Norway by train

Try to set aside that Norway is an expensive country, so train ticket prices can seem comparatively pricey, and there’s a lot to love about travelling by train in Norway.

In particular, the staff are incredibly polite and helpful (in our experience), there is a national public transport booking service which simplifies bookings; and of course the journeys can be stunningly beautiful.

Though if you would like help with planning a train journey within or to/from Norway, or want to add some Norwegian destinations to a European train travel itinerary, take a look at ShowMeTheJourney's new Concierge Service.

The Dovre Railway Line used by these trains has suffered storm damage in multiple locations, including the collapse of a river bridge.
As a result there will be no direct trains to Trondheim from Oslo for some time.
Here are the details of the alternative travel arrangements.

Twelve things worth particularly worth knowing about Norwegian train travel:

(1) In 2017, Vy took over from NSB as the national rail operator in Norway, so rail tickets for journeys across Norway can be booked on the Vy website or app

Now other operators have now won contracts to operate some of the busiest long distance routes in Norway:

• SJ NORD operates the trains on the Trondheim ↔ Oslo and Trondheim ↔ Bodø routes ( SJ happens to be the national rail operator in Sweden).
• Go Ahead Nordic operates the trains on the Stavanger ↔ Oslo route.

The main long-distance routes still operated by Vy are:

• Oslo ↔ Bergen
• Oslo ↔ Halden (and on to Goteborg in Sweden)
• Oslo ↔ Kongsvinger

Though note that you can't choose between different operators on most routes within Norway, with the notable exception being - Oslo ↔ Lillehammer, as Vy operates the regional trains, but SJ NORD operates the long-distance trains between these two cities

(2) What's unusual is that there aren't specific types of express train services, such as InterCity services in Norway, instead train services are either long-distance, regional or local.

(3) The overnight trains are known as 'Sove' trains; the English translation of Sove is 'sleep'.
SJ Nord operates the overnight trains on the Trondheim ↔ Oslo and Trondheim ↔ Bodø roues
Vy operates the trains with sleeping cabins on the Bergen ↔ Oslo route; and Go Ahead Nordic operates a train with sleeping cabins on the Stavanger ↔ Oslo route.

(4) Unless you will be using the local or regional trains to/from Oslo or Bergen, turning up at a station in the expectation that a train will be leaving soon, is not a good idea in Norway.
Services don't depart particularly frequently on all long-distance routes, with gaps of at least two hours between trains being the norm.

(5) Regardless of the operator of the service on each route, all national rail tickets can be booked on the national public transport booking service for Norway, which is named Entur; it will match the prices on the Vy, Go Ahead and SJ NORD websites.

(6) Tickets can be booked from 90 days ahead.

(7) Seats on the long-distance trains are now automatically assigned when booking tickets online.

(8) For longer distance journeys the Non-Flexible tickets are the cheapest types of ticket and they live up to their name as they can't be refunded on exchanged once purchased.

(9) What's untypical is that seniors (aged 67 and over) and children (aged 6-17) can't purchase these cheaper, Non-Flexible tickets at a discounted rate when travelling long-distance on the trains operated by SJ NORD and Vy.
Though the operators would probably counter that Non-Flexible tickets are often discounted by more than 50%; which is the discount that Seniors receive when booking the Flexible tickets.

(10) On the long-distance daytime trains 1st and 2nd class isn't used, to designate the equivalent of first class the operator Vy uses 'Plus'; SJ NORD uses 'Premium' and Go Ahead Norje uses 'Extra' and 'Rest'; but when booking tickets on Entur it uses 'Premium' to designate 1st class, regardless of which train company is operating the route you will be taking.

(11) The train operators also use their own names for specific ticket types, but Entur divides the tickets into three easy to understand categories;

• Flexible
• Semi Flexible (not available on all routes)
• Non-Flexible
  which match the terms of how the operators categorise their tickets; and SMTJ has also used these three categories on the guide to Norwegian rail tickets.

(12) International train services have been improved in recent years.
Norwegian Regiontog trains are used on the Oslo – Goteborg route.

Tilting Swedish Snabtagg trains now provide the fastest ever service on the Oslo <> Stockholm route and the frequency of the service has also been increased.

