Asker Line
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The Asker Line ( no, Askerbanen) is a railway line between
Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greate ...
and
Lysaker Lysaker is an area in Bærum Municipality, Viken County, Norway. Lysaker is the easternmost part of Bærum and borders Oslo proper. Lysaker was initially a farming community, later becoming a residential area. Today it is primarily known as a bu ...
in Norway. The line runs along the same corridor as the
Drammen Line The Drammen Line ( no, Drammenbanen) is a railway line between Oslo and Drammen, Norway, which was opened on 7 October 1872. It serves all trains west of Oslo Central Station and is owned by Bane NOR. The line opened as a narrow gauge railway, ...
, offering increased capacity, speed and regularity on the rail network west 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 ...
. The first part opened in 2005, and in 2011 an extension opened from Sandvika to
Lysaker Lysaker is an area in Bærum Municipality, Viken County, Norway. Lysaker is the easternmost part of Bærum and borders Oslo proper. Lysaker was initially a farming community, later becoming a residential area. Today it is primarily known as a bu ...
. Original plans called for an extension to
Skøyen Skøyen is a neighborhood of Oslo, Norway. It is located in the western part of the city, in the borough of Ullern. The district has an increasing share of business activities, a development started in the 80s. Skøyen is the site of Skøyenpar ...
, but from 2020, new planning is under way for an extension all the way to Oslo Central Station. Most of the railway is in tunnel and is dimensioned for running. The entire railway is electrified at . The first section cost , while the second is budgeted at NOK 2.7 billion. The purpose of the new line is to allow regional and express trains to run directly between Asker Station,
Sandvika Station Sandvika Station ( no, Sandvika stasjon) is a railway station located at Sandvika in Bærum, Norway. Situated on the Drammen Line, from Oslo S, it also an intermediate station of the Asker Line. Vy (transport operator), Vy serves the station with ...
and
Lysaker Station Lysaker Station ( no, Lysaker stasjon) is a railway station on the Drammen Line and Asker Line situated at Lysaker in Bærum, Norway. Located from Oslo Central Station, Lysaker is served by a mix of Vy express, regional and Oslo Commuter Rail t ...
, without being slowed and delayed by commuter trains that make frequent stops at intermediate stations. The Asker Line will improve regularity, and capacity will increase from 12 to 26 trains per hour in each direction. Travel time from Asker to
Skøyen Station Skøyen is a neighborhood of Oslo, Norway. It is located in the western part of the city, in the borough of Ullern. The district has an increasing share of business activities, a development started in the 80s. Skøyen is the site of Skøyenpar ...
will be reduced from 20 to 13 minutes. The line has received criticism for not being a true high-speed line, and for Lysaker Station not being in compliance with accessibility requirements. Similar parallel, high-speed lines have been or will be built northeast and southeast of Oslo. The line is built, owned and maintained by
Bane NOR Bane NOR SF, formerly Jernbaneinfrastrukturforetaket (English: ''Railway Infrastructure Company''), is the Norwegian government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the tr ...
(previously the
Norwegian National Rail Administration The Norwegian National Rail Administration ( no, Jernbaneverket) was a government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the track, stations, classification yards, traffic m ...
). At Sandvika, the line connects to the Drammen Line, which runs to
Oslo Central Station Oslo Central Station ( no, Oslo sentralstasjon, abbreviated ) is the main railway station in Oslo, and the largest railway station within the entire Norwegian railway system. It connects with Jernbanetorget station. It's the terminus of Dramme ...
in the east. At Asker, the line connects to the
Spikkestad Spikkestad is a village in the municipality of Asker, Viken, Asker, in the province of Viken (county), Viken, Norway. Its current population (2022) is between 4000 and 5000. Spikkestad is located in the northern part of the peninsula of Hurumland ...
and Drammen Lines; the latter connects to the Sørland- and
Vestfold Line The Vestfold Line ( no, Vestfoldbanen) is a railway line which runs between Drammen and Eidanger in Norway. The line connects to the Drammen Line at the northern terminus at Drammen Station and continues as the Bratsberg Line past Skien Station. ...
at
Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken (county), Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and village ...
. The line is served by
Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach se ...
with regional trains to
Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...
,
Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardan ...
and
Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...
, and the express trains along the Sørland Line and the
Bergen Line The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Oslo, ...
; in addition, the
Airport Express Train An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city by mainline or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover, or light rail. Direct links operate straight to the airport terminal, while o ...
operates from Asker to
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atlan ...
. During night,
freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...
s also use the line.


