Oslo Tunnel
Double | |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
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Electrified | 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC |
The Oslo Tunnel (
Traditionally, Oslo had two stations, the larger Oslo East Station (or Oslo Ø, located at the spot of the current Oslo S) and Oslo West Station (Oslo V), which served the Drammen Line. This caused a physical barrier between the two parts of the railway network, only connected by the Oslo Port Line which ran partly in city streets. Formal planning of a central station and a tunnel connecting the Drammen Line to Oslo Ø started in 1938, and the final plans were approved in 1968. The Oslo Tunnel opened on 1 June 1980, and made it possible to close Oslo V in 1989. Nationaltheatret saw a major upgrade in 1999, when it was expanded to four tracks, and from 2008 to 2010, the tunnel saw a major technical upgrade. There are plans to build a second tunnel to increase train capacity west of Oslo.
Route
The tunnel constitutes the easternmost 3,632 metres (2.257 mi) of the Drammen Line, and runs between Oslo S and Skøyen.[1] At Oslo S, 12 of the 19 tracks (platforms 1 through 12) connect to the tunnel, which is shaped as a funnel, eventually merging the twelve tracks into two. The tunnel runs below some important heritage buildings in Oslo, including Basarhallene, the Parliament of Norway Building and Oslo Cathedral.[2]
Nationaltheatret Station is the second-busiest railway station in the country, and is located below the Oslo Metro station
Elisenberg Station, located in Frogner, is partially built, including a 220-metre-long (720 ft) island platform and one of the entrances.
Service
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The Oslo Tunnel is the most heavily trafficked section of mainline railway in Norway. It has a theoretical capacity of 40 trains per hour in each direction, and an applied capacity of 24 trains per hour in each direction.[5] In rush hour, there are up to 20 trains operating through the tunnel, with a capacity of 8,000 passengers per hour.[6]
All eight lines of the Oslo Commuter Rail have some or all of their services operate through the tunnel, although many of these terminate at Skøyen.
History
By the 1930s, Oslo had two main railway stations, Oslo East Station and Oslo West Station. The Drammen Line, consisting of commuter trains, and regional and intercity trains from the Sørland Line and the Vestfold Line, terminated at Oslo V. The
In 1938, the Station Committee of 1938 was established to look into a possible connection of the Drammen Line to Oslo Ø and extension of the railway station.[12] Led by Axel Grenholm,[13] the committee recommended one of two alternatives: either establish a branch from the Drammen Line and built a tunnel under the city center, in which all trains would terminate at Oslo Ø.[12] The tunnel was proposed run from Lassons gate west of Oslo V to Fred. Olsens gate, with an intermediate station close to the location of Oslo V.[14] The proposed tunnel would be 1,660 metres (1.03 mi) long and largely run through clay, making construction more difficult and expensive.[15] Alternatively, a branch of Drammen Line should be built around the city and connect with the Gjøvik Line at Grefsen. Commuter trains would continue to run to Oslo V, while regional and intercity trains would run to Oslo Ø.[12] The committee stated that it preferred the former suggestion.[15]
In 1946, the Planning Office for Oslo Central Station, led by Fin Hvoslef, was established by the government.