On the long distance trains spaces in the bike storage can be reserved in advance, there is a travelling with a bike option within the journey search service on Vy, the national rail operator's, website.

The reservations of the bike spaces will be included with the bike ticket, but they're comparatively expensive.
There are now three core rail operators in Norway

1: Vy - includes trains on the Oslo to Bergen route and the trains between Oslo and Goteborg in Sweden, plus the regional trains from and to Oslo.

On most of its routes the core terms for travelling with a non-folding bicycle on Vy trains is that tickets are required which cost 50% of the Non-Flexible ticket price, but with a maximum price of NOK 235.

Spaces have to be reserved when travelling between any station on the Bergen Line, between Oslo and Bergen (a maximum of 15 spaces are for bikes are available on these trains) and for journeys on the Gjøvik Line (a maximum of 17 spaces are available on these trains)
Spaces will be assigned when booking tickets to travel by these trains online (see below), though in summer a fixed rate is applied to journeys between stations on the Bergen Line, regardless of distance.

Despite bike tickets being required pre-boarding, spaces for bikes cannot be reserved on Vy's other routes, but the number of bike spaces per train is limited.
The number of spaces per trains on the key routes is typically:
Oslo - Lillehammer = 20
Oslo - Halden and most local services = 5.

2: SJ NORD - routes include trains between Trondheim and both Oslo and Bodo

On most of its routes the core terms for travelling with a non-folding bicycle on SJ NORD trains is that tickets are required which cost 50% of the Non-Flexible ticket price, but with a minimum price of NOK 43 and a maximum price of NOK 215.

The bicycle must be able to be hung on the hooks in the cargo area. It can be a maximum of 175 cm long and have a tire diameter of a maximum of 5 cm.

On the longer-distance services, spaces are reserved when adding a bicycle to a ticket booking (seat below) as bike tickets for these trains have to be booked online.

For electric bikes, the lithium-ion batteries must be removed and taken in the hand luggage, and the battery must not be charged on board.

3: Go Ahead Norge - includes the trains between Oslo and Stavanger

On the longer-distance services, spaces are reserved when adding a bicycle to a ticket booking (seat below) but on other routes spaces for bikes are not guaranteed.

The bicycle must be able to be hung on the hooks in the cargo area. It can be a maximum of 175 cm long and have a tire diameter of a maximum of 5 cm.

For electric bikes, the lithium-ion batteries must be removed and taken in the hand luggage, and the battery must not be charged on board.

On shorter distance routes, particularly from and to Oslo

On the other trains from and to Oslo, bike spaces can’t be reserved, but bike tickets are still required.
According to the Vy website they typically cost 50% of the adult ticket price, though maximum prices also apply to longer journeys.

The lack of reservations mean spaces can’t be guaranteed on these trains, but tickets need to be booked pre-boarding.
Also the rail operator Vy makes it clear that the space available to bikes is also used for wheelchairs and strollers and these have priority over bikes.

The exception to this are journeys on the Gjovik Line, bike spaces can be reserved on the trains which travel along this route.

All three operators of the long-distance train operators, Vy, SJ NORD and Go Ahead have have the same rule that each passengers can bring a maximum total weight of 30 kg of luggage, which can be divided into up to 3 separate items.

SJ NORD and Go Ahead both also state that each individual item of luggage cannot be larger than 85 x 55 x 35 cm. These rules apply per passenger, so you cannot buy extra seat tickets to accommodate extra luggage.

Vy has teamed up with a door-to-door luggage delivery service, to enable travellers to transport more than 30kg person on the route between Oslo and Bergen.

Reservations are required on all long-distance services (day or night) and on most regional services including all those operated by SJ NORD, but be aware that all those travelling with journey tickets will have had their seats assigned; hence reserving as soon as possible is particularly recommended on the Oslo ↔ Bergen and Oslo ↔ Trondheim routes.
Seat and bed reservations are usually available up to 90 days in advance

You can book reservations online by using the Eurail reservation service or the InterRail reservation service though you will be charged a €2 booking fee per reservation, per person.

Though this €2 fee can now be avoided by using the Entur rail pass reservation service.

Reservations can also be arranged at the Entur ticket desks in stations.

