This year, it is one hundred years since the Bergen Line opened. Throughout this time, the railway line has been present in the high mountains with the personnel and equipment necessary to keep the line between Norway’s two largest cities open.
During the anniversary year, there will be a wide range of events and arrangements along the whole of the Bergen Line. Among them will be a new exhibition at the Rallarmuseet (Navvy’s museum) at Finse which recounts the struggle to keep the line open during the winter.
Continual challenges
Rough weather, wind, extreme temperatures and avalanche risk exist today as they did 100 years ago. ‘Of course, we now have a completely different working day, compared to just 20 years ago,’ says Kjell Erik Giljarhus, snow co-ordinator at Finse. The main reason is the Finse tunnel and the Gråskallen tunnels with their crossover points inside the mountain.
‘These days, it is the section from Lågheller, west of Finse tunnel and down to Myrdal, which gives us the greatest challenges,’ says Geir Roe and Ottar Stegen, who operate the Beilhack snow plough. Here, the line traverses steep terrain which is exposed to avalanches, just as it was at the opening in 1909.
Snow co-ordinator
Up until 1967, the railway had stationed its line inspectors at inspector’s dwellings along the whole of the high mountain section. Then the teams moved to Finse which, at the time, had several hundred inhabitants, a school, community centre and shop, in addition to a hotel and Finsehytta (Finse mountain lodge).
In 1993, a huge change occurred to the high mountain snow-clearing operation at Finse. The Finse tunnel opened and all snow plough and permanent way services were moved to Geilo and Myrdal, respectively.
