History
The first part of the route towards Bodø, from Trondheim to Hell, was opened in 1882 as part of the Meråker Line, which links Trondheim to the Swedish border and the Swedish railway system (Central Line). The new Hell–Sunnan Line was built branching off from the Meråker Line reaching Levanger in 1902, Verdal in 1904 and Sunnan in 1905. It subsequently reached Snåsa in 1926 and Grong in 1929. The branch line from Grong to Namsos, the Namsos Line, was opened in 1933. Before the German invasion of Norway in 1940, the Nordland Line had reached Mosjøen. Construction continued under German supervision during the war, and by 1945 it had reached Dunderland. The section to Fauske opened in 1958 and the final part to Bodø opened in 1962. During the occupation Germany forces started building an extension of the railway from Fauske to Narvik, the Polar Line, but this was never completed during the war, and abandoned by Norwegian authorities afterwards.
During World War II, the Nordland Line was among the lines targeted by saboteurs, and the Jørstad River bridge sabotage in 1945 resulted in the deaths of 70–80 German troops.
Read more about this topic: Nordland Line
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