For travel on the Sove night trains, regardless of operator, the reservation fees are the same for both first and second class pass users.
The rail pass reservation fee for the sleeping cabins is a flat rate of NOK 1000 (approx €100) so if you are travelling solo you will have the cabin to yourself, but couples /pairs can pay the one fee, but then double occupancy.
Seat reservations are the same as the day trains, except for on the Oslo - Stavanger route operated by Go Ahead, on which reclining seats are also available, but they can only be booked at the Entur travel desks in Norway.

Rail pass users can also obtain a 30% discount on the Flamsbana line

Using Eurail & InterRail Passes for train journeys FROM Norway:

(1) International train journeys from Norway on which rail pass reservations ARE NOT required:
No reservation fees are required on the Regiontog trains between Oslo and Gothenburg.

(2) International train journeys from Norway on which rail pass reservations ARE required:
On the IC and Snabbtåg trains from Oslo to Stockholm: 1st class = €16; 2nd class = €7
Book from 3 months ahead of the travel date, on the SJ (Swedish Railways) website - these reservations can't be booked on the NSB (Norwegian Railways) website.

When avoiding flying when travelling from Norway to European destinations south of Denmark, the main station in Hamburg functions as a gateway from where a swathe of other cities can be accessed by train.
From Hamburg Hbf, the city's main station, there are direct trains to a swathe of other popular locations including Basel, Berlin, Bonn, Budapest, Cologne, Chur, Dresden, Freiburg, Heidelberg, Munich, Prague, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich.
With just one connection the likes of Amsterdam*; Brussels, Lyon, Interlaken, Ljubljana, Marseille, Milan, Paris, Salzburg, Venice and Warsaw can also be easily accessed from northern Germany's main city.
*= the shortest route has two connections.

Options for traveling to Hamburg

There are seven options for travelling from Norway to Hamburg without flying:

1. Take the train in a single day to Hamburg from Oslo; with easily timed connections in Gothenburg and Copenhagen; available on Monday to Friday only.
2. Take a train from Oslo to Goteborg or Stockholm and connect in either of those cities for Copenhagen; and then on day two head on from the Danish capital to Hamburg.
3. Take trains from Oslo to Malmo, by connecting in Gothenburg and then take the overnight train on from Malmo.
4. Take an overnight ferry operated by DFDS from Oslo to its ferry terminal in Copenhagen, then take a local train from a nearby station to Kobenhavn H, the city's main station, from where you can pick up the train to Hamburg
5. Take daytime ferries from Kristiansand to Hirtshals in Denmark; then take trains on to Hamburg in order to reach there by the end of the day.
6. Take an overnight ferry operated by Fjordline from Bergen and Stavanger to Hirtshals in Denmark; then take trains on to Hamburg in order to reach the city in the evening.
7. Take the Color Line ferry from Oslo to Kiel and then take trains from Kiel to Hamburg (and beyond).

There are detailed guides for each of these options below, but note that the timings given are the typical schedules for the trains and ferries, but these can be subject to alteration, so don't assume that they will be correct on your travel dates.
They have been included primarily to give an idea of the schedules, how long they take end-to-end and the departure times from Norway.

As can be seen below, on Monday to Friday it's typically possible to travel from Oslo to Hamburg in a single day by train, but other options are also available.

Dep:	Oslo S	06:08	IC
Arr:	Göteborg C	09:45
Dep:	Göteborg C	10:40	Oresundtag
Arr:	København H	14:29
Dep:	København H	15:26	IC
Arr:	Hamburg Hbf	20:02

 

Taking that 06:01 departure from Oslo is vital if you want to travel from Oslo to Hamburg in a single day, but when it isn't available because you will be travelling at a weekend or it isn't operating due to works on the line, an overnight stay is required in Kobenhavn / Copenhagen, when travelling only by daytime trains from Norway to Hamburg.

Taking the trains from Oslo to Kobenhavn requires an easy can be connection in Göteborg C station.
It's typically possible to depart from Oslo S station at 10:01 or 14:01 on Monday to Friday and on Sunday; or at 08:01 and 14:01 on Saturdays.
So if you'd rather not set off from Oslo so early in the morning, this option avoids having to set an early alarm call.
From June 6th the 14:01 departure also has connections from Bergen; depart at 06:19 on Monday to Saturdays and on some Sundays.

