Rapid transit system of Oslo, Norway
The
Oslo Metro
(
Norwegian
:
Oslo T-bane
or
Oslo Tunnelbane
or simply
T-banen
) is the
rapid transit
system of
Oslo
, Norway, operated by
Sporveien T-banen
on contract from the transit authority
Ruter
. The network consists of five lines that all run through the city centre, with a total length of 85 kilometres (53 mi),
[2]
serving 101 stations of which 17 are underground or indoors. In addition to serving 14 out of the 15
boroughs of Oslo
, two lines run to
Kolsas
and
Østeras
, in the neighbouring municipality of
Bærum
. In 2016, the system had an annual ridership of 118 million.
[1]
The first rapid transit line, the
Holmenkollen Line
, opened in 1898, with the branch
Røa Line
opening in 1912. It became the first Nordic underground rapid transit system in 1928, when the underground line to
Nationaltheatret
was opened. After 1993 trains ran under the city between the eastern and western networks in the
Common Tunnel
, followed by the 2006 opening of the
Ring Line
. All the trains are operated with
MX3000
stock. These replaced the older
T1000
stock between 2006 and 2010.
History
[
edit
]
Suburban lines in the west
[
edit
]
Rail transport in Oslo started in 1854, with the opening of
Hoved Line
to Eidsvoll, through
Groruddalen
. In 1872,
Drammen Line
, going through Oslo West, and in 1879,
Østfold Line
going through
Nordstrand
opened, offering a limited rail service to those parts of the city.
[3]
By 1875,
Kristiania Sporveisselskab
(KSS) opened the first horsecar trams.
[4]
In 1894 electric trams were in service by
Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei
(KES).
[5]
The first suburban tram line was the
Holmenkollen Line
that was opened by
Holmenkolbanen
in 1898; like all the later suburban tram line these were electric trams with a grade-separated right-of-way and proper stations instead of tram stops, making it the first rapid transit in Oslo. Unlike the other suburban tram lines that were built later, the Holmenkollen Line was not extended into the city as a streetcar?instead passengers had to change at
Majorstuen
to the streetcars, though the system did not take into use wider suburban stock (3.1 metres (10 ft 2 in)) until 1909.
[6]
A branch line was opened in 1912, to
Smestad
,
[7]
and in 1916 the Holmenkollen Line was extended to Tryvann, with the last part from
Frognerseteren
single track and used for freight,
[8]
and removed in 1939.
[9]
In 1912, the construction of the first underground railway in the Nordic Countries started, when A/S Holmenkolbanen started construction of an extension of their line from Majorstuen to
Nationaltheatret
; the 2.0 kilometres (1.2 mi) line was opened in 1928 (and was then only the second underground railway
to be opened
in the Nordic countries after
Boulevardtunnlen
in Copenhagen which opened in July 1918
[10]
), with one intermediate station at
Valkyrie Plass
, giving the two suburban lines access to the central business district of Oslo.
[11]
The success of the suburban lines tempted KES to extend their streetcar service west from
Skøyen
as a suburban line; the
Lilleaker Line
opened to
Lilleaker
in 1919, to
Avløs
in 1924 and to
Kolsas
in 1930. A new section from
Jar
to
Sørbyhaugen
opened in 1942, connecting the line from Jar to Kolsas to Nationaltheatret, and making it a rapid transit and the replacement of stock with wide suburban standard.
[12]
[13]
This service remained part of the municipal
Oslo Sporveier
, that had bought all the streetcar companies in 1924.
[14]
Compensation for large amounts of damage to houses along the route during construction, along with higher construction costs than calculated was a heavy burden on the company, and in 1934, the municipality of
Aker
took over the common stock, though the preferred stock remained listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange
until 1975, as Oslo Sporveier gradually took over the operation of the western suburban lines.
Akersbanerne
opened the connecting
Sognsvann Line
in 1934.
[11]
Metro
[
edit
]
The first idea to launch a citywide rapid transit was launched in 1912 with the construction of the
Ekeberg Line
; constructed with the same width profile as the Holmenkollen Line, the plan was to build a tunnel under the city center and run through trains, but large cost expenditures on the first section of the
Common Tunnel
ceased the plans. As part of the rebuilding after
World War II
a planning office for a T-bane was established in 1949, with the first plans launched in 1951; in 1954, the city council decided to build the T-bane network in Eastern Oslo with four branches. The system would feature improvements over the suburban lines in having a
third rail
power supply,
cab signaling
with
Automatic Train Protection
, stations long enough for six-car trains and
level crossings
replaced by bridges and underpasses?specifications christened metro standard.
