The Ullevål Hageby Line () is a
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
section of the
Oslo Tramway. It runs from
Stortorvet
Stortorvet ('The Grand Plaza') is a square in Oslo, Norway, located west of Oslo Cathedral.
Background
It was officially inaugurated during the autarchic times, in 1736. A town market was held here until 1889. Marketing still exists, but has la ...
in the city center of
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
to
Rikshospitalet. It passes through the areas of
St. Hanshaugen,
Ullevål Hageby and
Blindern
Blindern is the main campus of the University of Oslo, located in Nordre Aker in Oslo, Norway.
Campus
Most of the departments of the University of Oslo are located at Blindern; other, smaller campuses include Sentrum, Oslo, Sentrum (law), Gaust ...
before reaching
Gaustad. It serves major institutions such as
Oslo University College
Oslo University College (; HiO) was the largest state university college in Norway from 1994 to 2011, with more than 18,000 students and approximately 1800 employees. ,
Bislett Stadion
Bislett Stadium () is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here. The original stadi ...
,
Ullevål University Hospital, the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
and
Rikshospitalet. The line is served by route 17 and 18 by
Oslo Sporvognsdrift using
SL95 trams, while the tracks are owned by
Kollektivtransportproduksjon.
The first section, from Stortorvet from Homansbyen, opened in 1875 as a
horsecar
A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is a tram or streetcar pulled by a horse.
Summary
The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public transport, public rail transport, ...
line. It was electrified in 1900, and extended to Adamstuen in 1909. In 1925, the line reached Ullevål Hageby. The final extension to Rikshospitalet was opened in 1999, following the move of the hospital. The last section is formally called the Gaustad Line (''Gaustadlinjen''). North of Adamstuen, the line runs in its own right-of-way, mostly in the center of streets; southwards, it is a street tramway. Transfers to the
Oslo T-bane are possible at
Forskningsparken and Tinghuset/Professor Aschehougs gate.
History
The first section of the Ullevål Hageby Line, from Stortorvet to Homansbyen, was built by
Kristiania Sporveisselskab and opened on 6 October 1875 as a horsecar line. A depot was built at Homansbyen. The line was part of the first system in the city, and connected to the
Gamleby Line on the other side of Stortorvet. Until 19 October there were also some direct services to the
Western Railway Station (Vestbanen). The first services had fifteen-minute
headway
Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise definition varies depending on ...
—increasing to ten minutes from 22 June 1876. There were also some trials of using sleds during winter.
The line was electrified on 15 January 1900. On 24 September 1909, it was extended from Homansbyen to
Adamstuen.
In 1924, the line, along with the rest of the street tram network, was taken over by the municipal
Oslo Sporveier. On 1 August 1925, the line was extended to
Ullevål Hageby (later renamed John Colletts plass).
Rikshospitalet extension
In 1988, the
Norwegian Parliament decided to start the process of moving
Rikshospitalet, the National Hospital, from
Pilestredet to
Gaustad.
Following the completion of the architectural plans in 1991, the city planner launched the concept for transport to the new hospital. 50% of the transport was to be by public transport, up from the contemporary 35%, and would require an extension of the Ullevål Hageby Line to the hospital. Specific plans for the extension were launched in April 1992, and were estimated to cost .
The regulation plan for the hospital, and the go-ahead for the construction of the line, was passed by the city council on 4 May 1994. In April 1996, a disagreement between the municipality and the
Ministry 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 a ...
arose concerning who should be paying for the extension. The state had at the time formally suggested that the bill be split 50–50 between the two, whereas the municipality claimed that the state had promised to pay for the full extension. In June, the
Conservative Party,
Labour Party and
Progress Party in the city council all voted against municipal grants for the line. The politicians signalled that they instead wanted to look at possibilities of serving the hospital with
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...
and bus. Also the university was opposed to the plans, since the line would split the university campus up, would require trees along an avenue to be removed and would force parking places to be moved. The city council voted against building the line on 24 September 1997, with the majority arguing that the hospital could be served by the nearby
Gaustad Station on the
Holmenkoll Line and by buses. Three opposition parties, the Labour Party,
Socialist Left Party and
Red Electoral Alliance, voted in favor of the tram line.