On day two you'll have a choice of trains on from Kobenhavn to Hamburg with twice the usual number of departures available between June 18th and August 21st.
If you set off from Kobenhavn / Copenhagen before midday, it's possible to connect in Hamburg for a swathe of other destinations in Germany including Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart.
Though you need to depart from Kobenhavn before 08:00 if you'll want to travel on to more distant destinations by the end of the day including Paris, Switzerland and Warsaw.
Until June 17th and from Aug 22nd, the final train of the from Kobenhavn has an easily timed connection into an overnight Nightjet train to Basel and Switzerland.

Dep:	Oslo S	14:01	IC
Arr:	Göteborg C	17:40
Dep:	Göteborg C	18:40	Oresundtag
Arr:	Malmo C	21:51
Dep:	Malmo C	22:10	Snalltaget
Arr:	Hamburg Hbf	05:31

 

The Snalltaget night service to Hamburg is available until Sept 23rd and provides an alternative to spending the night in overnight accommodation in Kobenhavn / Copenhagen.
Though it does have a very early in the morning arrival time in Hamburg, but the advantage of this is the connections it offers in Hamburg.
You'll be there in time to reach distant destinations, such as London, Lyon, Marseille, Milan and Paris by the end of the day.

The Snalltaget train continues on to Berlin, so it's possible sleep on the train for longer and connect there for other destinations including Basel, Dresden, Interlaken, Munich, Vienna and Warsaw.

There are three options for heading to Hamburg, the gateway to destinations on Germany and beyond, which involve taking ferries from Oslo, Bergen, Kristiansand and Stavanger to ports in Denmark; and connecting into trains.

The overnight ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen operated by DFDS is a good option for those who would prefer to spend the night in cabin on a ferry rather than a hotel/hostel in Copenhagen, or in a bunk on the night train; and who also don't want to set off from Oslo at the crack of dawn.

The ferry departs from Oslo daily at either 15:00 or 17:00, bus route/line 60 connects Oslo S station to the ferry terminal at Vippentangen.

In Copenhagen / Kobenhavn, where the ferry is due to arrive at 10:00, the DFDS terminal is a 10 - 20 min flat walk from Nordhavn railway station.
It has local S-Tog trains departing every 5 - 10 mins to Kobenhavn H station, from where trains on to Hamburg will be available.

By Color Line Ferry to Kiel

The daily ferry operated by Color Line typically departs Oslo daily at 14:00 and arrives the next day into Kiel at 10:00.

In Oslo bus route/line 81 provides a service from the area around Oslo S station to the ferry terminal.
In Kiel it's many railway station, Kiel Hbf is 10-15 min flat walk from the ferry terminal.
Typically two Regio trains per hour link Kiel to Hamburg Hbf with a journey time of around 1hr 10mins.

At around 11:12 an ICE train will depart Kiel for Hannover, Kassel, Frankfurt (Main), Mannheim (connect for Stuttgart), Karlsruhe, Freiburg and Basel, until Apr 1st it will go to call at Zurich and Chur, and from Apr 1st it will go on to Bern and Interlaken.
So this combination on ferry and ICE train is usually the best option for a Norway to Switzerland journey.

Kristiansand is on the railway route between Oslo and Stavanger and Hirtshals is a ferry port in northern Denmark and two ferry companies operate on this route; Color Line and Fjordline.

The crossing by Fjordline is 45 minutes faster because it uses catamarans, but the disadvantage of using Fjordline is that its terminal in Hirsthals is some distance from the town's railway station.
The Fjordline website suggests walking to Lilleheden st, the station on from Hirtshals, but it's a 20-30min trek through an industrial area.

In contrast the transfer between the Color Line terminal and the trains couldn't be simpler, because an elevated covered walkway connects the dock to Hirsthals railway station.

The morning Color Line fast ferry departs Kristiansand at 08:00 and arrives in Hirtshals at 11:15
The Fjordline catamaran departs from its terminal in Kristiansand at 08:30 and arrives in Hirtshals at 10:45; which allows over an hour mins to take a taxi to Hirtshals station, or to walk to Lilleheden station.

