The Nordland Railway
The Nordland Railway (Nordlandsbanen) takes you from Trondheim to Bodø in 10 hours. The 729-kilometer line crosses the Arctic Circle on the Saltfjellet mountain plateau. The landscape gradually changes along the route, from fjord villages in the south to the Helgeland coast and mountains further north.
It’s one of the few railways in the world that crosses the Arctic Circle. With the midnight sun or the northern lights.
Written by
The Fjord Tours team
7 min readUpdated: Sep 11, 2026
Quick facts
Nordland Railway at a glance
- Name: The Nordland Railway (Nordlandsbanen in Norwegian)
- Route: Trondheim - Bodø
- Ends at: Bodø (not Tromsø!)
- Distance: 729 km, Norway's longest railway line
- Journey time: 10 hours
- Highest point: Saltfjellet, 680 meters above sea level
- Operator: SJ Norway
- Opened: 1962 (construction of the first stretch began in 1902)
- Recognition: named one of Europe's best night trains by Lonely Planet
Source: SJ Norway / Store norske leksikon
History
The Nordland Railway is 729 kilometers long. Along the way, the train passes 43 stations, 293 bridges, and 154 tunnels. Constructing a railway connection of this size takes time, and in this case, it took several decades.
Workers began construction of the Nordland Railway at Hell in 1902 and took 60 years to complete it. They didn’t build it in one go; they built the railway in 18 stages, with the last stretch to Bodø completed in February 1962.
During World War II, the German occupying forces sped up railway construction north of Mosjøen. Soviet and Polish war prisoners were forced to work on the railway in extremely harsh conditions.
In 2012, on the 50th anniversary of the completion of the final stretch to Bodø, Norwegian broadcaster NRK showed the entire journey in a minute-by-minute broadcast: almost 10 hours of the day train from Trondheim to Bodø. Filmed through all 4 seasons and edited into one continuous broadcast, it was a big hit that was watched by over one million viewers. Slow TV at its finest!
The route and stops
From Trondheim, the line first follows the Trondheim Fjord northwards, through Stjørdal, Levanger and Verdal, before turning inland toward Steinkjer and Snåsa, with a view of Lake Snåsa on parts of the stretch.
Further north, the route goes through Namdalen, past Grong, and into Helgeland, known for Mosjøen and the Seven Sisters mountains, visible from the train in clear weather.
In recent years, Helgeland has become a popular destination for visitors who want to travel at a slower pace, with good opportunities for nature experiences and local food along the way. The region is known for having a milder coastal climate than one may expect so far north. With fishing villages and small coastal communities living close to the sea, visible from the window in sections where the train tracks runs along the coast. Mo i Rana is one of the major stops on the stretch, before the line climbs up towards Saltfjellet and crosses the Arctic Circle.
North of Saltfjellet, the journey continues through Rognan and Fauske, before the train rolls into Bodø on the coast. The landscape changes character clearly north and south of Saltfjellet: spruce dominates on the south side, while pine forests take over to the north.
The mountain region around Saltfjellet is also well known for reindeer, which often graze near the tracks, and you can sometimes spot sea eagles over the fjords further south on the stretch. Along the way, the train also passes several historic sites from World War II.
Bodø is a coastal city with a centrally located railway station, just a short walk from both the ferry terminal and the express boat quay. The city is a natural starting point for further travel north, either to Lofoten by boat or on by plane. Besides being a hub, Bodø has also developed into a cultural destination with restaurants, festivals and nightlife that make it worth a stay in itself.
The night train experience
The Nordland Railway has 2 daily departures in each direction, including a night train with sleeping compartments. Lonely Planet has named the Nordland Railway one of Europe's 10 best night trains. They called Norwegian trains "very nice places to hang out", pointing out that, thanks to the midnight sun in summer, you can see the beautiful scenery even at night.
The sleeping compartments are small but work well for a single night's sleep and give you something airplanes can't offer: to wake up in the middle of your journey and look out at a landscape that’s completely different from the one you fell asleep to. Make sure to pack something warm to wear even in summer, because the temperature can vary quite a bit between the southern and northern parts of the stretch.
Cell phone coverage can be unstable in the most remote parts north of Saltfjellet. The train has a restaurant car serving food and drink on all departures, and plenty of room for luggage for a journey that lasts a whole day or night.
Are you unsure whether you should choose a day train or a night train? Pick the day train if the scenery is the main reason you are traveling, and the night train to travel while you sleep and spend your days exploring.
Winter on the Nordland Railway: The northern lights
In winter, you have the chance to see the northern lights from your train window. It depends on solar activity and clear skies, but if you are traveling during the polar night on the night train, you have several hours to check the sky through your window. The stretch north of Saltfjellet is far from major cities and light pollution, which gives better conditions for seeing the northern lights than most other train journeys in Norway.
If you want to take pictures of the northern lights from the train, keep in mind that the speed and vibrations make it difficult to get sharp night photos through the window. Because of this, many people choose to experience the northern lights with their own eyes from the passenger compartment and stop somewhere along the route if taking photographs is their main goal.
Summer on the Nordland Railway: The midnight sun
In the summer, the situation is the opposite of polar night. That’s when the midnight sun makes the Nordland Railway special, since in the middle of the summer, the sun never sets north of the Arctic Circle.
Crossing the Arctic Circle
On the way over the Saltfjellet plateau, the Nordland Railway passes the Arctic Circle Monument, just south of the former Stødi station in Saltdal. The Arctic Circle is located at 66 degrees north and marks the border with the Arctic.
For many travelers, the crossing point is a highlight in itself. Because how often do you see a concrete, visible mark in the landscape for something that is otherwise just a line on the map?
