Oslo Retro

Current 2021 Oslo network imagined as a diagram from the 1950's

Click here for high resolution image.

Inspired by Cameron Booth’s work on this map.

Background

There doesn’t seem to be any historic railway network diagrams for Oslo, at least that I know of.

The maps I’ve found are beautiful, but with railways drawn upon them, not network diagrams as such.

Photo of this Oslo Museum map from 1901: Lars Roede.

This sign is pretty nice. Heavy tight type on dark bakground, coloured lines with coloured departure indicators on the clock. The S from Sentrum station stylised as a station circle. Modern.

We can see from the masked yellow line that this is between the inauguration of the station in 1977 and the extension of the line in 1978.

Still more of a strip map than a network diagram.

Photo by Leif Ørnelund, from Oslo Museum.

History

My interest is with the metro, so I won’t focus on the tram lines. Their histories are nevertheless closely linked.

In 1875 the first tram lines were opened. They were rail trolleys powered by horses.

In 1894 the first electrified tramways started operating.

In 1898 the first metro line was opened. It is to date still our line 1.

By 1930 metro line 1 had been extended to its terminus in the North.

Metro line 2 was opened.

Tram lines were also extended.
In the centre they function as city transit with tracks on roads with other traffic.
In the suburbs they function as light suburban rail with tracks mostly independent from the roads.

Now please hang along.

In the West a new track is opened. It links the existing tramway to metro line 2.

The tram and metro use the same gauge and are thus able to share tracks and stations. In fact they still do.

From 1942 the metro runs the entire new line, and the tram terminates at Jar, their first (and so far only) common station.

Massive changes from 1966.

The brand new northeastern line opens and the southeastern line is now operated by metros.

They converge into a new tunnel leading towards the centre, where new stations are opened.

Oslo now has two central metro termini; the National Theatre in the West, and the East Central Station in the East, some 1000 meters apart.

In 1987 Sentrum is renamed Stortinget and becomes the common terminus for both eastern and western lines. There was no through traffic yet. Western lines ended in a bumper stop and eastern lines ballooned below and around these. There are still four platforms there today.

In 1992 Stortinget opened for through traffic.

By 1999 metro lines 2 and 3 were upgraded (some stations were closed) and all outbranching lines had reached the termini we know today.

A new tunnel through the centre is planned.

It may look ridiculous, but it makes sense; a vast majority of trips is towards the city centre between Majorstuen and Grønland. All lines currently share the same tracks through the main central tunnel.

This will make Stortinget the symmetrical centre of the network. Maybe theyl’ll make use of the extra platforms and rename it Sentrum?

The new side track tunnels would decongest the shared tunnel and allow for increased traveller capacity.

I hope I’ll live to see it 🙂

Trivia for the geeks: tram line 13 and metro line 3 still enjoy a fusion in the West.

They still connect just East of Jar station, which they share on an elongated platform to fit both carriage heights.

Then carrying on westward, the metro stops at Ringstabekk while the tram doesn’t.

At the tram terminus of Bekkestua the platform forms a buffer stop for the tram and a centre platform for the metro.

Did I miss something?

Do you have information I don’t?
Please let me know.