page_title: Fornebu Line
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Fornebu Line / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Aircraft at Oslo Airport, Fornebu: Sud SE-210 Caravelle 10B3 Super B (OH-LSF; Pori) of Finnair Sud SE-210 Caravelle III (SE-DAF) of SAS Scandinavian Airlines Douglas DC-8 of SAS Scandinavian Airlines Douglas DC-9 of SAS Scandinavian Airlines
context_page_description: The Fornebu Line is a proposed rail line which would serve the peninsula of Fornebu in Bærum, Norway. The line is in the planning stages and the transit agency Ruter is working towards connecting it to the Oslo Metro. The line has at various stages been proposed as an automated people mover, tram-train, tramway, light rail, stadtbahn, rapid transit, bus rapid transit and commuter rail. The current proposal consists of a metro line starting at Majorstuen Station and running entirely in a tunnel for 8,150 meters. It would possible have a station at Madserud, and then stations at Skøyen, Vækerø, Lysaker, Telenor Arena, Flytårnet and Fornebu Senter. A depot would be built at Fornebu and the line would connect to the metro's Common Tunnel at Majorstuen.
  Plans for a light rail to Fornebu were first launched in 1919, but at the time there was not the population to support it. Oslo Airport, Fornebu opened in 1939, and from the 1980s the Norwegian State Railways proposed serving it with a branch of the Drammen Line. A 1986 report from said agency also looked at a people mover to a proposed new terminal. In 1992 Parliament voted to close the airport and build Oslo Airport, Gardermoen.
context_section_description: The first proposals for a line to Fornebu arose as part of a 1917 competition issued by Christiana (later Oslo) and Aker Municipality to plan a new rail transport plan for the capital area. The winning design, made by Jørgen Barth, included a series of suburban lines. One of these was a branch from the Lilleaker Line past Lysaker, through Fornebu and onwards to Snarøya and Ostøya. At the time Fornebu was a largely unpopulated area, while there was a small population at Snarøya. Fornebu and Snarøya received a coach service in 1921. During the 1930s the water aerodrome Gressholmen Airport became insufficient to meet Oslo's aviation needs, and it was decided that Fornebu would become the site of an airport. Oslo Airport, Fornebu opened on 1 June 1939.
  Transit to the airport was organized through a series of concessions which were issued to individual bus companies. From 1975 local buses were coordinated through Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk. Airport coach services to the city center were on the other hand granted to the largest airlines, Braathens SAFE and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). They operated each their coach service from two separate locations downtown. Various improvements to this system were proposed, including check-in in the city center. The coach and bus services were generally regarded as little attractive and forty percent of passengers at the airport used taxis. Fornebu was at the time still considered an option for a future main airport for Eastern Norway and there were therefore proposal to build an airport rail link.
  Meanwhile, there was a political debate regarding the site of a new airport. Fornebu was one alternative. However, it only had a single runway, which was too small to serve intercontinental flights. It would therefore have to serve in tandem with Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Other proposals were placing the airport at Hurum, Ås and Hobøl, or building a new airport at Gardermoen. The Norwegian State Railways developed a series of plans for the various airport locations, including the Hurum Line, the Gardermoen Line—which was ultimately built—and branches of the Østfold Line to Hobøl and Ås. The ground transport system was a major part of the considerations and proposals were made both for motorway and railway access to all the alternatives. As part of its 1986 proposal NSB also launched the concept of a people mover to the airport.
  Construction of the airport was to be carried out by a separate limited company owned by the Civil Aviation Administration. Hence the airport was financed using state grants which would be repaid. A similar model was used for roads and railways, in which a separate subsidiary of NSB would be set up to build new railway lines. Parliament voted on 8 June 1988 in favor of building a new airport at Hurum. A series of weather surveys were then published which showed unfavorable conditions and the matter was again brought up for political consideration. A final decision to build a new airport at Gardermoen was thus taken on 8 October 1992 and subsequently closing Fornebu.
  Lysaker Station was the closest railway station to Oslo Airport, Fornebu. From 27 May 1990, SAS and NSB started a cooperation to better the connection between rail and airline services. The project included the station being branded as Lysaker/Fornebu and dedicated shuttle buses running from the station to the airport terminal. NSB changed their scheduled so all InterCity Express and long distance trains on the Drammen Line started stopping at Lysaker. Oslo Sporveier and the Norwegian National Rail Administration launched a proposal for a tram-train service in 1997, largely inspired by the Karlsruhe model. The last plane departed from Fornebu on 7 October 1998.
  Work on planning the use of Fornebu after the airport was closed started in the early 1990s. The degree of how dense the peninsula was to be built was a source of controversy. Initial plans called for the establishment of a suburban area with 0.1 hectares (0.25 acres) lots and single dwellings. Ownership of the airport land was held by the government 
caption: Finnair and Scandinavian Airlines aircraft at Oslo Airport, Fornebu in 1971, including two Sud Aviation Caravelles, a Douglas DC-9 and a Douglas DC-8
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