travel time to Levanger is 48 minutes, to Verdal 1 hour and 2 minutes, and to Steinkjer 1 hour and 26 minutes. The commuter rail is operated with Class 92 trains. From the airport, there is connection with local buses operated by Nettbuss. Klæburuten operates an airport coach to and from the city center of Trondheim every ten minutes from 4 in the morning until 9 in the evening. NOR-WAY Bussekspress and TrønderBilene operate a coach service to Steinkjer and onwards to Namsos. History The railway past Værnes opened on 27 October 1902 as the Hell–Sunnan Line—today part of the Nordland Line. The plans for a railway station in the terminal of Værnes were launched in 1990, along with the plans to build a second terminal at the airport. Construction of the new terminal started on 1 October 1992. On 15 March 1993, NSB announced that they would start a commuter train service between Steinkjer and Melhus, south of Trondheim. The service would give a half-hour headway during peak hours between Stjørdal and Melhus, and a one-hour headway onwards to Steinkjer. NSB stated that the concept was based on the success of the Jæren Commuter Rail and that they hoped to have a 70% increase in ridership, in part due to the opening of the airport station. The concept would also take advantage of expansion of Trondheim Central Station that would co-locate the main coach- and train terminals in Trondheim. The service would also give direct services along the Dovre Line to Oppdal and the Røros Line to Tynset. Estimates were that the railway would capture a 10% ground transport market share. The commuter rail service started on 1 September 1993. Construction of the railway station started on 7 April 1994, and cost . The terminal opened on 15 November 1994, the same day as the new airport terminal. Minister of Transport and Communications Kjell Opseth performed the official opening. NSB stated that their primary goal was not to compete with the four hourly airport coaches that operated to the hotels in Trondheim, but instead to provide services to communities in Nord-Trøndelag and south of Trondheim. It was the first airport rail link to open in Northern Europe, with the closest integrated train station at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. References Railway stations in Stjørdal Railway stations on the Nordland Line Railway stations opened in 1994 Airport railway stations