Another committee, led by
Another planning office was established in 1962, initially led by Erik Himle.[26] The final plans for the route were passed by parliament in 1968,[27] and construction started in 1971.[28] The main contractors were Ingeniør Thor Furuholmen, Dipl.ing. Kaare Backer, NSB, Jernbaneanlegget Oslo Sentralstasjon and Ingeniørbygg. Consultants included Ingeniørene Bonde & Co., Peer Qvam's arkitektkontor and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.[2]
The tunnel was officially opened on 30 May 1980 by
In October 1997, construction of an upgraded Nationaltheatret Station started and was taken into use on 16 December 1999. The work expanded the station from two to four platforms, thus increasing the applied capacity for the whole tunnel from 16 to 24 trains per direction per hour. The expansion cost NOK 920 million, which included blasting 110,000 cubic metres (3,900,000 cu ft) of rock and pouring 33,000 cubic metres (1,200,000 cu ft) of concrete. The work resulted in 830 metres (2,720 ft) of new tunnel, a new entrance hall and art. The station was designed for 40,000 passengers daily.[32]
In 2008, the old section of Nationaltheatret Station was renovated. Upgrades included new lighting, a new
Future
The Oslo Tunnel is the largest bottle-neck in the railway system in Norway, and delays caused around the tunnel can spread throughout the whole network. The local rail lines have only one or two departures per hour, but more are desired in order to attract people who want to find departure times matching work hours. The now defunct National Rail Administration had stated that until 2040 at the earliest, it is unnecessary with more capacity through the West Corridor, i.e. running west of Oslo.[35] This includes possible upgrades to the railway lines around Oslo, such as high-speed lines along the Østfold and Vestfold Lines, and to Lillehammer.[6] In 2012, after the completion of the Asker Line, a new schedule plan has been proposed. NSB, the Airport Express Train and CargoNet have all asked for more slots through the tunnel than is available.[10] One possible solution is to decrease the reserve capacity, thus increasing the capacity from 24 to 30 trains per hour per direction.[6] However, the tunnel is already characterized as "critically overloaded".[10]
Should a new tunnel be built, it would not necessarily run next to the Oslo Tunnel. One proposal from the National Rail Administration calls for a separate commuter train station to be built underground, at the location of Oslo Bus Terminal, within walking distance of Oslo S. This proposal involves the line connecting to the existing route before reaching Nationaltheatret.[10] The lobby organisation Norsk Bane have called for a line to run further north, and serve Majorstuen, where there is a major metro and tramway hub. Norsk Bane also call for the tunnel to be built for higher speeds, and state that it is necessary to build high-speed rail to Bergen and Stavanger. Combined with a new line from Drammen to the tunnel, it would allow travel time from Drammen and Oslo to be reduced to 18 minutes.[36]
References
- ^ Norwegian National Rail Administration. 2009. p. 27. Archived from the original(pdf) on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
- ^ a b Holøs (1990): 182
- ^ a b Holøs (1990): 178
- ^ Holøs (1990): 177
- ^ Skovdahl, Ove (2 December 2009). "Oslo S og Oslotunnelen; sporforbindelser, muligheter og umuligheter" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ a b c Rørslett, Øyvind (2 December 2009). "Ny kapasitet i "Oslo-navet"?" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "NSB Network map commuter trains" (PDF). NSB. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "From Oslo Airport" (PDF). Airport Express Train. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "NSB Network map" (PDF). NSB. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d Bentzrød, Sveinung Berg; Hultgren, John (9 September 2009). "Slik kan fremtidens Oslo S bli". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
- ^ Holøs (1990): 102–103
- ^ a b c Holøs (1990): 103
- ^ Holøs (1990): 102
- ^ Holøs (1990): 107
- ^ a b Holøs (1990): 108
- ^ Holøs (1990): 117
- ^ Holøs (1990): 121
- ^ Holøs (1990): 123
- ^ Holøs (1990): 124
- ^ Holøs (1990): 160
- ^ Holøs (1990): 128
- ^ Holøs (1990): 130
- ^ Holøs (1990): 133
- ^ Holøs (1990): 135
- ^ Holøs (1990): 139
- ^ Holøs (1990): 143
- ^ Holøs (1990): 157
- ^ Holøs (1990): 171
- ^ a b Holøs (1990): 153
- ^ Bjerke (1994): 12
- ^ Holøs (1990): 156
- ^ Hegna, Liv (17 December 1999). "Nye Nationaltheatret stasjon åpnet". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 4.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|url=
(help) - Norwegian National Rail Administration. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2010.[dead link]
- Norwegian National Rail Administration. 6 April 2010. Archived from the originalon 19 May 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
- Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (in Norwegian). Archivedfrom the original on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
- ^ Sandberg, Tor (4 May 2009). "Ny Oslotunnel kan ta 40 år". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
Bibliography
- Bjerke, Thor (1994). Banedata '94 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk Jernbaneklubb. ISBN 82-90286-15-5.
- Holøs, Bjørn (1990). Stasjoner i sentrum (in Norwegian). Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. ISBN 82-05-19082-8.