On 6 February 1998, an agreement was made between the ministry and the city, where the city would fund NOK 31 of 111 million of the investment needed. However, the city would have to pay all budget overrides. In 1996, the work with
Oslo Package 2 started. A follow-up on the existing road investment plan
Oslo Package 1, it would allow
toll fees to be used to finance public transport infrastructure in Oslo. While the line was not initially part of the package, it served as a prelude in combining state and municipal grants to public transport investments. The agreement was approved by parliament on 26 May 1998.
The extension was ready for trial runs on 25 May 1999, when a new
SL95 tram made a tested. Only the newest tram series can operate on the line, since all the older tram types were only unidirectional.
Normal operations started on 1 June. After one month, ridership had increased with 20%, and 99% of services were less than three minutes delayed. The expansion had four new stations:
Universitetet Blindern,
Forskningsparken,
Gaustadalléen and
Rikshospitalet. The entire section is built as a light rail, with step-free access to the trams, and the trams having their own corridors in the middle of the road.
The last station on the old section,
John Colletts plass, had to be moved, though the
balloon loop has been kept. On 22 August, the T-bane station
Vestgrensa was closed, and replaced by one at Forskningsparken. This allows direct transfer from the
Sognsvann Line (and since 2003 the
Ring Line) of the T-bane to the Ullevål Hageby Line.
An original intent was to let the line continue from Rikshospitalet, connect with the Holmenkoll Line at Gaustad, follow its tracks southwards before branching off near
Frøen and ending at
Majorstuen
Majorstuen or Majorstua is a particularly affluent neighbourhood in the Frogner borough in the inner part of Oslo, Norway.
Majorstuen is known for its vibrant downtown and especially its shopping area. The area has several elegant townhouses c. 1 ...
. Here, at the terminus of the
Frogner and
Briskeby Lines, a reconnection with the tramway system was provided. No part of this plan materialized.
The line was the crime scene of a murder on 3 August 2004, when a mentally deranged man went on a stabbing spree on board a tram at
Bislett, injuring five and killing one.
Service
The Ullevål Hageby Line is served by lines 17 and 18 of the Oslo Tramway. Both lines operate the full length of the line between Rikshospitalet and Stortorvet and continue to
Grefsen, but by different routes. Line 17 continues along the
Sinsen Line while line 18 continues along the
Grünerløkka–Torshov Line.
Because there is no turning loop, only
SL95 low-floor trams are used.
Each line operates on a ten-minute headway during the day, and a twenty-minute headway in the evening and in the weekends. During the peak hours, the line therefore is served every five minutes. The service is provided by
Oslo Sporvognsdrift, on contract with
Ruter. The trams and tracks are owned by the municipal company
Kollektivtransportproduksjon.
Transfers to lines 3, 4 and 5 of the T-bane are possible at Forskningsparken, while all T-bane lines can be reached at
Tinghuset/Professor Aschehougs plass. Line 11 of the tramway can be transferred to at
Welhavens gate and
Høyskolesenteret. All other trams lines can be transferred to at Stortorvet. Line 18 also continues along the Gamleby Line to
Jernbanetorget, and line 17 to
Kirkeristen, where transfer is possible to the T-bane, and the national rail network at
Oslo Central Station.
From downtown, the line runs in a generally northern direction, gradually turning northwestwards, moving along Thereses gate and Sognsveien to John Colletts plass, then through Niels Henrik Abels vei, on the north side of the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
campus, before ending at Rikshospitalet. The leg between John Colletts plass and Rikshospitalet is formally called the Gaustad Line (). The first part of the line, from Stortorvet to Welhavens gate, serves the city center. Welhavens gate (east-bound trams) and Høyskolesenteret (west-bound trams) serves the main campus of
Oslo University College
Oslo University College (; HiO) was the largest state university college in Norway from 1994 to 2011, with more than 18,000 students and approximately 1800 employees. .
Bislett is located just outside the multi-purpose sports venue
Bislett Stadion
Bislett Stadium () is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here. The original stadi ...
.
Ullevål sykehus serves
Ullevål University Hospital, while both Universitet Blindern and Forskningsparken serve the main campus of the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
at
Blindern
Blindern is the main campus of the University of Oslo, located in Nordre Aker in Oslo, Norway.
Campus
Most of the departments of the University of Oslo are located at Blindern; other, smaller campuses include Sentrum, Oslo, Sentrum (law), Gaust ...
. Rikshospitalet serves the hospital it takes its name from.
References
Notes
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulleval Hageby Line
Oslo Tramway lines
Railway lines opened in 1875
1875 establishments in Norway