Transport in Norway
Transport in Norway is highly influenced by Norway's low population density, narrow shape and rugged coastline. Norway has old water transport traditions, but road, rail and air transport have increased in importance during the 20th century. Due to the low population density, public transport is somewhat less built out in rural areas of Norway, however public transport in and around cities is well developed.
The main governing body is the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, which performs operations through numerous subsidiaries.<ref>Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communication, 2003: 3</ref> Tasks related to public transport and some roads have been delegated to the counties and municipalities. Most infrastructure is publicly owned, while most operations are performed by private companies; public transport is subsidized.
On average each Norwegian transported themselves for 70 minutes each day. In 2008 8% of passenger transport was made by public transport; road transport is the dominant mode of transport.<ref name=sntrans>Template:Cite web</ref> It had risen to 10% in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2014 22% of travel was on foot and 4% by bicycle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The transport sector was responsible for 4.1% of the gross national product and 6.6% of employment in 2006.<ref name=sntrans /> According to the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013,<ref name="TandTCR">World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013</ref> Norway placed 83 out of 140 countries regarding quality of roads, 47 out of 122 regarding quality of railroad infrastructure, 25 out of 140 regarding quality of port infrastructure and 54 out of 140 regarding ground transport networks.
Civil aviation
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Aviation has become an important passenger transport mode since the 1960s. Aircraft is the commonly used mode of transport on longer distances, and the routes between Oslo and Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger are all among the largest in Europe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On long distances, such as Oslo-Bodø and longer, air travel is by far the leading travel method. In Western and Northern Norway, with difficult terrain, obstacling fjords and lack of rail transport, regional airline travel provides quick travel within the region or to the capital.<ref name=regionale>Template:Cite web</ref>
Major airlines based in Norway are Scandinavian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe.
Airports
[edit]Template:Main Of the 98 airports in Norway,<ref name=cia /> 51 are public,<ref name=avinorpassengers>Template:Cite web</ref> and 46 are operated by the state-owned Avinor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Seven airports have more than one million passengers annually.<ref name=avinorpassengers /> 41,089,675 passengers passed through Norwegian airports in 2007, of which 13,397,458 were international.<ref name=avinorpassengers/>
The main gateway by air to Norway is Oslo Airport, Gardermoen,<ref name=avinorpassengers /> located about Template:Convert north of Oslo with departures to most European countries and some intercontinental destinations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is hub for the three major Norwegian airlines Scandinavian Airlines System,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Norwegian Air Shuttle,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Widerøe<ref>Widerøe Route map Template:In lang</ref> and for regional aircraft from Western Norway.<ref name=wideroemap>Template:Cite web</ref>
Heliports are common at hospitals and oil platforms. The Norwegian Air Ambulance service operates twelve helicopters and nine airplanes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Regional aviation
[edit]The regional airport service was introduced in the 1960s, with 30 airports being served by short take-off and landing aircraft.<ref name=avinorpassengers /> These are located mainly in Sogn og Fjordane and Northern Norway, in areas with long distances to large cities and with too little traffic to support commercial flights. The airports, which typically have an Template:Convert runway, are run by Avinor, while the airplanes are operated based on subsidized public service obligation contracts with the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications.<ref name=regionale /><ref>Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communication, 2003: 5</ref> by the far largest contractor is Widerøe with their fleet of de Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but also Danish Air Transport, Lufttransport and Kato Airline have won bids.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The flights operate from one or more regional airports to larger hubs; in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø and Kirkenes.<ref name=wideroemap /> One service, to Værøy Heliport, is served by helicopter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 1,214,508 passengers passed through the regional airports in 2012.<ref name=avinorpassengers/>
