Østensjø Line

Østensjø Line
MX3000 train near Ulsrud
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	Oslo Metro
Termini	Tøyen Mortensrud
Stations	13
Operation
Opening	1923 (as tramway) 1967 (as metro) 1998 (to Mortensrud)
Owner	Kollektivtransportproduksjon
Operator(s)	Oslo T-banedrift
Technical
Line length	11.5 km (7.1 mi)
No. of tracks	Double
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	750 V DC (third rail)
Operating speed	70 km/h (43 mph)
Highest elevation	152.4 m (500 ft)
Route map Legend 13.6 km Mortensrud1998 11.3 km Skullerud1967 133.5 m 10.2 km Bogerud1967 9.2 km Bøler1958 150.4 m 8.5 km Ulsrud1966 7.8 km Oppsal1926 152.4 m 7.0 km Skøyenåsen1966 6.1 km Godlia1966 Furuset Line 5.5 km Hellerud1966 120.5 m Lambertseter Line Høyenhall Hoved Line (ca. 50 m) Bryn 4.6 km Brynseng1966 84.6 m Østensjø Line Etterstad Depot Østre gravlund1923 3.8 km Helsfyr1966 73.7 m Etterstad Etterstad 3.0 km Ensjø1966 Gjøvik Line (ca. 15 m) Gamleby Line Grorud Line 2.1 km Tøyen1966 22.2 m Common Tunnel

The Østensjø Line (Norwegian: Østensjøbanen) is a rapid transit line on the Oslo Metro which runs between Tøyen and Mortensrud in the southeast neighborhood of Søndre Nordstrand in Oslo, Norway. The line also serves the mostly residential boroughs of Bøler and Østensjø. It is served by line 3 of the T-bane each 15 minutes.

The line opened by Akersbanerne as a suburban tramway extension of the Vålerenga Line of the Oslo Tramway in 1923 to Bryn, and to Oppsal three years later. From 1937, it had direct service to the city center and onwards to Kolsås. From 1966, it was extended to Skullerud and became part of the Oslo T-bane system, as its first line. In 1998, the line was extended to Mortensrud. The line is owned by Kollektivtransportproduksjon and operated by Oslo T-banedrift on contract with Ruter.

Route

T1000 train at Mortensrud

The Østensjø Line starts at the end of the Common Tunnel at Tøyen, and serves three stations in common with the Lambertseter- and Furuset Line: Ensjø, Helsfyr and Brynseng. Helsfyr is a major bus terminal. At Brynseng, the Lambertseter Line branches off, and after the next station, Hellerud, the Furuset Line also branches off. The Østensjø Line runs through the boroughs of Bøler, Østensjø and Søndre Nordstrand, serving mostly residential areas. The line is owned by the municipal Kollektivtransportproduksjon.

Service

T-bane line 3 serves the Østensjø Line each 15 minutes, except in the late evening and on weekend mornings, when there is a 30-minute headway. It is operated by the municipal Oslo T-banedrift on contract with the transport authority Ruter. Travel time along the 13.6-kilometre (8.5 mi) section to Stortinget in the city center is 24 minutes.^[1]

History

Map of the Østensjø Line from 1928

The Østensjø Line opened as a suburban tramway extension of the Vålerenga Line from Etterstad to Oppsal. The Vålerenga Line had opened as a street tram on 3 May 1900 by Kristiania Sporveisselskab (KSS).^[2] Plans for building an extension into the neighboring municipality of Aker started in 1917, when Aker Municipality established the company Akersbanerne to build and operate suburban tramways west and east of Oslo. Construction started in February 1922, and by 18 December 1923, construction had come far enough the section from Etterstad to Bryn could open. An agreement was made with KSS, where the latter extended its Line 17 from that operated on the Homansbyen Line and the Vålerenga Line. Every other service was extended to Bryn and given the designation 7Ø.^[3]

In January 1926, the line was completed to Oppsal. By then, KSS had been taken over by Oslo Municipality and merged to become Oslo Sporveier. However, the two municipalities and their tram companies could not agree on terms to lease the trackage from Etterstad to the city center. Part of the problem was the lack of a suitable turning loop with free capacity in the city center. Instead, Akersbanerne decided to operate the trams to Etterstad, where there would be transfer, without transfer tickets, between the two tram companies. For the operations, Akersbanerne bought four Class A trams and three trailers, which were built by Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk and delivered in 1926 and 1927. This was not sufficient to operate all the lines, so an addition three trams were leased from Ekebergbanen.^[3]

