Dovre Line

From Trondheim up through Trøndelag's valleys and over the bare Dovrefjell plateau to the mountain junction of Dombås, filmed from the driver's seat.

The route

The Dovre Line is Norway's main railway between Oslo and Trondheim, running north through Gudbrandsdalen and then straight over the Dovrefjell mountains. It was built in stages over decades. The Trondheim–Støren section opened as a narrow-gauge line in 1864, the line reached Dombås from the south in 1913, and the missing 158 km mountain link from Dombås to Støren opened in 1921. The complete line was officially opened on 17 September 1921.

The crossing of Dovrefjell is what sets this line apart. North of Hjerkinn the track reaches 1,024 m above sea level, and from Kongsvoll it drops down the narrow Drivdalen valley along the Driva river towards Oppdal. The old Støren line was converted to standard gauge at the same time, so through trains could run from Oslo to Trondheim. Electrification of the whole line was completed on 1 November 1970.

Today the line carries long-distance trains, freight and some local traffic around Trondheim. Since June 2020 the express trains between Oslo and Trondheim have been run by SJ Norge under the SJ Nord brand, and the fastest service takes 6 hours 37 minutes. At Dombås the Rauma Line, opened in 1924, branches off west to Åndalsnes. On the mountain section some stations, such as Kongsvoll and Hjerkinn, have no village of their own and are used mainly by walkers and skiers.

What you will see

The video starts at Trondheim Central Station and follows the line south along the old Støren route, the oldest part of the journey. After Støren the railway leaves the Trondheim area behind and climbs to Berkåk in Rennebu, at about 430 m, through farmland and spruce forest. Oppdal, at about 545 m, is the largest place on the mountain section; a restaurant and tourist hotel were built beside the station in the 1920s, and tourism here grew with the railway.

South of Oppdal the line enters Drivdalen and climbs along the Driva to Kongsvoll, an unstaffed station at about 887 m used mainly by hikers and skiers. Above it the valley opens onto the treeless plateau of Dovrefjell. Hjerkinn station stands at about 1,017 m with no village around it, only an army base and the national park nearby; the summit of the line comes about a kilometre to the north.

From Hjerkinn the track runs down across the fell to Dombås at 659 m, where the Rauma Line joins. The original station building burned in April 1940 during the German invasion, and Captain Robert M. Losey, the first American killed in the Second World War, died here in a bombing raid on 21 April 1940. The uploader notes deer, an eagle and a birdstrike along the way, so keep an eye on the track ahead.

Riding it for real

SJ Norge runs the express trains between Oslo and Trondheim, with four daily trains in each direction calling at the mountain stations such as Oppdal, Kongsvoll, Hjerkinn and Dombås. There are also some commuter trains from Oppdal and Berkåk to Trondheim, and at Dombås you can change for the Rauma Line to Åndalsnes.

Kongsvoll and Hjerkinn are good stops for walks on Dovrefjell, but services there are sparse, so plan the return train before you get off. Check SJ for current timetables and fares before you travel.

The video is embedded from YouTube and remains on its owner’s channel. Views count toward the original video.