Oslotunnelen

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Info
Oslotunnelen

An Airport Express Train exiting the Oslo Tunnel at Oslo Central Station
Line	Drammenbanen
Location	Oslo, Norway
System	Norwegian railway
Start	Oslo S
End	Skøyen
No. of stations	1
Operation
Opened	1980
Owner	Jernbaneverket
Character	Passenger
Technical
Line length	3635 m
Track length	7270 m
No. of tracks	2
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)
Electrified	15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC

Oslotunnellen or the Oslo Tunnel is a railway tunnel which runs between Skøyen in Western Oslo and Oslo Central Station on the east side of the Oslo downtown area, in Oslo, Norway. The tunnel was opened May 30, 1980 ^[1], connecting the eastern and western railway lines in Oslo. Within the tunnel is the underground Nationaltheateret Station.

Parts of the tunnel are located over the Common Tunnel of the Oslo T-bane, with the T-bane tracks located over the railway tracks at Nationaltheatret.

[edit] History

The tunnel was decided built in 1968, but first completed in 1980. This allowed the eastern and western lines that previously had termiuses at Oslo Østbanestasjon (Oslo Ø) and Oslo Vestbanestasjon (Oslo V) to connect and allowed through trains. The original plans included two underground stations in the tunnel, Nationaltheatret and Elisenberg. Construction on both were started, but only the former was finished. Though the latter was excavated and a platform built, it has never been taken into use. Both stations originally had one platform with two tracks and one exit to the east. In 1999 Nationaltheatret was rebuilt to four tracks, increasing the capacity through the tunnel from 16 to 24 trains per hour each way, allowing the Airport Express Train ample capacity through the tunnel. The new Nationaltheatret station was opened by King Harald V on December 6, 1999.