Romeriksporten

Infobox tunnel
name = Romeriksporten


caption =
line = Gardermobanen
location = Østmarka, Norway
system = Norwegian railways
start = Oslo Central Station
end = Lillestrøm Station
stations =
status =
open = 22 August 1999
close =
owner = Jernbaneverket
operator = Norges Statsbaner
Flytoget
SJ
character =
linelength = 14,580 m
tracklength = 29,160 m
notrack = 2
gauge = RailGauge|sg
el = 15 kV AC
speed = 210 km/h
hielevation =
lowelevation= |

Romeriksporten is a convert|14580|m|ft railway tunnel between Oslo and Lillestrøm in Norway. It is part of Gardermobanen and was opened on 22 August 1999, one year after schedule due to water leaks. It is the longest railway tunnel in Norwaycite web |url=http://www.jernbaneverket.no/multimedia/archive/01720/Jernbanestatistikk_1720406a.pdf |author=Jernbaneverket |title=Jernbanestatistikk 2006 |date=2007] and the 24th longest railway tunnel in the world.Fact|date=May 2008 The tunnel has double track and is electrified. Permitted operating speed through the tunnel is 210 km/h, and trains not capable of 160 km/h are not permitted through. [cite web |url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=174095 |title=Nye Agenda-tog kjører for sakte |author=Verdens Gang |date=2000-11-21| language=Norwegian]

Background

The tunnel was constructed as part of the high-speed railway line Gardermobanen, that goes from Oslo to Eidsvoll. The tunnel covers most of the 18 kilometer part between Oslo S and Lillestrøm, and needed to be built to bypass the old Hovedbanen, that was built in 1854. Despite it having double track, capacity had reached its limit due to a combination of some trains making many stops and others none until Lillestrøm. Romeriksporten would also be straighter and allow higher through speeds, decreasing time from 29 to 12 minutes. [cite web |url=http://www.nsb.no/getfile.php/www.nsb.no/nsb.no/Bilder/Rutetabeller/400-Asker-Oslo-Lillestr%C3%B8m-2008.pdf |title=(Drammen)-Asker-Oslo-Lillestrøm |author=Norges Statsbaner |date=2008-01-06] The decision to build Gardermobanen and Romeriksporten was taken on by the Storting on 8 October 1992 with the opening planned for that day six years later.

Construction

The tunnel needed to be built under Østmarka, a recreational area to the east of Oslo. This area has quite unstable ground, and is not ideal for building tunnels. Time pressures to coincide with the opening of the new airport resulted in tunnel construction being done at maximum speed without adequate measures to keep out water, resulting in leaks. Houses at Hellerud over the tunnel received damages and the water level in many lakes in Østmarka were reduced. After they were discovered on 3 February 1997 sanctions were initiated by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate requiring leakage removals in the tunnel. At the worst the tunnel leaked 3,000 liters of water per minute. To compensate for this the plugging substance Rhoca-Gil was used in the construction. After investigation it turned out that Rhoca-Gil contained the toxic chemical acrylamide, which caused health problems among the tunnel workers. The removal of Rhoca-Gil resulted in additional delays in the construction process while plugging leaks with concrete instead. In addition an extensive, permanent pumping system was installed to recreate and maintain lake levels in Østmarka. While the rest of the railway line was opened in time for the new airport, the tunnel was not opened until a year later.cite web |url=http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/sd/dok/NOUer/1999/NOU-1999-28/4/2/6.html?id=355320 |title=Særskilt om Romeriksporten |author=Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications |date=1999 |language=Norwegian]

The entire process of fixing the leak and cleaning up the toxic delayed the process of building the tunnel one year, and it was first opened on 22 August 1999. The entire process was complicated further due to conflicts between NSB Gardermobanen and the construction company. Retrospective surveys have shown lack of control- and reporting procedures during incidents that should have been addressed in 1995, but never taken seriously. About sixty houses received damages due to the construction of the tunnel. An evaluation performed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications showed that NOK 500 million was used on fixing the leaks; however the report claimed this to a large extent a waste of money due to inefficient engineering procedures. The same report criticized the planning and organization of the entire construction of the railway. In total the extraordinary costs of the tunnel were NOK 1.3 billion

When the new airport opened on 8 October 1998 the Airport Express Train started its first normal working day. Trains had to use the old Hovedbanen form Oslo S to Lillestrøm, but could use the new high-speed line from Lillestrøm to Gardermoen. Regular operations using Romeriksporten started on 22 August 1999.cite web |url=http://www.flytoget.no/eng/About-Flytoget/History |title=History |author=Flytoget |accessdate=2008-05-24]

References