The Dovre Line

The Dovre Line is the main railway from Oslo to Trondheim, 553 kilometres up the length of the Gudbrandsdalen and over the Dovrefjell. Beyond Dombås the train leaves the forest behind and runs out across an open mountain plateau, the snow-streaked dome of Snøhetta on the western skyline. Just north of Hjerkinn station it reaches 1,024 metres, the highest point of the line. On the moor beside the track there may be musk oxen.

The railway took some seventy years to put together. Norway's first line, from the capital to Eidsvoll, opened in 1854; a narrow-gauge line from Trondheim to Støren followed in 1864, and the line up the Gudbrandsdalen reached Otta in 1896 and Dombås in 1913. The last link, over the mountain from Dombås to Støren, was opened by King Haakon VII at Hjerkinn on 17 September 1921. The line was electrified throughout in 1970, and since June 2020 its trains have been run by SJ Norge as SJ NORD.

On weekdays five trains run each way by day and one by night. The fastest takes 6 hours 38 minutes. Every seat is reserved, every train has a café, and the night train carries sleeping compartments.

The train leaves Oslo S through Lillestrøm and Oslo Airport, on the Gardermoen Line of 1998, the only high-speed railway in Norway, and rejoins the old main line at Eidsvoll. From Minnesund it runs for much of the way beside Mjøsa, the largest lake in the country, to Hamar and to Lillehammer, at the top of the lake, where the Gudbrandsdalen begins.

Up the valley

For the next two hours the line follows the river Gudbrandsdalslågen north through the valley: past Kvitfjell, the stave church at Ringebu, Vinstra and Otta, to Dombås, 659 metres up, where the Rauma Railway leaves for Åndalsnes and the sea.

Over the Dovrefjell

Beyond Dombås the line climbs past the marshes of Fokstumyra onto the plateau and reaches Hjerkinn, at 1,017 metres the highest station. A little over a kilometre further north it reaches 1,024 metres. Hjerkinn and Kongsvoll, the next station, both have station buildings by the architect Erik Glosimodt, and both are protected. From Kongsvoll the line drops down the narrow valley of the Driva, Drivdalen, to Oppdal, crosses to Støren, where the Røros Line from Hamar comes in, and follows the Gaula down to Trondheim.

The trains

The day trains are either Class 73 electric units or El 18 electric locomotives hauling coaches. Seats are in Standard, in the quieter Premium carriage on selected trains, or in Premium Pluss, where the seats recline. There is a family carriage with a playroom on the long-distance trains, and a café on every one; SJ's menu on this line includes a Dovreburger.

SJ NORD runs the Dovre Line as line F6: five day trains each way from Monday to Friday, fewer at the weekend, and a night train every night except Saturday. Every seat is reserved.

Oslo to Trondheim

Trondheim to Oslo

These are the times from 13 December 2026. Until then, train 44 leaves Trondheim at 09:52 and train 46 at 13:06; the others differ by a few minutes at most. On Saturdays train 42 runs about four minutes later from Oppdal and reaches Oslo at 15:02. The cheap Trollpris fares are sold on trains 40 and 51. Every train also calls at Lillestrøm, Oslo Airport, Hamar, Hunderfossen, Kvitfjell, Ringebu, Vinstra, Otta, Kongsvoll, Berkåk, Støren and Heimdal; trains 40 and 45 also at Dovre and Kvam, and the night trains at Moelv and Brumunddal.

For the best of the mountain, travel by day: the plateau between Dombås and Kongsvoll takes about 35 minutes.

Times as of October 2026, from Entur's journey planner, checked for 19 October 2026 to 16 February 2027. Check your date on Entur (opens in a new tab) or with SJ Norge (opens in a new tab).

Tickets are sold through Entur, Norway's national journey planner, on its website and app; SJ Norge's own pages send you there. Every ticket carries a seat reservation. Non-flexible tickets are the cheapest and cannot be changed or refunded; the Trollpris fares on the 05:55 from Trondheim and the 18:02 from Oslo are lower still, and limited in number.

There are three ways to sit: Standard; Premium, from NOK 299, a quieter carriage with hot drinks, on selected day trains; and Premium Pluss, from NOK 499, a reclining seat with a footrest. On the night train a sleeping compartment is added to a Standard ticket. Fares checked October 2026.

Interrail and Eurail passes are valid, with a compulsory reservation. Interrail's table of railway companies lists SJ Norge's trains in both the Global Pass and the One Country Pass for Norway, with reservation mandatory. Book the seat on Entur as an "Interrail / Eurail seat reservation" traveller: €4.30 for a Standard seat in second class, €43 for a Premium Pluss reclining seat, and €86–107 for a sleeping compartment on the night train. First-class pass holders reserve Premium free. A pass is valid in Norway only for travellers who are not resident there.

A pass pays for this journey if Norway is part of a longer trip. For Oslo to Trondheim alone, compare a travel day of the pass, plus the reservation, with the fare Entur quotes for your date.

Checked October 2026 against Interrail's table of railway companies (opens in a new tab), its reservation fees (opens in a new tab) and night-train fees (opens in a new tab), and SJ Norge's Interrail page (opens in a new tab).

With five trains a day each way on weekdays, a stop on the way costs a few hours, not a day. Every place below has a station that all trains call at.

The journey fits in a day, but the Dovrefjell is worth a night of its own. Two old mountain inns stand on the plateau, each within reach of a station, on the road that pilgrims and travellers used over the mountain for centuries before the railway.

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