Volvat was a

rapid transit station A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in the ...

of the

Oslo Metro The Oslo Metro ( no, Oslo T-bane or or simply ) is the rapid transit system of Oslo, Norway, operated by Sporveien T-banen on contract from the transit authority Ruter. The network consists of five lines that all run through the city centre, wit ...

Røa Line The Røa Line ( no, Røabanen) is a rapid transit line of the Oslo Metro, Norway, which runs from Majorstuen in Oslo to Østerås in Bærum. It serves neighborhoods such as Smestad, Hovseter, Huseby and Røa in northwestern Oslo, and Grini, � ...

and

Kolsås Line The Kolsås Line ( no, Kolsåsbanen) is a line of the Oslo Metro. It branches off from the Røa Line at Smestad Station and runs through western Oslo and Bærum to Kolsås Station. It serves the neighborhoods of Ullernåsen, Øraker, Jar, Bek ...

. Situated in the neighborhood of Volvat in

Vestre Aker Vestre Aker (Western Aker) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. It has a population of 50,157 as of 2020. The previous Aker Municipality was merged into the city of Oslo in 1948. The borough of Vestre Aker was organized as part of the 1 Ja ...

borough of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, it was the sole underground station on the western part of the metro. It was located from

Stortinget The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...

. The station opened on 7 November 1912 at ground level, located at the

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...

with Sørkedalsveien. Due to increasing traffic, the line was placed in a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

under the road in 1939. Trains along the Røa Line stopped calling at the station from 5 February 1995, since that line was upgraded to longer trains. The same happened with the Kolsås Line from 7 April 1997, after which the station was closed. The operated deemed the cost of upgrading the station not to be worth it.

History

Volvat took its name from pharmacist

Harald Thaulow Harald Thaulow (30 June 1815 – 11 March 1881) was a Norwegian pharmacist. Biography Harald Conrad Thaulow was born in the Duchy of Schleswig, at that time a dominion of the Danish crown. He was the son of Johan Frederik Thaulow (1768–1833) a ...

(1815–81), who owned the farm during his lifetime. The name is a slight simplification of his surname backwards. From the 1900s the area was regulated for housing, making it an interesting site for the tram company Akersbanerne. The Røa Line past Volvat opened on 7 November 1912, and a station was built at ground level av Volvat. Volvat under construction

Volvat was the site of a level crossing between the metro and Sørkedalsveien. This eventually created difficulties for the road traffic and

Holmenkolbanen A/S Holmenkolbanen was a company that owned and operated part of the Oslo Tramway and Oslo Metro in Norway from 1898 until 1975 when services were taken over by the majority owner Oslo Sporveier. Holmenkolbanen opened the Holmenkoll Line in 1898, ...

therefore decided to build an underground section of line part of the way between Volvat and Majorstuen. The new station opened in 1939.. This remained the only underground station west of the

Common Tunnel The Common Tunnel ( no, Fellestunnelen), sometimes called the Common Line (), is a long tunnel of the Oslo Metro which runs through the city center of Oslo, Norway. The name derives from the fact that all five lines of the metro use the tunnel, ...

until after the station closed.Aspenberg (1995): 54 Volvat 2

The connection of the eastern and western metro network in the early 1990s meant that the Røa Line was to be upgrades to metro standard. This meant that platforms were to be extended to to allow six-car metro trains. In addition to a complete renovation of the tracks, this meant that the

overhead wire An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...

s were replaced with a

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...

. The Kolsås Line would for the mean-time be retained with the old system. The upgraded Røa Line started using three-car trains, while two-car trains continued to run to Kolsås.

Oslo Sporveier AS Oslo Sporveier is a defunct municipal owned company responsible for public transport in Oslo, Norway. It was created in 1924 to take over the city's two private tram companies. In 1927 its started with bus transport, including from 1940 to 19 ...

concluded that the tunnel did not make it worthwhile to expand the platforms. From 5 February 1995 the station was therefore only served by trains along the Kolsås Line. The station was closed on 7 April 1997, when three-car trains started running on the Kolsås Line.

Facilities

Volvat was an underground rapid transit station situated on the Røa Line, from Stortinget in the city center. Volvat was located at the intersection between the metro line and Sørkedalsveien. It featured two

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

s, each long enough for two-car trains.

References

Biography

* {{Oslo Metro Oslo Metro stations in Oslo Railway stations opened in 1912 Railway stations closed in 1997 1912 establishments in Norway 1997 disestablishments in Norway Disused Oslo Metro stations