Bergen Light Rail

Bergen Light Rail (Norwegian: Bybanen) is a light rail system in Bergen Municipality, Norway. The first stage of the project was a twenty-station stretch between the city center and Nesttun, where the first 15 stations comprising a 9.8-kilometre (6.1 mi) stretch opened in 2010, and the second was a 3.6-kilometre (2.2 mi) stretch from Nesttun to Lagunen which opened in June 2013. A third stretch from Lagunen to Bergen Airport, Flesland opened in 2017. A second line opened between Kaigaten and Fyllingsdalen on 21 November 2022. Further plans for the project involve mooted extensions to Åsane and Storavatnet.

Plans for rail transit have existed since the 1970s, following closure of the Bergen Tramway in 1965. A rapid transit design was first discarded, and in the 1990s a light rail line was proposed. The decision to start construction was made in 2005. The first stage was built by the municipality, with financing from the state and the toll road ring based on an agreement known as the Bergen Program. Ownership, maintenance and further extensions and vehicles are the responsibility of Hordaland County Municipality through its wholly owned subsidiary Bybanen AS. Operation is governed by public service obligation contracts issued by the county public transport authority Skyss. From 2010 to 2017 the line and its 20 Variobahn trams are operated by Keolis Norge (formerly Fjord1 Partner).

The first public transport in Bergen was the Bergen Tramway, which operated between 1897 and 1965. It was limited to the inner parts of the city and did not reach the suburbs. In deciding to close it, the city council argued that the future lay in private cars, diesel buses and trolleybuses. However, later in the 1960s, the removal of a restriction on car sales created more traffic than the roads could handle, and consequently both buses and cars began increasingly being stuck in rush-hour queues. The municipality and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration started looking at means to rectify the problem by building a ring road around the city, and by alternative means of public transport.

Prior to the shortening of the main Bergen Line railway with the Ulriken Tunnel, the Bergen–Nesttun Line was an important commuter rail service, feeding suburban residents from Fana into the city center. In 1917, the section was the most heavily trafficked railway in the country, with a travel time between 20 and 27 minutes. There were up to 27 trains per day, of which five continued to Garnes. In 1918, the line was proposed for doubling and electrification: the latter was completed in 1954. The same year, annual ridership had fallen to 870,000 passengers. After the opening of the Ulriken Tunnel, commuter trains were retained for six months, and the last trip occurred on 31 January 1965.

During the 1970s, plans existed for an extensive rapid transit system, with an underground section through the city center. Inspired by the successful Oslo Metro, which opened in 1966, similar plans were developed for Bergen. The proposed network consisted of three branches from the city center to Flaktveit, Olsvik, and the airport, and was similar to the current long-term plans for the light rail system. Four-car trains would operate at ten-minute headways. The suggestion was discussed by the city council in 1973, but no decision was taken. As an alternative, expansion of the railway from Bergen to Eidsvåg, Åsane, and Nesttun was proposed. Fast commuter trains could then be supplemented with buses.

During the 1980s and 1990s, a toll ring was constructed around Bergen to finance the massive investment required. The project included European Route E39 north and south of the center, the road to the airport, and west to Loddefjord and Storavatnet. Bridges were constructed to Lindås, Askøy and Sotra, and large parking garages were built in the city center. Despite the large investment, congestion continued, and it was no better in the 2000s than in the 1970s. Proposals to build bus lanes and traffic signal preemption were disregarded by the Public Roads Administration.

In 1995, Bergen Sporvei, the municipal transit company, proposal to establish a "Lightning Tram" service. The route would go from Varden in Fyllingsdalen, via a tunnel to Møhlenpris and the city center, then make a 120° turn and return along the route of the Bergen trolleybus to Birkelundstoppen. The same year, the Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature proposed a more extensive system, the Environmental Tram, which more closely resembles the current proposals. From the city center, it would run northwards via Åsane to Flaktveit and southwards via Rådal to the airport (not via Nesttun). The southern section would have branches from Hop to Nesttun and Midttun, and from Minde westwards to Fyllingsdalen and Loddefjord. Later, Bergen Sporvei's successor, Gaia Trafikk, proposed building a bus rapid transit system.

The plans launched by the city administration most closely resembled the Environmental Tram, with slight changes. The initial plans involved a line from the city center via Nesttun to the airport at Flesland. It became part of a political compromise, the Bergen Program, which ensured a number of road investments at the same time as the light rail system, all financed through the toll ring. However, a lack of funds made it necessary to build the line to Nesttun only, instead of all the way to the airport. The initial decision was taken by Bergen City Council on 13 March 2000, in the Parliament of Norway in 2002, and with the financing secured, by the city council in 2005. Only the Progress Party and the Pensioners' Party voted against light rail. Forty per cent is financed by the state, the remainder by the county, the municipality and through the toll ring.