Background
Compared to continental European countries, Norway is far more sparsely populated and quite mountainous. On the one hand this causes problems filling up trains, especially compared to other European projects and will give difficulties reaching necessary passenger numbers. On the other hand Norwegians travel considerably more long-distance than other Europeans, for instance three of Europe's 11 busiest air routes are within Norway. Also, the long-distance road network of Norway has relatively low average speed, making air travel the main long-distance travel option today. The slow roads makes it easier for trains to compete, even though the road network also is being upgraded. For example a 4-lane motorway will exist from Oslo to Hamar long before the planned double-track railway will.
Estimates for construction costs have shown that building in Norway is considerably cheaper than on the continent, due to the ability to build tracks straight on bedrock. Also the tunnels usually can be made without sealing (like the many road tunnels) Furthermore expropriation costs are lower since most of the corridors will go through unpopulated areas.
So far, train speed has not been prioritised on long distance railways in Norway. Oslo-Bergen (526 km) takes about 6:40 in 2007. Oslo-Trondheim (552 km) takes 6:45. These times are about the same as during the last decades, and give an average speed of about 80 km/h. Oslo-Gothenburg is a little faster at 89 km/h, but this is due to Swedish rail quality (112 km/h) rather than Norwegian (72 km/h).
As can be seen in the chapter "Future plans", not much will be built before 2020, and no new track will be operated above 200 km/h in this time. If there is a decision to really build new long-distance high speed-lines it will represent a big change in national transport policy.
Read more about this topic: High-speed Rail In Norway
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