Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

OSLO

TRANSPORT: What you need to know about Oslo’s Fornebu line

After months of uncertainty, a new metro line between Majorstuen and Fornebu has been given the green light to go ahead by Oslo City Council and Viken County Council. Here’s what residents need to know about the T-bane link. 

Published: 23 June 2022 15:31 CEST
Pictured is the Oslo metro system.
This is what residents should know about the Fornebu line. Pictured is the inside of one of Oslo's metro lines. Photo by Nikita Barskov on Unsplash

A new metro line between Majortstuen in Oslo and Fornebu in Bærum, just west of Oslo, has been given the green light, ending uncertainty over its future for the time being. 

Earlier this year, the project faced the axe due to spiralling costs, which saw the estimated price tag of the new metro line rise by 7 billion kroner. 

Oslo’s newest T-bane line will be the most significant investment in the metro system since the 60s or 70s, according to Sirin Stav from Oslo City Council. 

Since the airport at Fornebu closed in 1998, several links between the peninsula and the city centre have been pitched. 

The new 8-kilometre-long metro line will cost more than 31.0 billion kroner to complete. 

Construction on the project has already begun, and six new underground stations will be built. These are Skøyen, Vækerø, Lysaker, Fornebuporten, Flytårnet and Fornebu Senter. Plans will also see Majorstuen Metro Station upgraded. 

Fornebu, the former site of Oslo Airport, is home to a business park, shopping and residential areas. There are plans to build more than 11,000 new homes in the area and create 20,000 new jobs, according to Oslo Municipality. 

READ ALSO: What you might not have known about Oslo’s Diechman Bjørvika library

Oslo Municipality hopes the new line will provide an eco-friendly and accessible route between Fornebu and the city centre. Current bus routes are usually pretty busy, leading to many people driving in and out of the former site of Oslo airport. 

The stop at Majorstuen will connect the new line with the existing metro network in Oslo. 

Despite construction already starting nearly two years ago, it is unlikely the new line will open before 2029. 

Financing for the project comes from the government, the municipality, landowners, and the Oslo Package 3 toll agreement. 

As a result of the project going ahead, tolls as part of the Oslo Package 3 agreement will rise by 40 percent. This will happen in two steps, the first from September, with the second rise coming on January 1st 2024. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

OSLO

Potential bankruptcy threatens bus services in Oslo 

The strained finances of bus provider Unibuss could cause chaos for Oslo’s bus network if the company folds. 

Published: 24 April 2024 12:08 CEST
Potential bankruptcy threatens bus services in Oslo 

Unibuss, which is wholly owned by Oslo Municipality, is in danger of going bust due to large losses, unpaid bills, and fines from public transport firm Ruter for issues with its electric bus fleet this winter. 

Oslo City Council will hold an emergency meeting headed up by transport councilor Marit Vea on Wednesday, where she will be grilled on how the council will avert a collapse in the city’s public transport network should Unibuss go bankrupt. 

Unibuss is comprised of four smaller companies that operate bus routes in Oslo on behalf of Ruter. The company has just over 370 buses in operation and covers around 60 to 70 percent of the routes in Oslo and the neighboring municipality of Bærum. 

Oslo’s fleet of electric busses struggled especially with snow and cold temperatures this winter, which caused frequent chaos across the capital’s public transport network. 

Snow, ice, range and charging issues for the busses lead to vehicle shortages which caused mass delays and cancellations several times over the winter. 

Ruter, which is also part owned by Oslo municipality, believes that the financial problems facing Unibuss mean the company could be forced to file for bankruptcy or undergo a major restructuring, according to a memo obtained by publication Teknisk Ukeblad.  

It has previously told public broadcaster that it was working on a plan in case Unibuss goes bankrupt. 

“There is no doubt that the first days of such a scenario will be very demanding for the residents of Oslo and parts of Akershus,” Ruter’s communications director Elisabeth Skarsbø Moen told public broadcaster NRK.  

“First and foremost, we are working to find a solution together with Unibuss that does not affect Ruter’s customers,” she said. 

“But as those responsible for public transport, we have both a plan and an emergency organization ready to also handle a bankruptcy,” Skarsbø Moen added. 

Should Unibuss go bankrupt, its buses would become part of the bankruptcy estate and if such an event were to occur while passengers were in transit, all passengers would need to disembark at the next stop so the buses can be transported to the depot. 

Ruter said it had an eye on the market to try and see what could be available in terms of extra buses and equipment. 

It said that its priority would be to ensure that school transport, and that healthcare workers could get to work, in the event of a sudden lack of buses. 

SHOW COMMENTS