page_title: Trondheim Tramway
section_title: Closing and reopening
hierarchical_section_title: Trondheim Tramway / History / Closing and reopening
context_page_description: The Trondheim Tramway in Trondheim, Norway, is the world's most northerly tramway system, following the closure and dismantling of the Arkhangelsk tramways in Russia. It consists of one 8.8-km-long line, the Gråkallen Line, running from St. Olav's Gate in the city centre through Byåsen to Lian Station in Bymarka.
context_section_description: Between 1958 and 1968 the tram network of Trondheim was at its peak, and had four lines:
  Line 1: Ilevolden – Torvet – Lademoen
  Line 2: Elgeseter – Torvet – Lade
  Line 3: Singsaker – Torvet – Jernbanen
  Graakalbanen: Lian – St. Olavs Gate
  In 1968, the Singsaker Line and the branch line from Søndre Gate to Trondheim Central Station, was closed and replaced by buses (Line 63). The main argument at the time was that a tram required both a driver and a conductor, while a bus only required a driver, thus lowering the operational costs. This development was partially driven by the removal of regulations on car ownership in Norway in 1960, resulting in an explosion in the use of cars in Trondheim and thus falling passenger numbers on the trams. The tracks were simply paved over, and still exist under the streets. At the time of the closure Line 3 was operating at a 5-minute headway with 2.3 million passengers. One year after the buses had taken over the passenger numbers had dropped 30%, and the consequence was fewer and fewer bus departures resulting in fewer passengers. In the end the headway was reduced to 45 minutes.  In 1974 the three public transport companies in Trondheim, all three owned by the city, were merged to create Trondheim Trafikkselskap (now Team Trafikk, part of Nettbuss).
  But the most troubled era for the tram service in Trondheim was in the 1980s, when the future of the tram was one of the hottest political issues in Trondheim, resulting in several mayors having to leave office. The debate about the future of the trams had been going on through the late 1970s, in general with the left side of the city council supporting the tram while the right side wanted to close it down. After the city council election in 1979 the Progress Party got its first representative in the city council, Hildur Karstensen, who was a tram driver for TT. Though the Conservative mayor, Axel Buch, was expected to be re-elected, Kristiansen chose to support the Labour candidate Olav Gjærevoll, in the hope that a socialist majority would ensure the future of the trams, and thus making Gjærevoll mayor.
  Two years later though, the Labour Party had definitively changed its side in the tram debate, and chose an alliance with the Conservatives, creating a Labour-Conservative alliance with Anne-Kath. Parow (Labour) as mayor and Axel Bush as vice-mayor. In 1982, the future of the tram line was again taken up in the city council, and this time the Socialist Left Party (SV) chose to support closure of the tram lines. The first time the decision was taken in the council, SV chose to support the closure, preventing two of its members from voting against. But then the tram's future was the subject of a second vote, and the two disagreeing members of SV chose to vote against the closure of the tram line, and thus the city council voted to keep the trams, with 44 vs. 41 votes. The city council decided at the same time to build a new depot at Munkvoll and purchase 11 new trams, at a cost of NOK 100 million. The opposition claimed that it would be cheaper to operate the line with diesel buses. But the compromise also meant that the least robust part of the tramway was to be discontinued, thus the only line to survive was Lian-Lade. The line to Elgeseter was closed in 1983.
  But by 1987, the tramway's existence was threatened again, despite a new party, Bylista, having been established to fight for the existence of the tram. Before the 1987 election, the city council chose to close down the entire tramway network in the city in 1988. The entire network was removed in the city core and to Elgeseter and Lademoen. The tram lines to Lian and Lade (which were not in the streets) were not removed. In 1989 there was another mayoral election for the city council, and Bylista chose not to support the present mayor Per Berge (Labour) and instead chose to support the Conservative candidate Marvin Wiseth, who was willing to allow a private company to operate the trams.
  After the political deal securing the tramway's operation, a new company, AS Gråkallbanen, was establ
caption: A tram car at St. Olavs Gate on Gråkallbanen
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