List of Oslo Tramway and Metro operators

Kristiania Sporveisselskap trams at Egertorvet in 1907
MX3000 metro train, owned by Oslo Vognselskap and operated by Oslo T-banedrift, at Bergskrystallen, a station owned by Kollektivtransportproduksjon
Map of the city center as of 1939, showing which tram company has built which line

The Oslo Tramway is a six-line tram and light rail network that serves the central parts of Oslo, Norway,[1] of which three lines stretch into the suburbs.[2] The Oslo Metro is a six-line rapid transit system that covers all boroughs of Oslo and some of western Bærum.[2][3] Currently, the infrastructure of both systems is owned by the municipal company Sporveien (Kollektivtransportproduksjon). The tramway is operated by the subsidiary Sporveien Trikken (previously Oslotrikken), while the metro is operated by Sporveien T-banen (previously Oslo T-banedrift) and the rolling stock is owned by the subsidiary Oslo Vognselskap.[4] All operations are conducted on contract with Ruter, the public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus, which operates the ticket system and manages public grants.[5]

Throughout the history of the Oslo Tramway and Metro, 15 different companies have owned, constructed or operated parts or all of the network. The first street trams in Oslo were built by three different companies, each with their own network. The private Kristiania Sporveisselskab started with a horsecar service in 1875,[6] but electrified their lines after Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei started with electric trams in 1894.[7] Between 1899 and 1905, the municipality operated street trams through Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie.[8] Starting in 1898, the private Holmenkolbanen, and later the municipal Akersbanerne and private Ekebergbanen, built suburban light rail systems.[9][10] In 1924, the city took over the street trams and established Oslo Sporveier. After the municipal merger between Aker and Oslo in 1948, the Municipality of Oslo became the major stock holder of Holmenkolbanen.[11] Bærumsbanen was taken over by Oslo Sporveier in 1944, and in 1971 disestablished. The private light rail lines were gradually nationalized and transferred to Oslo Sporveier, which operated the entire network by 1975.[12] The metro was established in 1966 and was operated by Oslo Sporveier,[13] which also operated the city's buses and contracted the ferries.[12]

From 2003 to 2008, the operations were again split. In 2003, the operations of the trams and metro trains were transferred to Oslotrikken (originally named Oslo Sporvognsdrift) and Oslo T-banedrift, respectively.[14][15] In 2006, Oslo Sporveier was split into the infrastructure company Kollektivtransportproduksjon and a public transport authority, the latter of which kept the Oslo Sporveier name. From 2007, the ownership of the trams and trains was transferred to Oslo Vognselskap.[4] In 2008, Oslo Sporveier merged with its Akershus counterpart, Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk, to create Ruter.[5]

  1. ^ "Welcome to Oslo Trams website". Oslotrikken. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  2. ^ a b Aspenberg 1994, pp. 32–3.
  3. ^ "Linjekart" [Line map] (PDF). Ruter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ktp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ruter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Hartmann & Mangset 2001, p. 51.
  7. ^ Hartmann & Mangset 2001, pp. 60–1.
  8. ^ Aspenberg 1994, p. 9.
  9. ^ Aspenberg 1994, p. 15.
  10. ^ Hartmann & Mangset 2001, pp. 84–9.
  11. ^ Aspenberg 1995, p. 36.
  12. ^ a b Aspenberg 1994, p. 19.
  13. ^ Aspenberg 1994, p. 29.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference otd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference osd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).