Gamlebyen Line

The Gamlebyen Line (Norwegian: Gamlebylinjen) is a section of the Oslo Tramway which runs east from Jernbanetorget along Schweigaards gate (street), past the Oslo Bus Terminal then turns south along Oslo gate, and past Gamlebyen before becoming the Ekeberg Line. The section is served by lines 18 and 19.

History

The line was opened by Kristiania Sporveisselskab in 1875 as a horsecar route between Stortorvet and Gamlebyen. In 1900 the line was electrified, and received branch lines to Kampen and Vålerenga. The Vålerenga Line was extended to Etterstad in 1923, where there was a transfer to the Østensjø Line. Until 1925, the line was named the Oslo Line; with the name change of the city from Kristiania to Oslo, the district known as Oslo was renamed Gamlebyen.

The plans from 1919 called for a common connection from the Østensjø Line and the Ekeberg Line to the city center, along with the proposed Lambertseter Line. The Ekberg Line was to run through a tunnel from Sjømannskolen to Lodalen, from there over a bridge and then connect with the Østensjø Line at Harald Hårdrådes plass. They would then run along an elevated line along Schweigaards gate to Vaterland, and from there in a tunnel to a terminus at Stortorvet.


In 1937, Ekebergbanen proposed a line south of Oslo gate on a bridge over Kongsveien, Oslo gate and the railway tracks, and then along Kanslergata to the proposed elevated line in Hollendergata. A formal concession was sent in 1937, but the plans were stopped by the war. After the war, it was decided that the Lambertseter Line would run from Bryn on the Østensjø Line, which would allow the Lambertseter Line, which had been proposed to connect to the Ekeberg Line, to become part of the metro. This terminated plans for rebuild the downtown section of the Ekeberg Line.


In 1957, a new route from Oslo gate via Schweigaards gate to Jernbanetorget was built to reduce travel time along the new Lambertseter Line. In 1966, the Østensjø and Lambertseter Lines were transferred to the Oslo Metro.

In the 1970s, the traffic from Mosseveien was rerouted over Loenga Bridge into Bispegata. Oslo gate was then closed for through traffic, which improved traffic. The section from Jernbanetorget to Hollendergata was rebuilt between 1988 and 1991, resulting in an all-new light rail section in its own right-of-way. The rest of the line was renovated from 1990 to 1992.


There are plans to move the line from Schewigaards gate and let the line run through Dronning Eufemias gate as part of the development inBjørvika. The move is expected to be done in 2014

Source

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

Norway

Norway (ⁱ /ˈnɔrweɪ/; Norwegian:  Norge (Bokmål) or  Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europeoccupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island (is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty).^{[note 1]} Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 4.9 million.^[6] It is the secondleast densely populated country in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered byFinland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait, across which Denmark is situated. The capital city of Norway isOslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.

Norway is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with King Harald V as its head of state and Jens Stoltenberg as its prime minister. It is a unitary state with administrative subdivisions on two levels known as counties (fylker) and municipalities (kommuner). The Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Although having rejected European Union membership in two referenda, Norway maintains close ties with the union and its member countries, as well as with the United States. Norway remains one of the biggest financial contributors to the United Nations,^[7] and participates with UN forces in international missions, notably in Afghanistan, Kosovo,Sudan and Libya. Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the Council of Europe, and the Nordic Council, a member also of theEuropean Economic Area, the WTO, the OECD and is a part of Schengen Area.

Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. It is the world's largest producer of oil andnatural gas per capita outside of the Middle East,^[8][9] and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the Gross domestic product.^[10] The country maintains a Scandinavian welfare model with universal health-care, subsidized higher education, and a comprehensive social security system. From 2001 to 2007,^[2] and then again in 2009 and 2010, Norway had the highest human development in the world.^[11]