Background

Following the construction of the high-speed
Gardermoen Line The Gardermoen Line ( no, Gardermobanen) is a high-speed railway line between Oslo and Eidsvoll, Norway, running past Lillestrøm and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. The line is long and replaced the older Hoved Line as the main line north-east of Os ...
from Oslo, via
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atlan ...
, to
Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information E ...
, the
Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation (; ) is a Norwegian ministry established in 1946, and is responsible for transportation in Norway. The ministry was responsible for communication infrastructure until may 2019, when the responsibility f ...
started planning additional high-speed lines west and southeast of Oslo. The Asker and
Follo Line The Follo Line ( no, Follobanen) is a high-speed railway between Oslo and Ski, Norway. The line runs parallel to the Østfold Line, and is dimensioned for . Most of the line, , runs in a twin-tube tunnel named the Blix Tunnel, which is the long ...
s would allow express and regional trains to travel faster and more reliably to Drammen and
Ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...
, leaving the old tracks for slower freight trains, and commuter trains making frequent stops. Construction of the Follo Line will, at the earliest, be completed in 2015. The Gardermoen Line had shown that profits could be made by operating passenger trains, but that it would not be possible to debt-finance short-distance tracks in
Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...
. Therefore, a conventional financial method for the Asker Line was started. While the railway is entirely financed through allocation through the
state budget A government budget is a document prepared by the government and/or other political entity presenting its anticipated tax revenues (Inheritance tax, income tax, corporation tax, import taxes) and proposed spending/expenditure (Healthcare, Educat ...
, the prioritising was secured through a political compromise for investments in
Greater Oslo Greater Oslo Region ("Stor-Oslo-regionen" in Norwegian language, Norwegian) is a statistical metropolitan region surrounding the Norway, Norwegian capital of Oslo. The region includes the city of Oslo (population: 658,390), the entire county of Ake ...
, the
Oslo Package 2 The Oslo Package 2 ( no, Oslopakke 2) or O2 is a political agreement for financing investments in public transport in Oslo and Akershus, Norway. The program ran from 2001 to 2011, and includes many large and small investments in railways, the Oslo T ...
. Financing of a diverse range of road and public transport investments—including new motorways, extension 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 ...
and new railways—would be made through a "package". This involved both state, county and
toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic) The road toll was a historical fee charged to travellers and ...
funding being collected in one lot, and then redistributing the funds to the agencies responsible for the investments. Prior to the construction, the Western Corridor had a capacity of 12–14 trains per hour in each direction west of Skøyen. The first section of the Asker Line, from Asker to Sandvika, increased the capacity with an additional two trains. The opening of Lysaker Station will increase capacity with four more, since all stations along the line between Oslo and Drammen will then have four platforms. When the whole line is completed, total capacity in the Western Corridor will be 26 trains per hour. This is equivalent to 5,500 cars per hour, and exceeds the capacity of a four-lane motorway. The Asker Line is also a necessary component to allow a high-speed route to be built along the Vestfold and
Ringerike Line The Ringerike Line ( no, Ringeriksbanen or ''Ringeriksbana'') is a proposed extension of the Bergen Line from Jong, Sandvika to Hønefoss, Norway. In 2022, the project was postponed; the government has no commitment to any timeframe (as of Q4 ...
s. The former is planned to branch off at Drammen, while the latter would branch of at Sandvika, and become a shortening of the Bergen Line. The first sections of the upgraded Vestfold Line opened in 1995 and 2001, and additional proposals are under planning for the remaining sections.


