Light Rail Transit Association   URBAN TRANSIT NEWS 2004

Closed tram line set to reopen in Oslo: Work is now under way on the Kjelsaas tram line in Oslo, two years after it was closed. Norwegian daily Aftenposten reports that Oslo sporvognsdrift, the municipal company that run Oslo's trams is rebuilding the track on the line. "The Kjelsaas line was closed because the track was too bad, and we lacked money for maintenance. Now we're doing the job in such a way that the rails can be used for 30 years", Leif Oeverland, CEO of Oslo sporvognsdrift told the newspaper.

The closing of the Kjelsaas line caused political turmoil in Oslo. The city council ordered the city government to reopen the line. The council at the same time provided funds for the track renovation.

Trondheim line increases frequency: The only remaining tram line in Trondheim, Graakallbanen, has increased it's frequency to one tram every 15 minutes for a greater part of the day. The privately operated line was able to increase the frequency after the city council of Norway's third city acknowledged Graakallbanen as part of Trondheim's main transportation network, and at the same time appropriated funds for increasing the frequencies on the tram line as well as the major bus lines.

Weekdays the trams run every 15 minutes between 6 am and 6 pm and between 9 am and 4 pm on Saturdays. For the remainder of the operating hours, the trams run every half hour.

Graakalbanen started as a private company in 1924, after an initiative by Irish born Robert Millar. Later it was taken over by the municipal Trondheim Tramway. The city council voted to close the tram network in 1988, but two years later the Graakallen line reemerged as a private company.

4 September 2004