Bane NOR is the state enterprise that manages Norway’s national rail network. It plans, builds, operates and maintains the infrastructure, controls train traffic and allocates capacity to passenger and freight operators.
Bane NOR was established on 1 January 2017 as part of the Norwegian railway reform and took over the infrastructure tasks of the former Jernbaneverket. It is wholly owned by the Norwegian state through the Ministry of Transport and has more than 5,000 employees. Agnete Johnsgaard-Lewis has been Group CEO since 1 September 2025.
The network has about 4,200 km of track and 335 stations and stops. Of its 3,962 km of line, 3,645 km is single track and 2,632 km is electrified. The single-track layout limits how many trains can be added on most routes and makes the timetable sensitive to any disruption.
The reform split the state’s rail roles between two bodies. The Norwegian Railway Directorate (Jernbanedirektoratet) buys planning, construction, maintenance and renewal from Bane NOR through agreements and tenders the passenger traffic packages, while Bane NOR acts as the infrastructure manager. Passenger punctuality on the network was 87.6% in 2025.
Signalling replacement and backlog
Bane NOR is replacing the signalling on the national network with ERTMS, using ETCS Level 2. Siemens supplies the trackside equipment and Alstom the onboard units. The eastern line of the Østfold Line has served as the pilot since 2015, and Roa–Gjøvik became the first line to use the current version of the system in regular service on 16 November 2024.
The original plan from 2015 aimed to complete the rollout before 2031. Scenarios in a 2026 study show completion could slip to 2050 or later, and Bane NOR has no fixed completion date. The Railway Directorate and Bane NOR are due to present a new joint plan by 15 March 2027.
The maintenance backlog on the network stood at NOK 35.4bn at the end of 2025. The National Transport Plan 2025–2036 gives priority to maintenance and renewal over new lines.
Expansion and property
The 22 km Follo Line between Oslo and Ski opened on 12 December 2022 and halved the travel time between the two stations. It is part of the InterCity programme for the lines around Oslo.
The programme has been scaled back under the current transport plan. On the Vestfold Line, double track is planned only as far as Tønsberg, and the deadline for faster regional trains between Oslo and Hamar has moved to 2032.
Bane NOR’s subsidiary Bane NOR Eiendom owns, develops and manages railway real estate across Norway, including station areas. In June 2026 the National Audit Office (Riksrevisjonen) found that little of the property business’s earnings had returned to the railway since 2017, while its debt had risen.