Route


Asker Station

Asker Station is the end of the Asker Line, and trains must continue westwards along the
Spikkestad Line The Spikkestad Line () is a 14 kilometre long railway line between Asker and Spikkestad in Norway. It was originally part of the Drammen Line between Oslo and Drammen which was built in 1872. In 1973, Lieråsen Tunnel was built to shorten the Dr ...
or the
Drammen Line The Drammen Line ( no, Drammenbanen) is a railway line between Oslo and Drammen, Norway, which was opened on 7 October 1872. It serves all trains west of Oslo Central Station and is owned by Bane NOR. The line opened as a narrow gauge railway, ...
. The latter immediately enters the
Lieråsen Tunnel Lieråsen Tunnel is a single-tubed railway tunnel of the Drammen Line situated in Asker, Røyken and Lier in Norway. At a length of , the double track tunnel is located immediately between Asker Station and Lier Station. It is used for a mix o ...
, allowing the same speeds as the Asker Line to Drammen. The Spikkestad Line is only used by the commuter trains to
Spikkestad Spikkestad is a village in the municipality of Asker, Viken, Asker, in the province of Viken (county), Viken, Norway. Its current population (2022) is between 4000 and 5000. Spikkestad is located in the northern part of the peninsula of Hurumland ...
. Along with building the line, Asker Station was upgraded from five to six platforms, and also received a new, artistically decorated underpass between the platforms. The station is located from
Oslo Central Station Oslo Central Station ( no, Oslo sentralstasjon, abbreviated ) is the main railway station in Oslo, and the largest railway station within the entire Norwegian railway system. It connects with Jernbanetorget station. It's the terminus of Dramme ...
(Oslo S) at elevation.


Asker–Sandvika

Construction of the section between Asker and Sandvika started in 2001, and was completed in 2005. It was officially opened by
Torild Skogsholm Torhild Skogsholm (born 18 October 1959, in Bodø) is a Norwegian politician (Liberal Party).Torild Skogsholm
in Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...
from the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
, on 27 August. This section is dominated by the
Tanum Tunnel Tanum Tunnel ( no, Tanumtunnelen) is double-track railway tunnel on the Asker Line, between Jong in Bærum and Åstad in Asker, Norway. It was built as part of the first stage of the Asker Line, between Asker and Sandvika; construction started ...
and the Skaugum Tunnel, and cost NOK 3.7 billion. For the last of track west of Sandvika, the Asker and Drammen Line have been built along the same, new, right-of-way. The Drammen Line, leaves
Slependen Station Slependen Station ( no, Slependen holdeplass) is a railway station on the Drammen Line located at Slependen in Bærum, Norway. Situated from Oslo Central Station, it consists of an island platform and serves the L1 line of the Oslo Commuter Rai ...
, and joins the Asker Line just after the latter leaves the Tanum Tunnel.


Sandvika Station

Sandvika Station is from Oslo S, at elevation. The track layout has been criticised by among others
Norsk Bane Norsk Bane is a Norwegian limited company that is working on plans to build a high-speed railway throughout large portions of Norway. The company has developed detailed plans for numerous lines and claims they would be able to build and operate a ...
, for not permitting high through speeds. A sharp curve before the station will not permit trains to travel at more than , even if they are not scheduled to stop at the station. This will increase travel time, and hinder the efficiency of the line should it be used later for high-speed lines to Vestfold or Western Norway. The proposed Ringerike Line would demerge just west of Sandvika Station.


Sandvika–Lysaker

Construction of the second section started in 2007 and was completed in 2011. The section between Sandvika and Lysaker is , most of which runs through the
Bærum Tunnel The Bærum Tunnel ( no, Bærumstunnelen) is a long double track railway tunnel in Bærum, Norway. Running between Marstranderveien and Engervannet, it makes up most of the long section of the Asker Line between Lysaker Station and Sandvika S ...
. There was local debate whether the tunnel should be built using a
tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They may also be used for microtunneling. They can be designed to bore throu ...
or by
drilling and blasting Drilling and blasting is the controlled use of explosives and other methods, such as gas pressure blasting pyrotechnics, to break rock for excavation. It is practiced most often in mining, quarrying and civil engineering such as dam, tunnel o ...
. The latter was preferred by the Rail Administration, since it allowed a shorter construction time, and a NOK 700 million saving. Total budget is NOK 2,787 million.


