Bergen Light Rail
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| Bergen Light Rail | |
| Locale | Bergen, Norway |
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| Transit type | Light rail |
| Began operation | 2010 |
| System length | 9.8 km |
| Number of lines | 1 |
| Number of vehicles | 12 |
| Number of stations | 14 |
| Daily ridership | 26000 weekday (estimate for 2015) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) |
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Bergen Light Rail (Norwegian: Bybanen) is a light rail system under construction in Bergen, Norway. The first stage of the project is a 9.8 km stretch between the City Centre to Nesttun, estimated to be finished in 2010.[1] Further plans for the project involve three lines, stretching to Åsane, Storavatnet and Bergen Airport, Flesland.[2]
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[edit] History
The first public transport in Bergen was the Bergen Tramway that operated between 1897 and 1965. Already in the 1960s suburban tram lines were suggested, but the idea fell out of the public domain during the 1970s. In the 1960s the sale of cars in Norway was deregulated, resulting in an explosion of car use, and the number of public transport users has since fallen dramatically. To meet the increased number of cars, politicians in Bergen began a massive investment in motorways throughout the city in the 1980s and 1990s financed with toll plaza, but by the 2000s the congestion had again caught up with the building of new roads.
To effectively address the problem of congestion, the politicians decided to build a light rail system in the city. The initial plans involved a line from the city centre via Nesttun to the airport at Flesland. It became part of a political compromise, Bergensprogrammet, that ensured a number of road investments along with the light rail, again financed with toll plazas. But in the end a lack of funds made it necessary to only build the line to Nesttun, and not all the way to the airport. The initial decision was made in Bergen City Council on March 13, 2000, in the Norwegian legislature in 2002[3] and with the financing in place by the city council in 2005. Only the Progress Party and Pensioners Party voted against.
[edit] Plans
The first stretch of the line will be the 9.8 km stretch between the city centre and Nesttun, to be operated on a 5 minute headway by all-stop and express trains, with 10 minute headway in off-peak times and one hour headway at night. The Bergensprogram states that the second line between Nesttun and the airport via Lagunen Storsenter will be built at a later stage.
There is also another more ambitious plan that involves expanding the line to other parts of the city, including from the city centre to Sandviken and Åsane, to Loddefjord via Haukeland University Hospital and Fyllingsdalen. The plans also include an expansion of the Bergen trolleybus to Oasen and Paradis.[2]
Operation of the system will be managed by the Hordaland county administration, though no operator has been chosen. Both Tide, the operator of the city buses, and Gråkallbanen, who operates the Trondheim Tramway and is owned by Veolia Transport Norway, have announced that they wish to operate the system. In 2007 the administration ordered 12 Variotrams, 32 meter tramcar multiple units, from Stadler Pankow. The trams will have a capacity of 220 passengers, with 80 seats and Wi-Fi internett access. The order includes options for an additional four units if the light rail is expanded.[4]
[edit] Criticism
The main criticism towards the project has been that the project costs a lot more than other modes of public transport, including bus transport[citation needed]. Especially the investment costs are large[citation needed]. Gaia Trafikk, that operated the city bus at the time, suggested building a bus rapid transit system instead.[5] Other criticism has been directed a the fact that the financing of the project comes from toll collections throughout the city, while only the southern part of the city gets any benefit from the project[citation needed]. A suggestion to decide the matter by referendum was not supported by the city council.
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[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Bybanen. Bybanen - tidsplan (Norwegian). Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
- ^ a b Bybanen. Public transport network - Bergen and surrounding areas. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
- ^ Bybanen. Bergen får Norges mest velfungerende og nyskapende transportsystem. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
- ^ Bybanen. Stadler Pankow skal levere Variotram til Bybanen (Norwegian). Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
- ^ Bergens Tidende. Gigantbuss (Norwegian). Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