Class A train crossing a bridge at Bryn in 1928

The lack of direct routes to the city center was not popular among travelers, and a direct bus service from the area around Hellerud was introduced. This was taken over by Akersbanerne in 1928, who subcontracted the operations to De Blå Omnibusser. Later the concession was given to the bus company. New negotiations were made, but neither party was willing to make sufficient admittances for agreement to be reached. In 1933, Akersbanerne merged its operation to the west of the city center with Holmenkolbanen, and the Østensjø Line was the only remaining service they operated. Akersbanerne started negotiating with both Ekebergbanen and Bærumsbanen about either of them taking over the route. Bærumsbanen, that had become partially owned by Oslo Sporveier, had a similar suburban tramway to the east of the city center, the Lilleaker and Kolsås Lines, where trams continued along street trams lines until the reached the city center. Also they had a lack of sufficient balloon loops, and turned their trams at Athenæum, and therefore did not serve the important East Railway Station. An agreement was therefore reached with Bærumsbanen and Oslo Sporveier, where Bærumsbanen would operate a through service from Kolsås to Oppsal, without the need to balloon loops in the city center. The service started on 4 January 1937 and was branded as the Bærum–Østensjø Line.^[3]

Bærumsbanen had a fleet of Class A trams, and these were along with Akersbanerne's units put into use on the combined service. In 1937, the first Class B trams were delivered to Oslo Sporveier, and these put into service on the Bærum–Østensjø Line after the serial delivery started in 1939. They aluminum trams were faster, had better comfort and so large a single tram could replace a Class A tram and trailer. From 15 June 1942, the Kolsås Line was connected to the Common Tunnel and became part of the underground service. The branch from Jar to the city center was renamed the Lillaker Line. The Østensjø Line service thereafter became marketed as the Lilleaker–Østensjø Line. However, a limited number of services continued to Kolsås, Avløs or Haslum.^[3]

A Class B tram on the Østensjø Line in 1947

From 1944, the operative responsibility for Bærumbanen was taken over by Oslo Sporveier. The Lilleaker–Østensjø Line was then given the service number 9. In 1948, the municipalities of Oslo and Aker merged, and the ownership of the Østensjø Line was transferred to Bærumsbanen. From 1946 to 1958, the remaining Class A trams were retired and replaced with Class E, that very similar to Class B, but had been built as street trams in 1939. From 1955, the Class B trams were rebuilt so they could operate in trains.^[3]

In 1954, the city council decided that the Østensjø Line would become part of the future metro. This would involve connecting to a new section from Bryn to the city center, most of which would be underground. On 28 April 1957, the Lambertseter Line opened as a branch of the Østensjø Line from Bryn. On 20 July 1958, the Østensjø Line was extended to Bøler. This gave the line its first tunnel, and forced Oppsal Station to move. During parts the 1960s, the Østensjø Line was also served by Line 3.^[3]

Bogerud opened in 1967 as part of the new metro

With the conversion to metro standard, the Østensjø Line was converted to having third rail power supply, the platform height was raised and the platforms lengthened to 110 metres (360 ft) to handle six-car trains. All level crossings were removed.^[4] The Lambertseter Line was the first line of the Oslo Metro when it opened on 22 May 1966. Instead of following the Vålerenga Line to the city center, it instead followed the Common Tunnel from Brynseng to Jernbanetorget. From 18 June 1967, only Line 3 served the Østensjø Line. The line was closed during the evening of 25 October. From 28 October 1967, the line was connected to the metro and T1000 started being used on the service. The three days were used to remove the balloon loop at Bøler and connect the line to the Common Tunnel. The extension from Bøler to Skullerud opened on 26 November 1967.^[3]

Both the Lambertseter- and the Østensjø Line had been considered extended to Mortensrud. The work with building the extension between Skullerud and Mortensrud was originally planned to start in 1992, with completion planned for 1994.^[5] However, construction did not start until 1995. The 2.4-kilometre (1.5 mi) extension is built to allow speeds of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph), and represents a considerable longer distance between stations than what is normal on the network. Most of the section is in tunnels, though there are also two viaducts. The extension (without the new station) cost NOK 215 million. The line runs somewhat south of the station, allowing space to line up trains, and for future further extension of the line.^[6] The station was taken into use on 24 November 1997, but not officially opened until 4 January 1998.^[7][8] On the day of the official opening, the bus terminal was taken into use. The station cost NOK 35 million.^[9] At the time, it was estimated to have about 6,000 daily users.^[10]

References

Notes

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Østensjø Line.

• Aspenberg, Nils Carl (1994). Trikker og forstadsbaner i Oslo. Oslo: Baneforlaget. ISBN 82-91448-03-5. 
• Bjerke, Thor and Finn Holom (2004). Banedata 2004. Hamar/Oslo: Norwegian Railway Museum/Norwegian Railway Club. p. 348. ISBN 82-90286-28-7.