Lysaker Station

Lysaker Station serves as the main public transport hub for Eastern Bærum, parts of Western Oslo and
Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...
. Within , there are 20,000 jobs, with an additional 10–15,000 in development. Located west of Oslo S, it is receiving a major overhaul between 2006 and 2009, including of new track. The current station will be entirely replaced, and the number of platforms increased from two to four. More than one thousand buses depart from Lysaker Station each day, and it has been proposed as the terminus of the
Fornebu Line The Fornebu Line ( no, Fornebubanen) is an under construction rail transport, rail line which will serve the peninsula of Fornebu in Bærum, Norway. The line is under construction and the transit agency Ruter is working towards connecting it to ...
—a tramway originally proposed as a
people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
. The NOK 1 billion renovation has become a scandal, due to the station being built in a curve, and thus does not have straight platforms. This will become a security problem; in addition it will create a gap up to between the train and the platform, hindering accessibility to the trains for disabled people. Norges Statsbaner claims they will have to buy new trains due to this station alone, costing the state-owned company NOK 1.5 billion. Minister of Transport,
Liv Signe Navarsete Liv Signe Navarsete (born 23 October 1958 in Sogndal) is a Norwegian politician from the Centre Party. She has served as county governor of Vestland county since 2022. She previously served as Minister of Local Government and Modernisation (Norwa ...
from the Centre Party, has said that resolving the problems by building a straight station is not an alternative, since it would cost an additional hundred-millions of NOK, and delay the new station several years.


Lysaker–Skøyen (–Oslo Central)

The last section in the original plan is a proposed section from Lysaker to Skøyen; the latter not being modified as part of the extension, since it was upgraded in 1999. The government originally deferred the decision on the start of construction until at least 2020, since the government prioritised other projects over this section. No specific route was finalised at that point, and proposed alternatives would either run parallel to the current Drammen Line, or by placing all four tracks through a new tunnel. The former has been preferred by the Rail Administration, while the latter—which would cost NOK 1 billion more—has been preferred by the municipality. There are no intermediate commuter stations between Skøyen and Lysaker, so there is little regularity or speed potential to gain from the construction, since the
Oslo Tunnel The Oslo Tunnel ( no, Oslotunnelen) is a , double-track, railway tunnel which runs between Olav Kyrres plass and Oslo Central Station (Oslo S) in Oslo, Norway. The tunnel constitutes the easternmost section of the Drammen Line and runs bel ...
from Skøyen to Oslo Central Station will still remain a bottleneck with only two tracks. Advocates have claimed that there is no gain from building this section without building two additional tracks all the way to the central station. Following the preparation of a new study on routes between Oslo Central Station and Lysaker, the Norwegian National Rail Administration endorsed a route alternative entirely in tunnel, bypassing Skøyen to the north.


Operation

Norges Statsbaner Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach s ...
(NSB) operates their express trains on the Bergen and Sørland Line on the Asker Line, along with the regional trains along the Vestfold Line. They also operate some of
Oslo Commuter Rail Oslo Commuter Rail ( no, Lokaltog Østlandet) is a commuter rail centered in Oslo, Norway, connecting the capital to six counties in Eastern Norway. The system is operated by Vy (formerly NSB) and its subsidiary Vy Gjøvikbanen, using Class 69 ...
trains, that do not stop on the intermediate stations. Other commuter trains use the old Drammen Line, along with freight trains. However, in 2006, the night freight trains were moved to the new line, despite operating at less than . The ''
Flytoget The Airport Express Train ( no, Flytoget) is a Norway, Norwegian high-speed rail, high-speed airport rail link, airport railway service connecting Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, Oslo Airport to Oslo Central Station in nineteen minutes. Run by Flytoget ...
'' airport express train operates along the line three times per hour using Class 71 multiple units, connecting the main stations west of Oslo to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. With the opening of the new line, NSB stopped operating their commuter trains from Drammen to Oslo with stops at Høn,
Hvalstad Hvalstad is a village and a small part of the municipality of Asker. Hvalstad has slightly over 2,000 inhabitants, a number that has doubled since the 1970s. Hvalstad lies 20 kilometres from the centre of Oslo. Hvalstad Station is on the Drammen ...
and
Billingstad Billingstad is a village in Asker municipality, Akershus county, Norway. It is close to the border of Bærum and Vestmarka and is 18 km west of Oslo. It has 2,349 residents (2006). The area is both residential and commercial. It is served b ...
. Passengers from Drammen now need to transfer in Asker, but all other passengers have travel times reduced from 48 to 36 minutes.


See also

*
Follo Line The Follo Line ( no, Follobanen) is a high-speed railway between Oslo and Ski, Norway. The line runs parallel to the Østfold Line, and is dimensioned for . Most of the line, , runs in a twin-tube tunnel named the Blix Tunnel, which is the long ...


References


External links


Official project page
{{Authority control Railway lines in Viken Railway lines opened in 2005 2005 establishments in Norway Flytoget Electric railways in Norway Standard gauge railways in Norway