[15]
At the time there were two suburban tramways on the east side, the Ekeberg Line (opened in 1919)
[5]
and the
Østensjø Line
(1923).
[16]
Only the latter would be connected to the T-bane; the Ekeberg Line would remain a tramway, but three new lines were to be built?the
Grorud Line
on the north side and the
Furuset Line
on the south side of
Groruddalen
and the
Lambertseter Line
on the east of
Nordstrand
. These areas were all chosen as new
suburbs
for Oslo, and would quickly need a good public transport system; suburban lines would first be built out extending from the existing tramway, and later a final section with tunnel to the central station would be built. The Lambertseter Line was opened in 1957, from
Brynseng
to
Bergkrystallen
while the Østensjø Line was extended to
Bøler
in 1958.
[15]
The metro opened on 22 May 1966, when the Common Tunnel opened from Brynseng to the new downtown station of
Jernbanetorget
, located beside the
Oslo East Railway Station
. In October the Grorud Line opened to
Grorud
while the Østensjø Line was connected to the system in 1967 when the line also was extended to
Skullerud
. In 1970, the Furuset Line opened to
Haugerud
and extended to
Trosterud
in 1974, at the same time as the Grorud Line was extended to
Vestli
. By 1981, the Furuset Line had reached
Ellingsrudasen
.
[17]
The metro took delivery of
T1000
rolling stock from
Strømmens Værksted
; from 1964 to 1978, 162 cars in three-car configurations were delivered for the eastern network.
One tunnel
[
edit
]
The eastern network was extended from Jernbanetorget to
Sentrum
in 1977. This station was forced to close in 1983, due to water leakage, and when it opened again in 1987, renamed Stortinget, the west network tunnel had also been extended there. Through services were not possible at the time because of incompatibility of signaling and power equipment. Not until 1993 did the first trains run through the station, after the Sognsvann Line had been rebuilt to "metro standard"; the Røa Line followed in 1995.
[18]
The Holmenkollen and Kolsas Lines remained non-metro, using dual mode trains that switch to
overhead lines
at
Frøen
and
Montebello
.
[19]
The western network took delivery of 33
T1300
cars in 1978?81, with an additional 16 converted from T1000. In 1994 twelve
T2000
cars were delivered for the Holmenkollen Line.
[20]
In 2003 the
Ring Line
opened, connecting
Ulleval stadion
to
Storo
.
[13]
The following year, construction work caused a tunnel to collapse on the Grorud Line?the system's busiest?forcing a shutdown of the line until December, and creating a havoc of overcrowded replacement buses.
[21]
In 2006 the ring was completed, to
Carl Berners plass
.
[13]
At the same time the Kolsas Line was closed for upgrade to metro standard.
[13]
In 2003 the section of the Kolsas Line in Bærum closed due to budget disagreements between the two counties; after a year of unpopular replacement
buses
, the line was reopened, only to close again in 2006 for upgrade to metro standard. Disagreements between the two counties meant the upgrade would be done separately on the two sides of the municipal boundary, with the Oslo side opening first.
[22]
In 2006 the replacement of existing rolling stock with new
MX3000
units commenced.
[23]
The history of the metro and public transport in Oslo is celebrated at the
Oslo Tramway Museum
in Majorstuen.
[24]
Network
[
edit
]
The current route network was introduced on 3 April 2016, with the opening of the connection tunnel from Økern to Sinsen and the new Løren station.
The Oslo Metro operates in all fifteen boroughs of Oslo, as well as reaching a bit inside the neighbouring municipality of
Bærum
. There are five lines, numbered 1 to 5, each colour-coded. They all pass through the Common Tunnel, serving eight branch lines. In addition two lines operate to the Ring Line. Two branches are served by two lines each: the Grorud branch is served by both lines 4 and 5, while the Lambertseter branch has full-time service by line 4 and limited service by line 1.
[25]
The Grorud and Furuset Line head northeast into Groruddalen, while the other two eastern branches head south into Nordstrand. On the west side, the Holmenkoll and Sognsvann Line cover the northern boroughs of Oslo, along with the Ring Line that connects the northeastern and northwestern parts of town. The Kolsas and Røa Line reach deep into the neighbouring municipality of Bærum.
