The Fornebu Line () is an under-construction metro line forming a fully underground extension of the Oslo Metro between Majorstuen in Oslo and Fornebu in Bærum, Norway. The line is being built as part of the existing metro network and will connect to the metro's Common Tunnel at Majorstuen.
It will be about long, running entirely in tunnel, and will have six new underground stations at Skøyen, Vækerø, Lysaker, Unity Arena, Flytårnet and Fornebu Senter, with a new depot at Fornebu.
Construction started on 11 December 2020, and the line is currently planned to open in 2029, after an earlier target of 2027 was postponed. The project is funded by the state, Oslo and Bærum municipalities and toll-road revenues, and recent estimates put the investment cost at a little over NOK 23 billion in 2021 price level.
History
The first proposals for a line to Fornebu arose as part of a 1917 competition issued by Christiana (later Oslo) and Aker Municipality to plan a new rail transport plan for the capital area. The winning design, made by Jørgen Barth, included a series of suburban lines.Haldsrud (2013): 27 One of these was a branch from the Lilleaker Line past Lysaker, through Fornebu and onwards to Snarøya and Ostøya.Haldsrud (2013): 30 At the time Fornebu was a largely unpopulated area, while there was a small population at Snarøya. Fornebu and Snarøya received a coach service in 1921.Wisting (1989): 22–26 During the 1930s, the water aerodrome Gressholmen Airport became insufficient to meet Oslo's aviation needs, and it was decided that Fornebu would become the site of an airport. Oslo Airport, Fornebu opened on 1 June 1939.Wisting (1989): 35–41
Transit to the airport was organized through a series of concessions which were issued to individual bus companies. From 1975, local buses were coordinated through Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk. Airport coach services to the city center were on the other hand granted to the largest airlines, Braathens SAFE and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). They operated each their coach service from two separate locations downtown. Various improvements to this system were proposed, including check-in in the city center.Berthelsen (1981): 5 The coach and bus services were generally regarded as little attractive and forty percent of passengers at the airport used taxis.Berthelsen (1981): 6 Fornebu was at the time still considered an option for a future main airport for Eastern Norway and there were therefore proposal to build an airport rail link.Berthelsen (1981): 7
Meanwhile, there was a political debate regarding the site of a new airport. Fornebu was one alternative. However, it only had a single runway, which was too small to serve intercontinental flights. It would therefore have to serve in tandem with Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Other proposals were placing the airport at Hurum, Ås and Hobøl, or building a new airport at Gardermoen.Bredal (1998): 17 The Norwegian State Railways developed a series of plans for the various airport locations, including the Hurum Line, the Gardermoen Line—which was ultimately built—and branches of the Østfold Line to Hobøl and Ås. The ground transport system was a major part of the considerations and proposals were made both for motorway and railway access to all the alternatives.Norwegian State Railways (1986): 1 As part of its 1986 proposal NSB also launched the concept of a people mover to the airport.Norwegian State Railways (1986): 15
Construction of the airport was to be carried out by a separate limited company owned by the Civil Aviation Administration. Hence the airport was financed using state grants which would be repaid. A similar model was used for roads and railways, in which a separate subsidiary of NSB would be set up to build new railway lines.Bredal (1998): 39 Parliament voted on 8 June 1988 in favor of building a new airport at Hurum.Bredal (1998): 23–24 A series of weather surveys were then published which showed unfavorable conditions and the matter was again brought up for political consideration. A final decision to build a new airport at Gardermoen was thus taken on 8 October 1992 and subsequently closing Fornebu.Bredal (1998): 28
Lysaker Station was the closest railway station to Oslo Airport, Fornebu. From 27 May 1990, SAS and NSB started a cooperation to better the connection between rail and airline services. The project included the station being branded as Lysaker/Fornebu and dedicated shuttle buses running from the station to the airport terminal. NSB changed their scheduled so all InterCity Express and long-distance trains on the Drammen Line started stopping at Lysaker. Oslo Sporveier and the Norwegian National Rail Administration launched a proposal for a tram-train service in 1997, largely inspired by the Karlsruhe model.Oslo Sporveier et al. (1997): 6 The last plane departed from Fornebu on 7 October 1998.Bredal (1998): 23–29
Work on planning the use of Fornebu after the airport was closed started in the early 1990s.Deloitte (2012): 8 The degree of how dense the peninsula was to be built was a source of controversy. Initial plans called for the establishment of a suburban area with lots and single dwellings. Ownership of the airport land was held by the government through Statsbygg and Oslo Municipality.Deloitte (2012): 11 Both a 1992 and a 1997 report concluded that it would benefit society the most if Fornebu was redeveloped as a residential area, with as many as 14,000 residences being quoted as a suitable number. However, this was later shifted towards more commercial and less residential space. In December 1999, the land-owners committed to contributing 200 million kroner towards a rail link, which was increased to 500 million in January 2000. Bærum Municipal Council approved the zoning plan for Fornebu in April 2000, which called for 5,000 residences and 15,000 jobs. This issue was appealed by Statsbygg, who demanded an increase in utilization. The Ministry of the Environment concluded in September that the number of residences be increased to 6,000. The latter sold its properties to Fornebu Boligspar in 2001, the same year as Statsbygg sold its properties to a series of investors.
