F Railways and Air Transport eatu The Oslo Airport Express Train Ove Narvesen Gardermobanen is Norway’s first high- the Oslo-Eidsvoll main line along the speed railway. There have been no equiva- entire route and construction of a new line The Construction lent railway construction projects in next to an operating line created many Norway since the start of the railways at challenges and increased the project costs It is over 30 years since the last major rail the end of the last century. Gardermobanen considerably. The aim was to construct a link was built in Norway as the final part is a gigantic project that has placed strin- completely new infrastructure closely of the northern railway between r gent requirements upon the best resources linked to the existing system without dis- Trondheim and Bodø. within Norway as well as on international turbing existing and ongoing traffic. Link- Gardermobanen and the Airport Express building and construction companies. ing the Gardermobanen Line to the main trains introduce a whole new era of train e From the planning and project phases, line has been a major project in its own transport in Norway. Gardermobanen is quality, functionality, and the visual over- right. the first high-speed railway built in Nor- all picture have been the focal points. This The construction of the new line has had way. It is designed for an operating speed is now reflected in the completed construc- a synergetic effect on the local and of 210 km/h. This places stringent require- tion work and buildings. regional train traffic. Although the Air- ments on all line components, such as the On 8 October 1992, the Norwegian Par- port Express trains only travel to overhead catenary, tracks, points, and liament approved the building of a new Gardermoen and then return to Oslo and signalling systems. Gardermobanen uses main airport for eastern Norway at Asker, the tracks continue to Eidsvoll the latest railway technologies, even from Gardermoen, about 50 km north of Oslo where they connect to the main line. As an international perspective. and situated away from the most populated a result, trains from Lillehammer and The line includes about 66 km of new line areas of the region. The decision to build Trondheim can also stop at Gardermoen. with 18 km of tunnels, 12 large bridges, the airport at Gardermoen was controver- In other words, most trains run by Nor- and a number of larger and smaller sial and came after some 30 years of dis- wegian State Railways (NSB BA) can use culverts. Eight stations have been rebuilt. cussion over where the airport should be the Gardermobanen, greatly strengthen- The Lillestrøm and Oslo Airport sited. At the same time, it was decided ing train connections in eastern Norway. Gardermoen stations are completely to build a high-speed railway link from new as is the station at Eidsvoll Verk. The Oslo to Gardermoen in order to establish Airport Express trains will be fast, com- a modern transport system to the airport. fortable, safe and the most environment- Why Train? Figure 1 Gardermobanen Route The main reasons for choosing a high-speed Eidsvoll rail service to link the airport to its main Eidsvoll Verk market were the environmental benefits to the community in general, the time- and Oslo Airport Gardermoen cost-savings to airline passengers, and higher efficiency for the railways. On Kløfta routes to and from airports with severe To Kongsvinger Stockholm congestion peaks, high-speed rail links designed to meet the airline passengers’ Årnes quality and service requirements will have Nittedal competitive advantages and attain a high Oslo market share. The only other alternative Central Lillestrøm Nationaltheatret considered was bus transport but it was Skøyen concluded that a railway would obtain a Lysaker Gardermobanen Sandvika Ski Route of much higher market share than buses. Asker Airport Express Train However, a major bus operation was Moss Halden calculated as being more cost effective. To Drammen (Intercity-Train) Source: NSB Gardermobanen AS The Gardermobanen Line runs parallel to Copyright © 1999 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Japan Railway & Transport Review 19 • March 1999 25 Railways and Air Transport friendly transport for passengers travelling to and from the new Oslo Airport at Gardermoen. The electronic installations include signal- ling, power, communications, and IT. The Gardermobanen signal installations are the first in Norway to ensure safe train operations at up to 210 km/h. The sys- tems use hardware and software instead of conventional relay-based technology and are divided into three areas: fuse installations, CTC (Centralized Traffic Con- Airport Express train arriving at Oslo Airport (NSB Gardermobanen AS) trol), and ATC (Automatic Train Control). The power supplies feed electrical power terminal has information and ticket seats face the nearest door, so passengers to the Airport Express trains and to instal- counters, information displays and ticket can keep an eye on their luggage. To lations along the line. Two new modern