Røabanen

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Røabanen
Info
Type Rapid transit
Terminals Majorstuen
Østerås
No. of stations 11
Operation
Opened 1912
Owner Municipality of Oslo
Operator(s) Oslo T-bane
Rolling stock T1-T4
Technical
Line length 7.5 km
No. of tracks 2
Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)
Electrification 750 V DC (third rail)
Operating speed 70 km/h
Highest elevation 142.4 m
Røabanen
KBFa
Østerås
BHF
Lijordet
BHF
Eiksmarka
BHF
Ekraveien
BHF
Røa
BHF
Hovseter
BHF
Holmen
BHF
Makrellbekken
BHF
Smestad
BHF
Borgen
BHF
Majorstuen

to Fellestunnelen

Røabanen is a line on the Oslo T-bane subway system which runs from downtown Oslo to Østerås in Bærum. It serves neighborhoods such as Røa in Western Oslo, and some suburbs in Bærum.

The first part of the line from Majorstuen to Smestad was originally constructed as a branch line to Holmenkollbanen and opened November 17, 1912. The line was opened to Røa on January 24, 1935. On December 22, 1948 the line crossed Lysakerelven into Bærum and was extended to Grini (the station at Grini was closed in 1995). The next extensions were to Lijordet December 3, 1951, and finally to its present end station at Østerås November 16, 1972.

Like the other western lines of the T-bane network, Røabanen was constructed with overhead lines, short platforms only capable of handling 2-car trains, and numerous level crossings. Demand for increased capacity of the line led to the upgrading of the line in 1995. The overhead lines were replaced with third rail, the level crossings were removed or replaced with bridges, and the platforms were extended to accommodate 6-car trains. The trains running on Røabanen on the west side now run through the city centre and run on Furusetbanen to Ellingsrudåsen on the east side as line 2 of the network. Trains are operated using the fairly old third rail only T1-T4 type stock.