Rail transport
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The main railway network consists of Template:Convert of standard gauge lines, of which Template:Convert is double track and Template:Convert high-speed rail (210 km/h) while 62% is electrified at Template:15 kV AC. The railways transported 56,827,000 passengers 2,956 million passenger kilometers and 24,783,000 tonnes of cargo 3,414 million tonne kilometers.<ref>Norwegian National Rail Administration, 2008: 4</ref>
The main long-haul network consists of lines from Oslo and westwards along the South Coast to Stavanger and over the mountains to Bergen; and north to Åndalsnes and via Trondheim to Bodø. Four lines connect to Sweden, allowing access to the European network.<ref>Norwegian National Rail Administration, 2007: 7</ref> The only high-speed line is Gardermobanen, connecting Oslo to The Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, but plans exist to build more high-speed lines in Eastern Norway,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and possibly to other parts of Norway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The entire network is owned by the Bane NOR,<ref name=jbvabout>Template:Cite web</ref> while domestic passenger trains are operated by the Airport Express Train, Go-Ahead Nordic, SJ Norge and Vy.<ref>Norwegian National Rail Administration, 2008: 13</ref> Several companies operate freight trains.<ref>Norwegian National Rail Administration, 2008: 16</ref>
Investment in new infrastructure and maintenance is financed through the state budget,<ref name=jbvabout /> and subsidies are provided for passenger train operations.<ref name=minpt>Template:Cite web</ref> NSB operates long-haul trains, including night trains, regional services and four commuter train systems, around Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen and Stavanger.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rail transit
[edit]Tramways operate in Oslo, Trondheim and Bergen. The only rapid transit system is the Oslo T-bane, while the only funicular is in Bergen. The rail transits are operated by the counties, and the ticket system is integrated into the bus transport. In Oslo the two systems make the backbone of the Ruter public transport system, giving Oslo by far the highest public transport share of 20%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Local trains on the railway is operated by NSB, but monthly passes are integrated into the local transit ticket system.
In 2007, 101 million passengers were transported 490 million passenger kilometers by rail transit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Norwegian National Rail Administration, 2007: 12–13</ref>
Road transport
[edit]Norway has a road network of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert are paved and Template:Convert are motorway.<ref name=cia>Template:Cite web</ref> There are four tiers of road routes; national, county, municipal and private, with national and primary county roads numbered en route. The most important national routes are part of the European route scheme, and the two most prominent are the E6 going north-south through the entire country, while E39 follows the West Coast. An improved E39 coastal highway is currently under development to improve the route and reduce the driving time from 21 hours. It is expected to be completed in 2033 with a series of new tunnels and bridges, including Rogfast, a Template:Convert under sea tunnel that will link Stavanger and Haugesund.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> National and county roads are managed by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.<ref>Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, 2003: 15</ref>
Motorways exist around the largest cities; many of the larger cities have introduced toll schemes to help finance roads.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2008, 130 ferry routes remained in service, operated by private companies on contract with the Public Roads Administration.<ref>Norwegian Public Roads Administration, 2008: 7</ref> Since the 1970s the heaviest rural investments have been mainland connections to replace the many car ferries that are needed to cross fjords and connect to islands. There are not enough funding through tax money, so these tunnels and bridges are normally financed mainly through toll fees.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some mountain passes have severe snowstorm problems in the winter, so often they have to be closed, or cars have to drive after a snowplow in a column.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The most exposed mountain passes are closed the entire winter.
