Bergen Åsane tramway wins final approval

After approval by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage and UNESCO (in respect of the surface level tramway along the World Heritage Site Bryggen), the city council in the Norwegian city of Bergen gave final approval for the 12.7km, NOK 21.2bn, Åsane tramway project on 31 May after a more than two-hour debate. However financial commitments still need to be made since the cost has increased by NOK 3.3bn since 2022. If these are achieved, construction would start in 2025. 

 

Bergen opened its first modern tramline (9.8km) in 2010, since expanded to 28.4km with extension to the airport and a new line to Fyllingsdalen. The planned Åsane line, with 14 stops and a journey time of 25 minutes, will run north from Kaigatan (near the current city centre terminus at Byparken) along the quayside Bryggen to the Haukeland Hospital and on to Eidsvåg and the suburban town of Åsane. The concept was approved in 2018 but consultation on the route revealed controversy, with some demanding a subway as far as Sandviken to avoid building a tramway along the historic Bryggen. 

 

However UNESCO were satisfied that a line without overhead would not detract from views of along Bryggen. Trams will operate using batteries or super capacitors. There will be a turn back at Sandviken so that trams from the north can reverse when Bryggen is closed for major events (there will be a depot at the outer terminus). The line is expected to generate 60 000 journeys/year by 2040. This is the largest project in Bergen’s Miljøløftet (Environmental Promise) that population expansion by 2029 will not result in more motor traffic.