Tønsberg Station
Encyclopedia
Tønsberg Station on the Vestfold Line, is the main railway station in the town of Tønsberg
in Vestfold
, Norway
. The station is located in the downtown area, to the east of the hill Slottsfjellet. It is located at an altitude of 14.5 metres (47.6 ft) above mean sea level
, and is 115.68 kilometres (71.9 mi) from Oslo Central Station. The current station is from 1915.
When Vestfoldbanen first opened in 1881, Tønsberg was accessed to by means of a branch line
running in a 221 metres (725.1 ft) long tunnel through Slottsfjell. At that time the Tønsberg station was a terminal station and trains had to reverse direction in Tønsberg, usually the cars were pushed into the station. This was a cumbersome operation, and in 1915 the current layout was opened. Now trains from the east run in a loop around Tønsberg city before entering the station and no reversing is necessary. On 11 May 1934, Norsk Spisevognselskap
took over operation of the station restaurant. In 1948, a separate building for the restaurant was opened.
The loop does take up space however, and in 2002 the Tønsberg city council passed a resolution to replace the loop with a single line, reintroducing the simple cul-de-sac station. The Norwegian National Rail Administration, who owns the railway, protested, pointing out that turning trains around would hold it up for ten minutes. There have been calls to continue the discussion.
Tønsberg
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....
in Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The station is located in the downtown area, to the east of the hill Slottsfjellet. It is located at an altitude of 14.5 metres (47.6 ft) above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
, and is 115.68 kilometres (71.9 mi) from Oslo Central Station. The current station is from 1915.
When Vestfoldbanen first opened in 1881, Tønsberg was accessed to by means of a branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
running in a 221 metres (725.1 ft) long tunnel through Slottsfjell. At that time the Tønsberg station was a terminal station and trains had to reverse direction in Tønsberg, usually the cars were pushed into the station. This was a cumbersome operation, and in 1915 the current layout was opened. Now trains from the east run in a loop around Tønsberg city before entering the station and no reversing is necessary. On 11 May 1934, Norsk Spisevognselskap
Norsk Spisevognselskap
Norsk Spisevognselskap A/S, often abbreviated NSS or shortened to Spisevognselskapet, was a Norwegian state enterprise which operated restaurant carriages on Norwegian trains and restaurants at train stations and railway hotels. The company was established in December 1918, and started a catering...
took over operation of the station restaurant. In 1948, a separate building for the restaurant was opened.
The loop does take up space however, and in 2002 the Tønsberg city council passed a resolution to replace the loop with a single line, reintroducing the simple cul-de-sac station. The Norwegian National Rail Administration, who owns the railway, protested, pointing out that turning trains around would hold it up for ten minutes. There have been calls to continue the discussion.