Skoppum Station

Historie

Skoppum Station is a railway station on the Vestfold Line in the village of Skoppum, in Horten, Norway. Situated 99.54km from Oslo Central Station, it serves an hourly regional service operated by the Norwegian State Railways. The station has two platforms and is itself located on an island platform, giving Skoppum a keilbahnhof design. The station building was designed by Balthazar Lange in Swiss chalet style.The station opened on 7 December 1881 and served as an interchange station between the Vestfold Line and the Horten Line. The latter was closed for passenger traffic in 1967 and demolished in 2009. Skoppum remains the only station serving Horten, despite being 7km west of the town center. The current station is listed as a heritage site, but will be abandoned in about 2024 when a new section of high-speed rail is built. It may be replaced by a station west of the village or at Bakkenteigen.HistoryWhen planning of the Vestfold Line commenced in 1871, there were three main proposals for a route. The outer followed the shore of the Oslofjord, would be 111km and would run through Holmestrand, Horten and Åsgårdstrand before reaching Tønsberg. The combined and inner would be 107and, respectively, and both involved building a branch line to Horten. The main argument against the coastal route was that the towns already had a good steamship service, with several daily departures. A third major alternative was to bypass the coast altogether and build down the valley of Lågendalen to Larvik.