page_title: History of the Oslo Tramway and Metro
section_title: Partial closing
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Oslo Tramway and Metro / Municipalization / Partial closing
caption_attribution_description: English: Line at Holtet.
context_page_description: The history of the Oslo Tramway and Oslo Metro in Oslo, Norway, starts in 1875, when Kristiania Sporveisselskab opened two horsecar lines through the city centre. In 1894, Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei built the first electric street tramways, which ran west from the city centre. Within six years, all tramways were electric. The city council established Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie in 1899, which built three lines before it was sold to KSS six years later. Both KSS and KES were taken over by the municipality in 1924, becoming Oslo Sporveier. The company gradually expanded the city tram network, which reached its peak length in 1939.
  The Holmenkollen Line was the first light rail line, which opened in 1898 and ran west of the city. Later light rail lines in the west were the Røa Line, the Lilleaker Line, the Sognsvann Line and the Kolsås Line. From 1928, they ran to the city centre via the Common Tunnel. East of the city, the Ekeberg Line opened in 1917, followed by the Østensjø Line and the Lambertseter Line. The light rail lines were built by three private companies, Holmenkolbanen, Ekebergbanen and Bærumsbanen. By 1975, all had been bought by Oslo Sporveier.
context_section_description: The Oslo Tramway had a ridership of 108 million passengers in 1948. On 17 January 1949, the Korsvoll Line became the first tram line to be closed. followed by the Rodeløkka Line on 6 February. The latter reopened following a new route on 2 January 1955. In 1960, with the deregulation of the sale of cars, cheap diesel and the decision to build the metro, the city council decided to close the tram and the trolleybus networks. Tracks would be kept and trams would run until they would be naturally retired. However, no major investments would be made in the lines or rolling stock. Within a year, the Kampen, Rodeløkka, Vippetangen, Simensbråten and Vestbanen Lines were closed, as were trolleybus lines 18 and 24. The remaining two trolleybus routes were closed in 1968. On 24 June 1968, Vålerenga Line was closed.
  However, no further tram lines were closed. In 1969, the site of the turning loop at Sinsen needed to be moved to allow the construction of the Sinsen Interchange. Instead of closing the line, Oslo Sporveier chose to build a new loop at Muselunden at Sinsen. The Ekeberg Line was scheduled to close in 1972, because a new line needed to be built to allow passage during the construction of Oslo Central Station, which would replace the Østbanen. After heavy protests from Ekeberg residents, Oslo Sporveier chose to build a loop in Vognmannsgata in the city centre.
caption: In 1960, the city council decided to close the whole tramway, including the Ekeberg Line
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