Though neither of these morning ferry departures from Kristiansand have connections by train from Oslo or Stavanger.
Trains which typically depart Oslo at 11:25 and Stavanger at 12:47 arrive in Kristiansand before 16:00 and therefore connect into a Color Line ferry which usually leaves at 16:45; the ferry terminal is a 5 min walk from the railway station.
On arrival in Hirtshals on Monday to Friday, connections by train are possible on to Aarhus for an overnight stay; morning direct trains will be available on to Hamburg.

Kristiansand → Hamburg in a single day:

The negative of this route is that Hirtshals is some distance from the main railway routes in Denmark, so the train journey to Hamburg typically requires multiple connections; though the end-to-end journey can be looked up and booked on DB, the German national railways ticketing service; enter Hirtshals st as the departure station.
All trains from Hirtshals call at Lilleheden four mins after departing.

Until June 17th and from Aug 22nd:

Monday to Friday typical schedule:

• Hirtshals st at 11:50 → Aalborg
• Aalborg at 13:05 → Fredericia
• Fredericia at 16:45 → Kolding
• Kolding at 17:18 → Hamburg hbf, arrive at 20:02

During these dates the journey to Hamburg isn't possible on Saturdays.

Sunday typical schedule:

• Hirtshals st at 12:29 → Hjoerring st
• Hjoerring st at 13:02 → Aalborg
• Aalborg at 14:05 → Fredericia
• Fredericia at 18:45 → Flensburg (two hour connection)
• Flensburg at 20:15 → Hamburg hbf, arrive at 22:16 (seven minute connection)

Fjordline also operates a ferry route which typically departs from Bergen at 13:30 and from Stavanger at 20:00; its terminal in Stavanger is some distance from the city centre, but every 30 mins a local bus route/line 2 connects the station to the port named Risavika utenriksterminal.

The ferry is due into Hirtshals at 08:00, but the Fjordline terminal in Hirsthals is some distance from the town's railway station.
The Fjordline website suggests walking to Lilleheden st, the station on from Hirsthals, but it's a 20-30min trek through an industrial area.
All trains from Hirtshals call at Lilleheden four mins after departure.
So the other option is to book a local taxi prior to arrival in Hirtshals.

On to Hamburg until June 17th and from Aug 22nd:

Monday to Friday:

• Hirtshals st at 08:50 → Aalborg
• Aalborg at 10:19 → Aarhus
• Aarhus at 13:39 → Hamburg hbf, arrive at 18:02

Saturday and Sunday:

• Hirtshals st at 09:29 → Hjoerring st
• Hjoerring st at 10:02 → Aalborg
• Aalborg at 11:19 → Aarhus
• Aarhus at 13:39 → Hamburg hbf, arrive at 18:02

On to Hamburg from June 18th to Aug 21st:

Monday to Friday:

• Hirtshals st at 08:50 → Aalborg
• Aalborg at 10:19 → Aarhus
• Aarhus at 13:39 → Kolding st
• Kolding st at 15:18 → Hamburg hbf, arrive at 18:02

Saturday and Sunday:

• Hirtshals st at 09:29 → Hjoerring st
• Hjoerring st at 10:02 → Aalborg
• Aalborg at 11:19 → Aarhus
• Aarhus at 13:39 → Kolding st
• Kolding st at 15:18 → Hamburg hbf, arrive at 18:02

When avoiding flying when travelling from European destinations south of Denmark to Norway, the main station in Hamburg functions as a gateway, as it served by trains from swathe of other cities.
There are direct trains to Hamburg Hbf, the city's main station, from multiple popular locations including Basel, Berlin, Bonn, Budapest, Cologne, Chur, Dresden, Freiburg, Heidelberg, Munich, Prague, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich.
With just one connection between trains required, Hamburg is also easily accessed from Amsterdam*; Brussels, Lyon, Interlaken, Ljubljana, Marseille, Milan, Paris, Salzburg, Venice and Warsaw.
*= the shortest route has two connections.

