte were complemented by trains to Hillerød and Helsingør which ran non-stop until Holte. The local trains to Holte were converted to S-trains in 1936, but trains to Hillerød and beyond were still steam trains for several decades, even though they shared the S-train tracks south of Holte.
The Hillerød trains became a problem in the 1960s when capacity on the central S-train section became a limiting factor for service extensions on the western radials. The steam trains had poor acceleration relative to the S-trains and therefore tied up the tracks for twice as long as an S-train would. In order to free this capacity the line from Holte to Hillerød were electrified in 1968 and the steam train replaced by S-trains.
Extending the S-trains to Hillerød turned out to be oddly controversial in the very areas whose service would be improved. Perhaps the inhabitants of the traditionally well-off cities north of Holte were afraid that disagreeable persons form Copenhagen would get too easy access to their neighbourhoods? For several years, in order to counter this opposition DSB
Danske Statsbaner
DSB, an abbreviation of Danske Statsbaner , is the largest Danish train operating company, and the largest in Scandinavia. While DSB is responsible for passenger train operation on most of the Danish railways, goods transport and railway maintenance are outside its scope...
maintained an official fiction that the trains to Hillerød were not really "S-trains" but simply trains that happened to be electrically propelled. One of the consequences was that the Hillerød trains carried a first-class car, otherwise not seen on the S-train network. The first-class cars were declassified to second class in 1972.
Likewise, the Hillerød trains kept the stopping pattern of the steam trains and ran non-stop all the way from Østerport to Holte. Only from 1989 did this tradition break down, and the Hillerød services gradually gained intermediate stops at Hellerup (1989) and Lyngby (1991), and finally (1995) at all stations between Østerport and Hellerup.