[13]
All the lines run through the Common Tunnel before reaching out to different lines, or into the Ring. All lines have a base service of four trains per hour while line 2 and the eastern section of line 3 have eight trains per hour weekdays 07:00?19:00. The eastern section of line 2 also has eight trains per hour Saturdays 10:00?19:00. A reduced half-hourly service operates on all lines during early weekend mornings. Trains run from about 05:00 (06:00 at weekends) to 01:00 the next morning.
[25]
Lines
[
edit
]
Line 1
[
edit
]
Line 1: Frognerseteren ? Stortinget ? Helsfyr (? Bergkrystallen)
|
|
Line 2
[
edit
]
Line 2: Østeras ? Stortinget ? Ellingsrudasen
|
|
Line 3
[
edit
]
Line 3: Kolsas ? Stortinget ? Mortensrud
|
|
Line 4
[
edit
]
Line 4: Vestli ? Storo ? Stortinget ? Bergkrystallen
|
|
Line 5
[
edit
]
Line 5: Sognsvann ? Stortinget ? Storo ? Stortinget ? Vestli
|
|
Line 6 (under construction)
[
edit
]
Line 6: Majorstuen-Skøyen-Lysaker-Fornebu
|
|
A new metro line that will extend from Majorstuen to Fornebu is under construction as of December 2020, aiming to be completed in 2027.
[26]
An agreement has been reached and signed between the Oslo city government and the Norwegian state that would share the cost of 13 billion NOK equally between the city and the national government.
[27]
Line 7 (proposed)
[
edit
]
Line 7: Majorstuen-Bislett-Grunerløkka-Tøyen-Helsfyr-Bryn
|
|
Stations
[
edit
]
The system consists of 101
stations
, of which 17 are underground or indoors.
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
The only underground station on the pre-metro western network was Nationaltheatret, and most of the underground station are in the common tunnel under the city center, or in shorter tunnel sections on the eastern network; in particular the Furuset Line runs mainly underground, with all but
Haugerud
built in or at the opening of a tunnel.
[32]
Stations in the city center are located close to large employment centers as well as connection possibilities to other modes of transport, such as tram, rail and bus. All stations can be identified at ground level by signs with a blue T in a circle. Stations outside the center are unmanned since the 1995, with
ticket machines
for fare purchase;
[13]
some stations feature kiosks. A system of
turnstiles
have been installed, but will never be activated due to security issues. All stations have step-free
accessibility
through at least one entrance (except the inbound platform at Frøen), and the
platform height
is aligned with the train cars.
[33]
Intermodality
[
edit
]
The metro is integrated into the public transport system of Oslo and Akershus through the agency
Ruter
, allowing tickets to also be valid on the
Oslo Tramway
, city buses, ferries, and the
Oslo Commuter Rail
operated by
Vy
.
[34]
A new, wireless ticketing system,
Reisekort
, has in the recent years been implemented.
[35]
As of June 2022, a single ticket for one zone (the entire metro system is in zone 1) costs NOK 39 for adults (a surcharge of 20 NOK is added if you buy onboard within zone 1);
[36]
a 30-day ticket costs NOK 814 for adults.
[37]
This includes all means of public transport within the zone where the ticket is first activated (again, for the metro, zone 1). There is a fine of NOK 950, or NOK 1150, for not having a valid ticket, depending on if the fine is paid on location or not.
[38]
Oslo maintains a street tram system with six lines, of which two are
suburban lines
.
[39]
The street trams operate mostly within the borders of the Ring Line, providing a frequent service in the city centre, with lower average speeds but with more stops. There are major transfer points to the tramway at
Majorstuen
,
Jernbanetorget
,
Jar
,
Storo
and
Forskningsparken
.
[40]
[41]
The commuter train serves suburbs further away from Oslo, though some of the commuter rail services remind of a rapid transit service, in particular line L1 to
Lillestrøm
and
Asker
, line L2 to
Stabekk
and
Ski
, and line R31 to
Jaren
with higher service frequency through the continual populated area of Oslo. Transfer to railway services is available at Jernbanetorget (to
Oslo S
) and
Nationaltheatret
, the latter with a considerably shorter walk.
