Oslo T-bane

Infobox Public transit
name = Oslo T-bane


imagesize = 57px

---

imagesize2 = 300px
locale = Oslo, Norway
transit_type = Rapid transit
began_operation = 31 May 1898 as suburban tram
22 May 1966 as T-bane
system_length = 84.2 km (52.3 miles)
lines = 6
stations = 90
ridership = 200,000
track_gauge = RailGauge|sg
operator = Oslo T-banedrift

Oslo T-bane is the rapid transit system of Oslo, Norway, operated by Oslo T-banedrift on contract from the transit authority Ruter. The network consists of six lines that all run through the city center, with a total length of convert|84.2|km|mi. It has a daily ridership of 200,000cite web |url=http://www.tbane.no/userfiles/2006.pdf |title=Årsrapport 2006 |author=Oslo T-banedrift |date=2007 |language=Norwegian] with 105 stations of which 16 are underground or indoors. In addition to serving all 15 boroughs of Oslo, two lines run to Bærum.

The first rapid transit line was the Holmenkoll Line, opened in 1898, with the branch Røa Line opening in 1912. It became the first Nordic underground railway in 1928 when the underground line to Nationaltheatret was opened. The Sognsvann Line opened in 1934 and the Kolsås Line in 1942. The opening of the upgraded T-bane system on the east side of town occurred in 1966, after the conversion of the 1957 Østensjø Line, followed by the new Lambertseter Line, the Grorud Line and the Furuset Line; in 1993 trains ran under the city between the two networks in the Common Tunnel, followed by the 2006 opening of the Ring Line. Between 2006 and 2010 the system is replacing the older T1000 stock with MX3000 stock.

History

Nationaltheatret in 1928.

uburban lines in the west

Rail transport in Oslo started in 1854, with the opening of Hovedbanen to Eidsvoll, through Groruddalen. In 1872, Drammenbanen, going through Oslo West, and in 1879, Østfoldbanen going through Nordstrand opened, offering a limited rail service to those parts of the city. [Bjerke and Holom, 2004: 9] By 1875, Kristiania Sporveisselskab (KSS) opened the first horsecar trams. [Aspenberg, 1994: 6] In 1894 electric trams were in service by Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei (KES).Aspenberg, 1994: 7]

The first suburban tram line was the Holmenkoll Line that was opened by A/S 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 (convert|3.1|m|ft) until 1909. [Aspenberg, 1994: 8] A branch line was opened in 1912, to Smestad, [Aspenberg, 1994: 12] and in 1916 the Holmenkollen Line was extended to Tryvann, with the last part from Frognerseteren single track and used for freight, [Aspenberg, 1994: 14] and removed in 1939.Bjerke and Holom, 2004: 347]

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 convert|2.0|km|mi line was opened in 1928, with one intermediate station at Valkyrie Plass, giving the two suburban lines access to the central business district of Oslo.Aspenberg, 1994: 17]

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 Kolsås in 1930. A new section fom Jar to Sørbyhaugen opened in 1942, connecting the line from Jar to Kolsås to Nationaltheatret, and making it a rapid transit and the repacement of stock with wide suburban standard.Bjerke and Holom, 2004: 346] This service remained part of the municipal Oslo Sporveier, that had bough all the streetcar companies in 1924. [Aspenberg, 1994: 19]

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. A/S Akerbanerne opened the connecting Sognsvann Line in 1934.

T-bane

The first idea to launch a city-wide 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".Aspenberg, 1994: 29]

At the time there were two suburban tramways on the east side, the Ekeberg Line (opened in 1919) and the Østensjø Line (1923). [Aspenberg, 1994: 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.

The T-bane 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 Lambertseter 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 Ellingsrudåsen. [Aspenberg, 1994: 29–30] The T-bane took delivery of T1000 rolling stock from Strømmens Verksted; from 1964 to 1978, 162 cars in three-car configurations were delivered for the eastern network.

One tunnel

The eastern network was extended from Jernbanetorget to Sentrum in 1977, but had to close in 1983, due to leakages. When it opened again in 1987, a the west network tunnel had also been extended to the station, that opened as Stortinget. Through services were not possible at the time because of incompatible 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.Aspenberg, 1994: 30] The Holmenkoll Line and Kolsås Line remained without this standard, using dual mode trains that switch to overhead wire at Frøen and Montebello.cite web |url=http://www.sporveien.no/Kultur-og-historie-/153/ |title=Milepæler 1875–2005 |author=Oslo Sporveier |accessdate=2008-06-09] 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.Aspenberg, 1994: 62]