Saltfjellet is also the highest point on the entire Nordland Railway at 680 meters above sea level. It acts as a natural boundary between 2 different landscapes: forest and a milder climate in the south, and a more open, Arctic landscape in the north.
Tickets and compartments
The Nordland Railway is operated by SJ Norway. You can book single tickets directly with them or via the travel planner Entur.
Seats on the day train are usually easier to get at shorter notice but follow the same principle as on the rest of the Norwegian railway network: the cheapest tickets sell out first.
If you are only going to travel part of the route, for example to Mo i Rana or Fauske, you can book a ticket for that stretch, without booking all the way to Bodø. Like the other major train routes in Norway, if you want to have a break along the way, for example to have an overnight stay in Mosjøen or Mo i Rana, you can get on and off at most stations, as long as you plan to do so when booking your ticket.
Combine your trip with a visit to Oslo
If you want to start your journey in Oslo, you can take the Dovre Railway to Trondheim and change trains there to continue north on the Nordland Railway. Then the entire journey from Oslo to Bodø is one continuous rail journey without planes. You’ll change trains in Trondheim, as the Dovre Railway and the Nordland Railway are 2 separate lines, but the transfer is easy since both trains arrive and depart from the same station.
If you want to plan the Oslo–Trondheim stage in detail, see our separate guide to the Dovre Railway.
Questions about the Nordland Railway
Get answers to commonly asked questions about the train trip from Trondheim to Bodø.
Discover all of Norway’s railways
The Flåm Railway
The Flåm Railway takes you from a bare mountain station at Myrdal, 867 meters up, down to the fjord village of Flåm in under 1 hour. In between: 20 tunnels, a waterfall, and farms clinging to slopes. It’s one of the steepest railways in the world with normal passenger service, and it opened in 1940.
In this guide, we cover the route, stops, the best side to sit on, how to get there, and when the trip is at its best.
The Rauma Railway
The Rauma Railway (Raumabanen) runs 114.2 kilometers from Dombås to Åndalsnes in about 1 hour and 40 minutes, past the steep Trollveggen mountain wall and Kylling Bridge.
The stretch is one of Norway's wildest and most photographed train journeys, and is known far beyond Norway's borders, thanks to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was also on this track that 50 tons of Norwegian gold were transported to avoid it falling into wrong hands during World War II.
In this guide, we will tell you all about the route, the most famous destinations, and how to travel, including the Golden Train as a separate optional experience.
The Bergen Railway: Oslo to Bergen by train
The Bergen Railway (Bergensbanen) runs between Norway’s 2 largest cities, and for many people it’s the Norwegian train journey. In 7 hours, you go from the forests around Oslo up to the Hardangervidda mountain plateau and on to the West Coast and Bergen.
The Dovre Railway
The Dovre Railway runs 548 kilometers from Oslo to Trondheim, over the Dovrefjell mountains and through the Gudbrandsdalen valley. The trip takes about 6.5 to 7 hours.
Take a seat in Oslo and get off in Trondheim, with the whole of southern Norway behind you. See a diverse range of landscapes. From Lake Mjøsa's shimmering water, the Gudbrandsdalen valley's traditional farms, and the mighty Dovrefjell mountains with musk oxen and reindeer.
The Røros Railway
The Røros Railway runs between Hamar and Trondheim, through Østerdalen and past Røros, a journey of about 431 kilometers that takes around 6 hours. The line opened in 1877 and is Norway's oldest inter-regional railway line, and it takes you where no other train does: through the wilderness of Østerdalen to the mining town of Røros, with its beautiful wooden buildings.
The Flåm Railway
The Flåm Railway takes you from a bare mountain station at Myrdal, 867 meters up, down to the fjord village of Flåm in under 1 hour. In between: 20 tunnels, a waterfall, and farms clinging to slopes. It’s one of the steepest railways in the world with normal passenger service, and it opened in 1940.
In this guide, we cover the route, stops, the best side to sit on, how to get there, and when the trip is at its best.
The Rauma Railway
The Rauma Railway (Raumabanen) runs 114.2 kilometers from Dombås to Åndalsnes in about 1 hour and 40 minutes, past the steep Trollveggen mountain wall and Kylling Bridge.
The stretch is one of Norway's wildest and most photographed train journeys, and is known far beyond Norway's borders, thanks to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was also on this track that 50 tons of Norwegian gold were transported to avoid it falling into wrong hands during World War II.
In this guide, we will tell you all about the route, the most famous destinations, and how to travel, including the Golden Train as a separate optional experience.
The Bergen Railway: Oslo to Bergen by train
The Bergen Railway (Bergensbanen) runs between Norway’s 2 largest cities, and for many people it’s the Norwegian train journey. In 7 hours, you go from the forests around Oslo up to the Hardangervidda mountain plateau and on to the West Coast and Bergen.
The Dovre Railway
The Dovre Railway runs 548 kilometers from Oslo to Trondheim, over the Dovrefjell mountains and through the Gudbrandsdalen valley. The trip takes about 6.5 to 7 hours.
Take a seat in Oslo and get off in Trondheim, with the whole of southern Norway behind you. See a diverse range of landscapes. From Lake Mjøsa's shimmering water, the Gudbrandsdalen valley's traditional farms, and the mighty Dovrefjell mountains with musk oxen and reindeer.
The Røros Railway
The Røros Railway runs between Hamar and Trondheim, through Østerdalen and past Røros, a journey of about 431 kilometers that takes around 6 hours. The line opened in 1877 and is Norway's oldest inter-regional railway line, and it takes you where no other train does: through the wilderness of Østerdalen to the mining town of Røros, with its beautiful wooden buildings.