Hell Station

Hell Station (Norwegian: Hell stasjon) is a railway station located in the village of Hell in Stjørdal Municipality in the Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located at the intersection of the Nordland Line and the Meråker Line.

Hell Station Hell stasjon
Railway station
View of the station
General information
Location	Hell, Stjørdal Municipality Trøndelag Norway
Coordinates	63°26′46″N 10°53′55″E
Elevation	3.2 m (10 ft)
Owned by	Bane NOR
Operated by	SJ Norge
Line(s)	Nordlandsbanen Meråkerbanen
Distance	31.4 km (19.5 mi)
Platforms	3
Other information
Station code	HEL
History
Opened	1881 (1881)
Location Hell Station Location within Trøndelag Show map of Trøndelag Hell Station Hell Station (Norway) Show map of Norway

Information

Steam trains in 1906.
Photo: Anders Beer Wilse

Hell Station serves:

• the Meråker Line between the village Hell and Storlien (station) in Sweden.
• the Trøndelag Commuter Rail system

Both the Meråker line and the Trøndelag commuter rail use Class 92 units by SJ Norge.^[1][2][3]

Hell Gods-Expedition.
Photo: Karin Beate Nøsterud

History

Planned by architect Paul Armin Due, the present station building at Hell Station was opened in 1902. It replaced an older building of 1881, whose architect was Peter Andreas Blix.

The small restaurant inside the station was taken over by Norsk Spisevognselskap on 1 October 1922, but returned to private operation in 1934.^[4]

Tourist attraction

Due to its name, Hell Station has become a tourist attraction. While associated with the religious concept Hell by English-speakers, the name Hell derives from Old Norse hellir, which means cave. The Norwegian equivalent to English hell is hel or, more commonly, helvete (compare with Old English hellewīte).^[5]

The station's freight building still bears the old sign saying Hell Gods-Expedition. In Norwegian, Gods-Expedition (archaic) or godsekspedisjon (modern) means freight service or cargo handling.^[6] This sign is a popular photo opportunity for foreign English-speaking tourists. Especially in the summer months, it is not unusual for foreigners, when discovering the sign, to disembark the train in order to get a photo. The building is not used for freight anymore. All light freight is handled through post offices or competing companies.