machines. Scandinavian Airline Systems ensure the best comfort, the carriages are converter stations, supplying power to the (SAS) and Braathens Airlines both have airtight and air-conditioned. Both Global overhead catenary have been built. The check-in, information and ticket counters. System for Mobile Communication (GSM) catenary supports are new and specially There are also banking, kiosk, and food and Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) cel- designed for the Gardermobanen, win- services in the terminal. Tracks 13 and lular telephones can be used onboard. ning a 1996 Good Design Award. The 14 are reserved for the Airport Express. The trains have a driver’s cab at both ends auxiliary power system consists of a stan- and the safety requirements and ergo- dard high-voltage power cable network The Oslo Lufthavn Gardermoen nomic design are specially adapted to feeding installations such as point heat- Terminal high-speed operations. ers, signalling equipment, communica- This terminal is integrated into the airport tions equipment, tunnel and platform buildings and is just a short distance via Tunnel problems lighting, and tunnel ventilation. escalators and lifts to the check-in The line has three tunnels; the 13.8-km The communication equipment consists counters, and arrival and departure zones. Romeriksporten Tunnel (the longest), the of a network for Airport Express train The terminal has four tracks: two for the 1.6-km Bekkedalshøgda Tunnel, and the operational services, passenger informa- Airport Express trains and two for other 550-m Eidsvoll Tunnel through soft tion services and business administration through traffic. All Airport Express pas- uncompacted material. The tunnel operations. It includes the following sub- sengers must pass through electronic ticket construction involved dynamiting 2.2 systems: exchanges, transmitters, radio controls on the platform. The station hall million m3 of rock (1.65 million m3 in the systems, public information systems and has services, information displays, ticket Romeriksporten). network supervision. and information counters, and ticket Driving the tunnels presented many The Gardermobanen IT-systems include machines for the Airport Express trains. special challenges especially water seep- planning, traffic supervision, and ticket- There are also ticket machines and train age in the Romeriksporten. Sealing by ing, and support for decision-making, eco- information displays in the baggage hall. pre-injection was insufficient to hold the nomics and office administration. groundwater in balance, so it was supple- The trains mented by large-scale post-injection of The Oslo Central Gardermobanen NSB Gardermobanen AS purchased 16 cement and chemical sealants. Driving Terminal Airport Express EMU trains, each consist- the Eidsvoll Tunnel through uncompacted The Airport Express terminal has been in- ing of three carriages. EMUs were material required technologies that have tegrated into Oslo Central Station with a chosen because they are less vulnerable seldom been used previously in Norway. new parking garage for 650 cars on the to faults and the trains can keep on sched- Some parts caved in during construction sea side. The taxi ranks, bus station and ule even if 1/3 of the motive power is lost. but the section was dug out again and short-term parking are all close by. A Each carriage has two doors, one can completed within the scheduled construc- direct underground walkway links the accommodate wheelchairs. The luggage tion period. terminal with Oslo Central Station. The racks are located near the doors and the 26 Japan Railway & Transport Review 19 • March 1999 Copyright © 1999 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Bridges and culverts in emergency systems so that they can example, by landscaping and by building The Gardermobanen has a total of 12 help with effective evacuation and first aid garages and parking areas. New parks have larger railway bridges and a number of for passengers. Rescue parties are in- been established, especially in the areas smaller culverts; 130,000 m3 of concrete cluded in training schedules to ensure that along the railway line through Lillestrøm. have gone into the bridges, and culverts, efficient external assistance will be pro- Interim studies have also confirmed that as well as into a number of road bridges vided. all the essential environmental goals have and culverts, and large crossings for wild been reached, except for the unforeseen animals. There are 20 bridges, culverts Airport Express Trains water leakage problems in the and tunnels allowing small and large and the Environment Romeriksporten Tunnel and some problems animals to cross the tracks safely, which with pollution from chemical sealants. The is important in maintaining the biologi- The Gardermobanen is constructed greatest environmental benefits will come cal diversity of the region. according to the environmental require- from persuading 50% of air passengers to ments of Parliament set forth in the use the trains to and from the new airport.