[42]
Bus services are provided to numerous stations. Most bus services provide feeding to the metro system where possible, and then do not continue into town. However, since the metro operates solely into town, instead of across it, many buses operate between stations on different lines, or provide alternative routes across town.
[43]
Future expansion
[
edit
]
As part of the political agreement
Oslo Package 3
, a number of changes and expansions have been proposed for the Oslo Metro.
[44]
Only one of these, the Fornebu Line, is currently being built
[45]
- the other projects have been put on hold for it.
Proposed
[
edit
]
- Expansion of the Furuset Line to
Lørenskog
with stations at Skarer, Lørenskog Centre and a new terminus at
Akershus University Hospital
, with travel time to Jernbanetorget of 27 minutes.
- A second common tunnel from Majorstuen to Tøyen, creating two new stations at Bislett and southern Grunerløkka (Nybrua).
[46]
All lines will stop at Stortinget, which will get four platforms.
Majorstuen station
will be moved underground.
[47]
Under construction
[
edit
]
- The
Fornebu Line
is planned to run from Majorstuen to the old airport area at
Fornebu
, through
Skøyen
and
Lysaker
; a total of 6 new stations will be on this line. The line began construction in December 2020, with an opening date set around 2029, and will cost an estimated $2.6 billion USD.
[48]
[45]
The line is funded in part by Oslo and
Akershus county
, among other sources.
[49]
Rolling stock
[
edit
]
The trains on the Oslo metro are currently exclusively the
MX3000
, ordered in 2003 to replace the oldest T1000 stock. Delivery started in 2006, and unlike older stock the MX3000 units are painted white instead of red. 83 three-car units were ordered in 2006;
[23]
a further 32 were ordered in December 2010.
[50]
A number of versions of the
T1000
stock have earlier been used on the Oslo metro. This includes 146 cars of the types T1 through T4, that have third-rail only operation, and thus did not run on the Holmenkollen and Kolsas lines. These ran usually in units of three or six (sometimes four or five) cars. Types T5 to T8, 49 in total, delivered with both third-rail and overhead wire equipment, normally ran on the Holmenkollen line (two cars) and Kolsas line (three cars).
[20]
When the Holmenkollen Line was connected to the T-bane it was still using old teak cars; to allow through services the
T2000
, capable of dual-system running, was delivered in 1993. They were not particularly successful and only 12 units were delivered, operating in pairs on the Holmenkollen line sometimes connecting with the Lambertseter line, and scrapped in 2010.
[51]
Depots and facilities
[
edit
]
Network map
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Inline references
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Ruter Arsrapport 2016"
[Ruter Arsrapport 2016]
(PDF)
(in Norwegian). Ruter. 2017.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2017-12-14
. Retrieved
2017-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
"Arsrapport 2014"
[Annual Report 2014]
(PDF)
(in Norwegian). Ruter. 2014. p. 21.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2016-01-10
. Retrieved
2015-06-05
.
- ^
Bjerke and Holom, 2004: 9
- ^
Aspenberg, 1994: 6
- ^
a
b
Aspenberg, 1994: 7
- ^
Aspenberg, 1994: 8
- ^
Aspenberg, 1994: 12
- ^
Aspenberg, 1994: 14
- ^
Bjerke and Holom, 2004: 347
- ^
"venFakta om Nørreport Station"
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-03-23
. Retrieved
2016-03-22
.
- ^
a
b
Aspenberg, 1994: 17
- ^
Bjerke and Holom, 2004: 346
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Oslo T-banedrift
.
"Kort historikk"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
on 2011-05-26
. Retrieved
2008-06-09
.
- ^
Aspenberg, 1994: 19
- ^
a
b
Aspenberg, 1994: 29
- ^
Aspenberg, 1994: 16
- ^
Aspenberg, 1994: 29?30
- ^
Aspenberg, 1994: 30
- ^
Oslo Sporveier
.
"Milepæler 1875?2005"
. Archived from
the original
on 2008-04-29
. Retrieved
2008-06-09
.
- ^
a
b
Aspenberg, 1994: 62
- ^
Akers Avis Groruddalen
(2004-07-28).
"Full stopp for Grorudbanen"
.
Archived
from the original on 2012-05-13.
- ^
Oslo T-banedrift.
"Kolsasbanen i mai"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
on 2011-05-26
. Retrieved
2008-06-09
.
