How to Get to Trondheim: Værnes Airport, Rail Lines and Port

As the transport hub linking southern Norway with Nordland and northern Scandinavia, Trondheim brings together an international airport with an integrated rail station, two trunk railway lines, regional express catamarans on the Trondheimsfjord, and daily coastal cruise ship calls at Brattøra.

By Air: Trondheim Airport, Værnes (TRD) and Its Integrated Rail Station

Trondheim Airport, Værnes (IATA: TRD, ICAO: ENVA) lies in Stjørdal Municipality, 10 nautical miles (19 kilometres or 12 miles) east of Trondheim along the Trondheimsfjord. Established as a military camp in 1887 (where a Maurice Farman MF-7 biplane made the first flight on 26 March 1914), the Avinor-operated airport handled 4,441,870 passengers in 2018 across a 2,999-metre main runway. Domestic Terminal A (opened in 1994 with jet bridges) and international Terminal B (opened in 1982 and refurbished in 2005) host SAS, Norwegian, and Widerøe on Norway's busiest domestic air route to Oslo, alongside direct international flights to Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Amsterdam. Terminal A connects via a covered walkway to Trondheim Airport, Værnes Station, where hourly Trøndelag Commuter Rail (Trønderbanen, Line R70) trains and airport buses run straight to Trondheim Central Station.

By Train: Trondheim Central Station, the Dovre Line, and the Nordland Line

Located on Brattøra north of the harbour canal and linked to Midtbyen by pedestrian bridges, Trondheim Central Station (Trondheim sentralstasjon, Trondheim S) opened in 1881 for the Meråker Line (with its oldest brick wing completed in 1883, replacing the 1864 Kalvskinnet station) and expanded in 1910 to 1921 for the Dovre Line and in 1995 with the bus terminal. Operated by SJ Norge, the station is the northern terminus of the electrified 548-kilometre Dovre Line (Dovrebanen, Line F6) from Oslo Central Station via Hamar, Lillehammer, Dombås, and Oppdal (4 daytime express trains and 1 night train daily, with tilting Class 73 units taking 6 hours 37 minutes), plus the Røros Line (Line R60) via Røros. Heading north and east, Trondheim S is the southern terminus of Norway's longest railway, the 729-kilometre non-electrified Nordland Line (Nordlandsbanen, Line F7) to Mosjøen, Mo i Rana, Fauske, and Bodø (1 day train and 1 night train daily), and the Meråker Line (Line R71) to Storlien on the Swedish border.

By Sea and Local Transit: Hurtigruten, Pirterminalen, and Gråkallbanen

Ten minutes' walk northwest of Trondheim S on Brattøra stand the cruise quays (where southbound and northbound Hurtigruten and Havila ships berth) and Pirterminalen, where passenger catamarans cross the Trondheimsfjord to Vanvikan, Brekstad, and Kristiansund. Within the city, AtB operates Metrobus and local bus lines through Trondheim S and Munkegata, while Boreal Bane runs the 8.8-kilometre Gråkallbanen tram (Line 9) every 15 minutes on weekdays (every 30 minutes evenings and Sundays) from St. Olavs gate up to Lian in Bymarka. Check the official site of AtB or Entur for current fares.

Airport Transfers, Long-Distance Rail, and Local Transit

Because Trondheim Airport, Værnes (TRD) was a pioneering regional airport in Northern Europe when it integrated a mainline railway platform directly into its passenger terminal in 1994, moving from aircraft door to the historic city centre requires no complicated shuttle changes. After collecting luggage in domestic Terminal A or international Terminal B, follow the indoor signs along the covered pedestrian walkway directly onto the Værnes railway station platform. Regional Trøndelag Commuter Rail trains operated by SJ Norge run west along the shore of the Trondheimsfjord straight into Trondheim Central Station (Trondheim S) at Brattøra, with intermediate local stops including Vikhammer and Ranheim (and stops near Lerkendal or Skansen on continuing services).

In addition to the train, dedicated airport express coaches (Flybussen and Værnes Ekspressen) depart outside the terminal building and drop passengers directly outside major hotels in Solsiden, Midtbyen around Torvet, and Bakklandet, which can be convenient if you are travelling with heavy winter ski equipment or arriving late at night after the last commuter train.

For travellers building a wider Scandinavian rail journey, Trondheim Central Station acts as the central junction between southern Norway, the Arctic Circle, and Sweden:

• The Dovre Line (Dovrebanen, Line F6): The primary electrified main line climbing north from Oslo Central Station past Lake Mjøsa at Hamar, Lillehammer, the Gudbrandsdalen valley, and the high mountain plateau over Dovrefjell via Dombås and Oppdal before descending into Trøndelag. Daytime tilting express trains and overnight sleeper services with two-berth compartments operate daily.
• The Røros Line (Rørosbanen, Line R60): An alternative scenic branch diverging at Hamar through the Østerdalen valley and the historic copper-mining timber town of Røros before joining the southern approach into Trondheim.
• The Nordland Line (Nordlandsbanen, Line F7): Stretching 729 kilometres north from Trondheim S through Steinkjer, Mosjøen, and Mo i Rana, crossing the Arctic Circle on the Saltfjellet mountain range to Fauske and Bodø (where ferries connect to Lofoten).
• The Meråker Line (Meråkerbanen, Line R71): Running east from Trondheim via Hell and Værnes to Storlien on the Swedish border for onward rail connections toward Åre, Östersund, and Stockholm.

From the southern concourse of Trondheim Central Station, a covered footbridge crosses the railway tracks and harbour canal directly to Fjordgata and Ravnkloa, placing you at the northern foot of Munkegata within walking distance of Torvet and Nidaros Cathedral. For longer hops out to Ringve on Lade, Tyholttårnet, or the Gråkallbanen tram into Bymarka, contactless tickets on the AtB mobile app cover both city buses and the Line 9 tram within the urban fare zone.

Cyclists and walkers also benefit from Trondheim's flat river-loop layout and dedicated bike lanes linking Midtbyen across Gamle Bybro and Bakke bru to Bakklandet, Solsiden, and the university campuses. Municipal city bikes can be unlocked at docking stations near the railway station, Torvet, and Bakklandet during the snow-free months, making it easy to combine rail arrival with car-free exploration across the peninsula (see our three-day itinerary). Passengers arriving on coastal voyages or regional express catamarans at Pirterminalen can either walk across the station footbridge into Midtbyen in ten minutes or board a local AtB bus outside the terminal doors straight to Munkegata and Prinsens gate, keeping every air, rail, and sea transit mode tightly integrated around the northern harbour canal. Left-luggage lockers inside Trondheim Central Station also allow rail and cruise passengers to store bags for a few hours while walking through the historic centre.