Options for traveling to Hamburg

There are six options for travelling from Hamburg to Norway without flying:

1. In this direction heading north, it isn't possible to reach Oslo in a single day when travelling by train from Hamburg; so if you will be heading to the Norwegian capital you can overnight in Copenhagen, or if you will be heading on to the likes of Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim you can spend the night in Gothenburg.
2. Take an overnight train from Hamburg, which commences its journey in Berlin, and then connect in Malmo and Goteborg to arrive in Oslo before 18:00.
3. Take a train from Hamburg to Kobenhavn H, the cities main station, then take a local train on a station within easy walking distance of the DFDS ferry terminal, which is where an overnight ferry to Oslo will depart from.
4. Take the train from Hamburg to Kiel for a comparatively easy transfer into an overnight ferry to Oslo.
5. Make the train journey from Hamburg to Hirtshals, which is a ferry port in northern Denmark from where daytime ferries depart to Kristiansand, which is located on the railway route between Oslo and Stavanger.
6. Take the train from Hamburg to Hirtshals in order to connect into overnight ferry operated by Fjordline, which heads to Bergen via Stavanger.

There are detailed guides for each of these options below, but note that the timings given are the typical schedules for the trains and ferries, but these can be subject to alteration, so don't assume that they will be correct on your travel dates.
They have been included primarily to give an idea of the schedules, how long they take end-to-end and the departure times from Hamburg.

Until June 17th and from Aug 22nd the train which departs Hamburg at 08:56 has an onward connection to Gothenburg which misses the final train of the day on to Oslo by less than 10 minutes.
(Between June 18th and August 21st the first train of the day from Hamburg to Copenhagen doesn't depart until 10:53).

So if you want to travel from Hamburg to Oslo solely by day trains, the first stage of the journey is to take the train from Hamburg to the Danish capital.
You can then either overnight in Copenhagen, take a train on to Malmo as accommodation tends to be cheaper around Malmo C station, or take a train on to Gothenburg.
On Monday to Friday the train which typically departs Goteborg C station at 06:10 has good connections in Oslo into trains on to Bergen and Stavanger

If you overnight in Copenhagen or Malmo, there will be multiple options for heading to Oslo the next day.

Taking the night train from Hamburg

The Snalltaget night service is available until Sept 23rd and provides an alternative to spending the night in overnight accommodation in Kobenhavn / Copenhagen.
It typically departs from Hamburg Hbf just before midnight and commences its journey in Berlin at around 21:00; it arrives in Malmo around 07:30.
40 minutes after the arrival in Malmo a connecting train will depart for Goteborg, though the train on to Oslo won't be departing until close to three hours after the arrival in Goteborg C station, with a usual arrival time in Oslo S station at 17:40.

An alternative option which avoids the three hour wait in Gothenburg, only has one connection and enables the entire journey to be made on trains which have seat reservations available, is to take the Snalltaget night service to Stockholm.
It is typically due into Stockholm at around 14:15 with an easily timed connection into a train on to Oslo which usually departs at 15:29; though you won't be arriving in Oslo until shortly before midnight.
Though this longer route via the Swedish capital can be a good alternative on the dates when the direct trains between Gothenburg and Oslo aren't available.

As overnight stays or night trains are necessary when travelling from Hamburg to Norway solely by train, taking a train in order to connect into a ferry can be a good option.

Kiel to Oslo by Color Line

The daily ferry operated by Color Line typically departs Kiel daily at 14:00 and arrives the next day into Oslo at 10:00.

In Oslo bus route/line 81 provides a service from the ferry terminal at Filipstad to area around Oslo S station.

In Kiel it's many railway station, Kiel Hbf is 10-15 min flat walk to the ferry terminal.
Typically two Regio trains per hour link Hamburg Hbf to Kiel with a journey time of around 1hr 10mins.

Typically an ICE train from Basel, which calls in Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Frankfurt (Main), Kassel and Hannover will be scheduled to arrive into Kiel at 12:44.
So this combination of ICE train and ferry is usually the best option for a Switzerland to Norway journey.

København to Oslo by DFDS

Until June 17th and from Aug 22nd the 08:56 train departure from Hamburg is due to arrive in København H station at 13:33 and the ferry operated by DFDS to Oslo, will depart København at 16:15 and arrive in the Norwegian capital at 09:00 the following morning.