- ^
a
b
Oslo T-banedrift
(2006).
"Nye T-banevoger i prøvedrift"
(PDF)
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2011-05-26.
- ^
Local Transport Historical Association.
"Short about LTF"
. Archived from
the original
on May 15, 2011
. Retrieved
2008-08-21
.
- ^
a
b
Ruter
(2016).
"Rutetabell for T-banen"
(PDF)
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2016-04-16
. Retrieved
2016-04-03
.
- ^
NTB (2020-12-11).
"Byggestart for Fornebubanen"
.
finansavisen.no
(in Norwegian).
Archived
from the original on 2022-08-13
. Retrieved
2021-01-21
.
- ^
Berg Bentzrød, Sveinung (January 25, 2017).
"Smiler bredt, men vil ikke si nar Fornebubanen skal sta ferdig"
.
Aftenposten
(in Norwegian). Aftenposten.
Archived
from the original on 13 August 2022
. Retrieved
5 April
2019
.
- ^
Oslo T-banedrift (2008).
"Linjekart"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2009-03-06.
- ^
Oslo Sporveier.
"T-banestasjonene i Øst"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
on 2008-03-08
. Retrieved
2008-06-09
.
- ^
Oslo Sporveier.
"T-banestasjonene i Vest"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
on 2008-04-01
. Retrieved
2008-06-09
.
- ^
Oslo Sporveier.
"Holmenkollbanens stasjoner"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
on 2008-04-01
. Retrieved
2008-06-09
.
- ^
Aspenberg, 1994: 33
- ^
Ruter
.
"Tilgjengelighet for alle"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
on October 11, 2008
. Retrieved
2008-08-21
.
- ^
Ruter
.
"Transportmidlene"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
on 2008-04-28
. Retrieved
2008-08-07
.
- ^
Ruter
.
"Hva er Flexus"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
on 2008-04-27
. Retrieved
2008-08-07
.
- ^
"Single ticket"
.
Ruter
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-09-21
. Retrieved
2022-06-29
.
- ^
"Tickets and prices"
.
Ruter
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-08-23
. Retrieved
2022-06-29
.
- ^
Ruter
.
"Ticket inspections"
.
Archived
from the original on 23 August 2016
. Retrieved
30 June
2016
.
- ^
Bjørn and Holum, 2004: 344
- ^
Oslo Sporvognsdrift
(2007).
"Trikken 2007"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2009-03-26
. Retrieved
2008-08-07
.
- ^
Ruter
(2013-12-15).
"Linjekart med T-banens stasjoner fra 15.12.2013"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2014-02-24.
- ^
Ruter
(2007).
"Skinne 2007"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
2008-08-07
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Ruter
(2007).
"Buss Alle 2007"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2011-07-24
. Retrieved
2008-08-07
.
- ^
Akershus County Municipality
(2006-05-29).
"Oslopakke 3"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
the original
on 2011-07-19.
- ^
a
b
"The Fornebu Line"
.
Oslo kommune
. 2022-03-24.
Archived
from the original on 2022-06-25
. Retrieved
2022-06-28
.
- ^
"Ny T-banetunnel gjennom Oslo sentrum"
.
Ruter
(in Norwegian)
. Retrieved
2019-11-01
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Bentzrød, Christian Sørgjerd Sveinung Berg.
"Foreslar nye T-banestasjoner pa Bislett og Grunerløkka"
.
Aftenposten
(in Norwegian Bokmal).
Archived
from the original on 2022-08-13
. Retrieved
2019-11-01
.
- ^
NRK (2022-06-23).
"Viken vedtok Fornebubanen"
.
NRK
(in Norwegian Bokmal).
Archived
from the original on 2022-06-28
. Retrieved
2022-06-28
.
- ^
"Fornebubanen"
.
Oslo kommune
(in Norwegian). 2017-09-27.
Archived
from the original on 2022-06-26
. Retrieved
2022-06-28
.
- ^
"Railway Gazette: Oslo orders more metro cars"
. 2010-12-24.
Archived
from the original on 2011-06-16
. Retrieved
2010-12-24
.
- ^
Oslo T-banedrift.
"T-2000"
(in Norwegian). Archived from
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on May 26, 2011
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
Budstikka.no (23 February 2013).
"Avløs: Gammel hall far ny nabo"
.
Archived
from the original on 4 March 2014.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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