Holmestrand railway station in eastern Norway is built 150 meters (492 feet) into the Holmestrand mountain, with entrance both to the south and north, and its own lift solution 70 meters (230 feet) down from the top of the mountain. The world’s first railway mountain station in Norway is an engineering and architectural masterpiece.
The Holmestrand railway station is located in the town of Holmestrand in Vestfold and was officially opened on 28 November 2016. The Vestfold Line is a railway line that runs from Drammen, through a number of towns in Vestfold and ending in the town of Skien in Telemark.
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Improved railway line
The new fourteen kilometers double track through the city of Holmestrand has greatly improved the rail services on the Vestfold line. The architects have focused on accessibility requirement as well as a good atmosphere for all passengers going into the mountain platform.
Creating a 130,000 cubic meters mountain hall was a six years undertaking for the Norwegian National Rail Administration along with partners like the Danish architect and partner Gottlieb Pauldan and the engineering consulting group Ramboll.
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The World’s First Railway Mountain Station – in Norway
The train station is the first in the world to combine platforms and highspeed trains that drive through the station with a speed of 250 km/h. The pressure relief tunnel is one of several measures that will prevent people on the platform from experiencing an unpleasant pressure every time a highspeed train passes by. The tunnel inlets are shaped like trumpets. Only 400 meters of the fourteen kilometers line will be located over the surface.
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The curved walls are equipped with stainless steel arches and aluminum sheets, thus creating their own ceilings, framing the 250-meter-long platforms. The project required a high demand of coordination.
In 2017, Gottlieb Paludan Architects was awarded The Norwegian Concrete Award (Betongtavlen), an award given by Norsk Betongforening and the Norwegian Association of Architects.
The World’s First Railway Mountain Station – in Norway, written by Tor Kjolberg