The first report regarding a rail transit system to the redeveloped Fornebu was published in April 2001, published by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and the National Rail Administration. It investigated both bus, people mover, mainline railway and a tramway.Norwegian Public Roads Administration et al. (2001): 10 The mainline railway alternative was based on the Asker Line being routed via Fornebu instead of running directly to Lysaker from Sandvika Station.Norwegian Public Roads Administration et al. (2001): 71 By 2001 construction of the Asker Line was under way and soon this alternative was ruled out. The Ministry of Transport and Communications determined in August that building a line would be the responsibility of Akershus County Municipality, Bærum Municipality and, if applicable, Oslo Municipality. The following month a state grant of 600 million kroner was issued.Deloitte (2012): 9
As an intermediate solution a bus service was established from Oslo to Fornebu. The number of buses have increased dramatically as new work places have opened, although there is no spare capacity on the buses. A further 2,500 in Fornebu opened in 2013 when Statoil opened its capital offices. The lack of transit was also a hindrance for the construction of housing, as this required the transit system to be in place. As of 2012 only 300 residences had been built at Fornebu.
Akershus County Municipality issued a report investigating tramway, people mover and bus rapid transit in March 2002. The county council voted in June to pursue a people mover, although it kept the possibility open for a connection onwards via tramway or metro. Further reports were issued in December 2002 and February 2003, and in April 2003 the county again approved a people mover, and asked Oslo Municipality to build a metro line to Lysaker. However, in the following three years there was a shift in the interest of building a people mover.
A new report was issued in 2006 and in May 2007 Akershus County Council voted in favor of building a tramway. A contributing factor was that a large array of expert bodies, including Oslo Sporveier, the Public Roads Administration, the Institute of Transport Economics and a series of consulting companies all recommended that a people mover was not suitable. The main downsides of a people mover gradually became evident for the county politicians. These included the inability to provide a direct service to Oslo and the system costs of have a fourth rail system, in addition to a metro, tramway and mainline railway. A particular concern was that very few people chose to use public transport if there are two or more transfers, which would be reality for many with a people mover.
Ruter attempted to base its right-of-way planning for the tramway along the regulated right-of-way of the people mover. However, this was not compatible as the premise for the people mover was that it would run elevated for its route, thus avoiding conflicts with road traffic. This issue made the tramway route unfeasible in the old route and Ruter therefore had to design a new route.Ruter (2010): 10 Ruter was established as a common transit agency for Oslo and Akershus in May 2008, and took over the responsibility for planning. Ruter has since published a series of reports looking at the various modes and routes.Deloitte (2012): 10 It thereby concluded that a tramway would not be suitable and eventually landed on that a metro line exclusively in a tunnel via Skøyen to Majorstuen would be preferable. It cited the need for quick travel speeds to the city center, connection with the other transit systems and sufficient capacity to handle increased development at Fornebu. The metro alternative was approved of by Akershus County Council in December 2012 and Oslo Municipal Council in April 2013.
Premise
A planned 20,000 jobs and 6,000 residences are to be located at Fornebu. The transit system therefore has to be dimensioned to handle this number of commuters during the morning rush-hour. Further expansion to the plans could bring the total number of jobs to 25,000. The increase would have to be entirely based on transit, as there is no sufficient parking capacity for more people to drive. Demand for the various modes is more or less the same, at about 4,000 people per hour in both directions. However, given a long-term, high-growth development, only the metro alternative actually has sufficient capacity to handle the traffic estimates.Ruter (2011): 11 The zoning plan of Fornebu is designed in such a way that only a limited amount of the area can be built before a rail transit is under construction.
Financing of the line will come from a variety of sources. There is funding in Oslo Package 3, an amalgamation of various national and local grants and toll fees, but this is insufficient to finance construction, even if it is delayed until 2027. Land-owners at Fornebu have committed 500 million 2000-kroner towards the construction of a rail transit. Ruter is considering if it should build the line as a public–private partnership.Ruter (2011): 9 An alternative way to generate additional funding is that the land-owners pay for part of the infrastructure in exchange for a change to the zoning allowing more dense construction. Since 2013 the Ministry of Transport and Communications has promised to fund half the investments, although it is uncertain if this funding could be released before 2018.
Proposed modes and routes Suburban line