In 2007 there were 2.6 million automobiles in Norway, or 444 per 1000 residents, an increase of 27% the last ten years—average age was 10.2 years. Road accidents killed 242 people and road transport caused 20% of greenhouse gas emissions.<ref name=sntrans /> Between 2007 and 2011, diesel cars constituted over 70% of new cars, and fell to 40% in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Trucks transported 264 million tonnes 15 billion tonne kilometers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Norway has the world's largest registered stock of plug-in electric vehicles per capita, with Oslo recognized as the EV capital of the world.<ref name=NorwayLargest>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=AVERE>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=NorwaySales2011>Template:Cite web See table "Elbilsalg i 2011 fordelt på måned og merke" (Electric vehicle sales in 2011, by month and brand) to see monthly sales for 2011.</ref> In March 2014, Norway became the first country where over 1 in every 100 passenger cars on the roads is a plug-in electric.<ref name=NorwayEVSales032014>Template:Cite web</ref> Norway's fleet of electric cars is one of the cleanest in the world because almost 100% of the electricity generated in the country comes from hydropower.<ref name=Reuters032013>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of a total of 43,442 plug-in electric vehicles were registered in Norway, of which, almost 95% are all-electric vehicles.<ref name=NorwayStat>Template:Cite web Click on the bar graph Template:Lang and select Template:Lang for registrations for each year. Registrations include new and used imports. Move the mouse over each bar to show the sales split between all-electric and plug-in hybrids by year.</ref> The Norwegian plug-in electric segment has the world's highest market share of new car sales, with 5.6% in 2013, and 12.5% Template:As of<ref name=Top6Global2013>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Clear
Bus transport
[edit]Each county is responsible for the public bus and boat transport in their area,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (railways, regional airlines and the Coastal Express boat, are financed by the state).<ref name=minpt /> Buses transported 290 million passengers 3.7 billion passenger kilometers in 2007.<ref name=statpt07>Template:Cite web</ref> 6,194 buses were in operation during 2007; tickets sales was NOK 3,721 million while bus transport received government subsidies of NOK 3,393 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bus and passenger boat services are normally operated by private companies on contract with the county or their public transport authority (such as Ruter or Vestviken Kollektivtrafikk). Tickets and tickets prices are organised by these authorities. Some of them have special brand names and connected painting of the buses, especially in bigger cities. Other counties, especially smaller, don't use brand names and let the operators decide bus paint.
Long-haul coach services are operated by various companies, most of whom cooperate through NOR-WAY Bussekspress.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> In Northern Norway (mostly from Fauske Municipality and further north) long-haul buses are operated by the counties.
Water transport
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The coastal infrastructure is operated by the Norwegian Coastal Administration,<ref name=aboutkv>Template:Cite web</ref> while ports are operated by the municipalities.<ref name="aboutkv"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Norway has Template:Convert of shoreline, 400,000 leisure craft<ref name=aboutkv /> and a 715 ships in the merchant marine.<ref name=cia />
Merchant marine
[edit]In 2007 Norway was the fifth largest beneficial ship owning country, with 5% of the world's fleet;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> though a high portion of these were registered in flags of convenience, Norway had 15 million deadweight tonnage of ships under its flag.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The government has created an internal register, the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS), as a subset of the Norwegian Ship Register; ships on the NIS enjoy many benefits of flags of convenience and do not have to be crewed by Norwegians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ferries
[edit]Car ferries are vital links across fjords and to islands where there are no fixed connections. There are more than one hundred car ferry connections inside Norway. Fast passenger ferries operate many places where fjords and islands make it quicker to follow the waterways than the roads; some small islands are served by water buses. Public transport by ship transported eight million passengers 273 million passenger kilometers in 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
With the large amount of hydroelectricity in Norway, battery-electric ferries have been introduction on several routes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Of Norway's 180 ferries on 112 ferry routes, a study by Siemens and the Bellona Foundation identified 127 could be replaced with either fully electric or hybrid ferries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web In English</ref>
The Coastal Express (known as Hurtigruten) operates daily cruiseferries from Bergen to Kirkenes, calling at 35 ports.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> International car carrying cruiseferries operate from Southern Norway to Denmark, Germany and Sweden.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Pipelines
[edit]The petroleum and natural gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf uses pipelines to transport produce to processing plants on mainland Norway and other European countries; total length is Template:Convert.<ref name="cia"/> The government-owned Gassco operates all natural gas pipelines; in 2006, 88 billion cubic meters were transported, or 15% of European consumption<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
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[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Template:Commons category-inline
- Official gateway for all public transit authorities and companies in Norway
- Norwegian National travelplanner Template:Webarchive
- Ministry of Transport and Communications
- Transport at Statistics Norway
Template:Norway topics Template:Transportation in Europe Template:Motorways in Europe Template:Public transport administrators of Norway