To access the DFDS ferry terminal from København H station take these steps:

1. Take a local S-Tog train (line A to Hillerod, line B to Farum or line E to Holte) to Nordhavn station
2. Turn left on exiting the station and walk for around 5 mins along the street until you can turn left into a subway/passage under the railway lines, it has a mural of past transport around its entrance.
3. When exiting the subway/passage go straight ahead across a multi-lane road, when you're at the other side, turn right and you will see the DFDS terminal ahead of you, the total walking time be around 8 - 15 mins.

Hirsthals is a ferry port in northern Denmark and Kristiansand is on the railway route between Oslo and Stavanger and two ferry companies operate on this route; Color Line and Fjordline.

The crossing by Fjordline is 45 minutes faster because it uses catamarans, but the disadvantage of using Fjordline is that its terminal in Hirsthals is some distance from the town's railway station.
The Fjordline website suggests walking from Lilleheden st, the station before Hirtshals, but it's a 20-30min trek through an industrial area.

In contrast the transfer between the trains and the Color Line terminal and couldn't be simpler, because an elevated covered walkway connects Hirtshals railway station to its ferry dock.

The end-to-end train journey from Hamburg can be looked up to confirm the schedules and booked on DB, the German national railways ticketing service; enter Hirtsthals st as the arrival station.
The schedules below are the typical timetable, but they can be impacted by works on the railway line, particularly at weekends.

• Hamburg Hbf at 10:53 → Aarhus
• Aarhus at 15:50 → Aalborg
• Aalborg at 18:09 → Hjoerring st (the train will be heading to Skagen)
• Hjoerring st at 19:02 → Hirtshals st, arriving at 19:24.

The ferry to Kristiansand operated by Color Line is typically scheduled to depart from Hirtshals at 20:45.
In Hirtshals station, a walkway by the rear of the trains, links the station to the Color Line ferry terminal.

The ferry is scheduled to arrive in Kristiansand at 23:59, and the overnight train to Oslo is typically scheduled to depart from Kristiansand station, a 10 min walk from the ferry terminal, at 02:22 and arrive in Oslo S station at 07:26.

The ferry to Stavanger operated by Fjordline is typically due to depart from Hirtshals a ferry port in northern Denmark at 20:00 and arrive in Stavanger the next morning at 06:30; before travelling on to Bergen where it is due to arrive at 12:30.
In Stavanger the Fjordline terminal is some distance from the railway station, but it is connected to the city centre every 30 mins by local bus route/line 2 which stops by the railway station.

Though a complication of this route is that the Fjordline terminal in Hirtshals is some distance from the town's railway station.
In Hirtshals it seems as though a local bus service will depart Hirtshals station at 18:30 and arrive at the ferry terminal at 18:45, but this should be confirmed in advance.
Another option will be to book a local taxi prior to arrival in Hirtshals.
The Fjordline website suggests leaving the train at Lilleheden st, the stop before Hirtshals, to walk to the ferry terminal, but it is a 1km hike through an industrial area.

The end-to-end train journey from Hamburg can be looked up to confirm the schedules and booked on DB, the German national railways ticketing service; enter Hirtsthals st as the arrival station.
The schedules below are the typical timetable, but they can be impacted by works on the railway line, particularly at weekends.

Until June 17th and from Aug 22nd:

• Hamburg Hbf at 08:53 → Kolding st
• Kolding at 12:31 to Aarhus
• Aarhus at 14:51 → Aalborg
• Aalborg at 16:39 → to Hirtshals st, arriving at 17:50.
  The usual transfer time in Aalborg will be 6 mins, so if need be, take the following train which will be heading to Skagen and connect in Hjoerring st for Hirtshals with an arrival there at 18:19.
  On Saturdays and Sundays the direct train from Aalborg to Hirtshals won't be available, but by taking a train to Hjoerring st and connecting there, the arrival time in Hirtshals st will be between 18:20 and 18:30.

June 18th to August 21st

• Hamburg Hbf at 08:56 → Aarhus
• Aarhus at 13:52 → Aalborg
• Aalborg at 16:14 → Hjoerring st (the train will be heading to Skagen)
• Hjoerring st at 16:55 → Hirtshals st, arriving at 17:19.
  Note that this schedule allows time for a break of journey in either Aarhus or Aalborg; the trains on the routes on from Aarhus all typically depart at least hourly.

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