The Hoved Line was Norway’s first public railway, opening in 1854. Also called the Trunk Line or Norsk Hoved-jernbane, it connected Oslo, then Kristiania, with Eidsvoll north of the capital.
The line officially opened on 1 September 1854 after construction began in 1851. Its main commercial purpose was to carry timber from the Lake Mjøsa region toward Oslo, but passenger trains also ran from the beginning. British engineer Robert Stephenson, son of railway pioneer George Stephenson, helped lead the project.
The Hoved Line was unusual in being formally a private company for decades, even though the Norwegian state held a major financial interest. It became part of the Norwegian State Railways in 1926. Later lines such as the Røros, Dovre and Bergen lines expanded the national network, but none predates the Hoved Line as Norway’s first public railway.