In 2003, the Ring Line opened from Ullevål stadion to Storo. The following year construction caused a tunnel to collapse on the Grorud Line—the system's busiest—forcing a shutdown of this line until December and creating a havoc of overfilled replacement buses. [cite web |url=http://www.groruddalen.no/cparticle174300-17469a.html |title=Full stopp for Grorudbanen |author=Akers Avis Groruddalen |date=2004-07-28] The ring was completed in 2006 onwards to Carl Berners plass. At the same time the Kjelsås Line was closed for upgrade to metro standard. In 2003, the section of the Kolsås 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 be closed again in 2006 for upgrade to metro standard. Disagreements between the two counties means the upgrade will be done separately on the two sides of the municipal boundary, with the Oslo side opening first. [cite web| url=http://www.tbane.no/index.aspx?cat=617538&id=917829 |title=Kolsåsbanen i mai |author=Oslo T-banedrift |accessdate=2008-06-09 |language=Norwegian] In 2006, the system started taking delivery of the new MX3000 units that will replace the old stock.cite web |url=http://www.tbane.no/userfiles/T-bane-folder_med_sprreunderskelse_vol.1.pdf |title=Nye T-banevoger i prøvedrift |author=Oslo T-banedrift |date=2006 |language=Norwegian] The history of the T-bane and public transport in Oslo has been preserved at the Oslo Tramway Museum located at Majorstuen. [cite web |url=http://www.sporveismuseet.no/ltf/index_uk.html |title=Short about LTF |author=Local Transport Historical Association |accessdate=2008-08-21]

Network

Line 3 (green)

Lines 6 (dark blue)

Line 4 and 6 serve the Ring Line, continuing in a loop once they leave the Common Tunnel.
Note: As of August 2006, the line to Kolsås is closed for maintenance. The temporary western terminus since August 2008 for line 6 is Åsjordet.cite web |url=http://ruter.no/Presse/Pressemelding/Husebybakken-stasjon-nedlegges/ |title=Husebybakken stasjon nedlegges |author=Ruter |accessdate=2008-08-13 |language=Norwegian]

Future expansion

* Between 2007 and 2010 63 three-car units of type MX3000 are beling delivered by Siemens. [cite web |url=http://www.sporveien.no/Din-sikkerhet/185/560/ |title=Nye T-banevogner |author=Oslo Sporveier |date=2006-04-26 |language=Norwegian]
* Between 2006 and 2010 the Kolsås Line is being upgraded to metro standard.
* As part of the political compromise Oslopakke 3 a number of changes have been proposed for the T-bane. [cite web |url=http://www.akershus.no/file.php?id=4761 |author=Akershus county municipality |title=Oslopakke 3 |date=2006-05-29 |language=Norwegian]
** Expansion of the Furuset Line to Lørenskog with stations at Skårer, Lørenskog Centre and a new terminus at Akershus University Hospital, with travel time to Jernbanetorget of 27 minutes.
**The frequency on the eastern lines will increase. Grorudbanen, Lambertseterbanen and Furusetbanen will get eight departures per hour, with half (B-routes) terminating at Majorstuen for Lambertseterbanen and Furusetbanen. This will reduce the capacity in the Common Tunnel.
**Because of this it has been suggested that Holmenkollbanen be converted to a tramway connecting to the Ullevål Hageby Line, since it already uses overhead wires. While this was part of Oslopakke 3, the city council has since initialized retaining it as a T-bane line, but converting it to third-rail operation. This would allow the use of the new MX-stock in time for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011. [cite web |url=http://www.akersposten.no/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080429/NYHETER/622994451/1017 |title=Holmenkollbanen får full T-banestandard |author=Ullern Avis Akersposten |date=2008-04-29 |language=Norwegian]
**The construction of Haslesvingen will connect the Ring Line with the Grorud Line, allowing trains to run from Grorudbanen directly to the Ring. In addition a new station at Løren would be built. This will not increase the load on the Common Tunnel since it is an extension of the current line that terminates at Storo. This will give all stations except Hasle and Løren eight departures per hour.
**A new station, Homansbyen, on the Common Tunnel between Majorstuen and Nationaltheatret.

See also

* Timeline of transport in Oslo
* List of rapid transit systems

Notes

References

*cite book |author=Aspenberg, Nils Carl |title=Trikker og forstadsbaner i Oslo |publisher=Baneforlaget |location=Oslo |year=1994 |isbn=82-91448-03-5
*cite book |author=Bjerke, Thor and Holom, Finn |title=Banedata 2004 |publisher=Norsk Jernbaneklubb / Norsk Jernbanemuseum |location=Oslo / Hamar |year=2004 |isbn=82-90286-28-7

External links

* [http://www.tbane.no/userfiles%5CLinjekart.pdf T-bane map]
* [http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/osl/oslo.htm Oslo T-bane at UrbanRail.Net]
* [http://www.tbane.no Oslo T-banedrift]
* [http://www.ruter.no Ruter]
* [http://www.trafikanten.no/ Fare and timetable information]