the norm. The decision was controversial, as the line was expected to have little traffic and would therefore not be profitable. A minority of the parliamentarians instead wanted the line to be built with narrow gauge to reduce construction costs. The state required that local municipalities and counties contributed to some of the investment costs. NOK 1.2 million was paid by Buskerud County Municipality, while NOK 2.17 million million was paid by the various municipalities. The largest amounts were paid by Flesberg with NOK 635,000, Nore with NOK 615,000 and Rollag with NOK 517,000, while Uvdal paid NOK 198,000, Kongsberg NOK 125,000 and Drammen NOK 80,000. Siting commenced in 1918, and by 1919, an administration for the works had been established in Kongsberg. Construction commenced on 2 July 1920, between Fossan and Bratterud. However, there quickly arose a strike, resulting in construction not being taken up until March 1921. Final approval by parliament was first made on 20 July 1921. Most of the construction was done using hand tools. of earth was moved, of rock was blasted and of tunnel were built. of ballast stone were used, most of it from the gravel pits at Bevergrenda, Guribråten and Stevningsmogen, Tjuvhaugen and Skarpsmoen. The whole construction used seven million work hours and for the tunneling, each work hour gave of progress. Most of the tracks were used from other railways. Five of the station buildings, at Vangestad, Flesberg, Djupdal, Tråen and Kravikfjord, were workmen's sheds which had been placed on a foundation. From 1924, the railway was taken partially into use. Trains could run the from Kongsberg to Bakkerød from 15 November 1924, the to Kjærre from 1 December 1925 and to Rødberg from 1 December 1926. These trains included transport of of cement and for the railway bridges. In total 4,300 wagon loads were transported before the official opening, of which about half was for the power stations. Because of the delay of building the line, it could only be used during part of the construction period for the power stations. The official opening took place on 19 November 1927 by King Haakon VII. When the line opened there were 21 staffed stations on the line. Up to 70 people worked on the line, in addition to station employees. In 1932, the operations were rationalized, cutting costs from NOK 426,000 to NOK 310,000 per year. This involved removing the station