The Ring Line ( or ) is the newest
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...
loop line of the
Oslo Metro of
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. It connects to the
Sognsvann Line in the west and the
Grorud Line
The Grorud Line () is a line on the Oslo Metro between Tøyen (station), Tøyen and Vestli (station), Vestli in Oslo, Norway. Built as a mix of underground, at ground level and as an elevated line, it runs through the northern part of Groruddale ...
in the east; along with these two lines and the
Common Tunnel
The Common Tunnel (), sometimes called the Common Line (), is a long tunnel of the Oslo Metro which runs through the Sentrum, Oslo, city center of Oslo, Norway. The name derives from the fact that all five lines of the metro use the tunnel, whi ...
, the Ring Line creates a loop serving both the city centre and
Nordre Aker
Nordre Aker (Northern Aker) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway.
History
This area became part of the city of Oslo in 1948. Before that it was a part of the former Aker municipality in Akershus county.
Demographics and housing
With a pop ...
borough. The -long line has three stations:
Nydalen,
Storo and
Sinsen. Four-fifths of the line runs within two tunnels, with the section between Storo and Sinsen, including both stations, being the only at-grade part. The line connects to the Grorud Line north of
Carl Berners plass and with the Sognsvann Line north of
Ullevål stadion.
Planning for the line began in the late 1980s, and the city council approved the line 1997. Construction started in 2000; Nydalen and Storo opened on 20 August 2003, and Sinsen opened on 20 August 2006. The line cost to build and was financed through
Oslo Package 2. The Ring Line is served by lines 4 and 5 of the metro, operated by
Sporveien T-banen on contract with the
Ruter transport authority. All lines operate each fifteen minutes. Nydalen and Storo are such located that trains in either direction use the same time along the loop, effectively giving a five-minute
headway
Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise definition varies depending on ...
to the city centre. After the opening of the line, the areas around the stations have had increased urban redevelopment. The infrastructure is owned and maintained by the municipal company
Sporveien.
History
By the 1960s, Oslo had a rapid transit network that branched out north-east and north-west from the city centre. In 1987, the western and eastern network were connected, and through-trains started operating between the two networks from 1993.
Plans to make a second connection through the borough of Nordre Aker were launched by politicians in the 1980s. It was argued that this was cheaper than building roads, with the per-kilometre price being about a quarter of that for motorways. Some politicians also saw the Ring Line as an opportunity to close all parts of the
Oslo Tramway
The Oslo tram network (, short from ', 'electric') is the tram system in Oslo, Norway. It consists of six lines with 99 stops and has a daily ridership of 132,000. It is operated by , a subsidiary of the municipally-owned who maintain the trac ...
, except the
Ekeberg- and
Lilleaker Line
The Lilleaker Line () is a suburban tramway from Skøyen in Oslo westwards to Jar,_Norway, Jar, Bærum in Norway. It is operated by Line 13 from Ljabru tram stop, Ljabru to Bekkestua (station), Bekkestua of the Oslo Tramway, operated by Oslo Spor ...
.
Oslo Sporveier, the contemporary operator of the metro, started planning the line during the late 1980s.
The plans would take advantage of the
Gjøvik Line's right-of-way between Storo and Sinsen, while the section from Storo to Tåsen would have to be built in a tunnel.

A projection for the line was presented in 1991 by Oslo Sporveier, where daily ridership was estimated to be 54,000 passengers. The plans included a possibility for the high-speed
Gardermoen Line, that would be built to
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, to have a stop at Storo. This was later discarded when it was instead chosen to be built via
Lillestrøm. There were also ideas to run trains from the
Hoved Line from Lillestrøm to
Grefsen Station via the
Alnabru–Grefsen Line, located adjacent to Storo, that would allow the central parts of
Groruddalen to connect with the Ring Line and Nordre Aker. When the operating company ordered new
T2000 trains for the
Holmenkoll Line, the design allowed future versions to have dual current systems, to handle both the 750
volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...
s on the metro network (from a third rail and overhead wire), and the system of the main railways. This would allow the Ring Line to share the physical track with the Gjøvik Line on the section from Storo to Sinsen.
The new T2ds were seen as a preparation for the Ring Line, and were optimised for higher speeds than the old stock, being capable of operating at . At the same time, the Sognsvann Line was being upgraded to full metro standard, like the eastern part of the metro had, and would lose the
overhead wire
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union of Railways for the te ...
s and get longer platforms.
In 1992, the tram division of Oslo Sporveier launched an alternative Ring Line that would have been built as a
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
, using in part the existing
tramway. In the west, it would follow the
Sinsen Line via Sinsen to Storo. A new line would have to be built from Storo to
TÃ¥sen. The line would then use the existing Sognsvann Line to
Majorstuen
Majorstuen or Majorstua is a particularly affluent neighbourhood in the Frogner borough in the inner part of Oslo, Norway.
Majorstuen is known for its vibrant downtown and especially its shopping area. The area has several elegant townhouses c. 1 ...
, where it would connect to the tramway and follow the
Frogner Line
The Frogner Line () is a section of the Oslo Tramway which runs between Solli and Majorstuen, serving the neighborhood of Frogner. The line is served by tram number 12, and the Frogner section makes up the westernmost part of this line. From Soll ...
into the city, via a new
Vika Line through
Aker Brygge. This alternative would cost NOK 61 million to build, compared to NOK 470 million estimated for the rapid transit solution. Named the Light Rail Ring (), it would have 38 stops instead of 16 stops, and a travel time of 34 minutes instead of 22 minutes. Annual operating costs for the light rail solution would be NOK 57.5 million, compared to 43.9 million for the rapid transit solution.

Between 1994 and 1998, there was local political debate about how
Rikshospitalet, that was moving to
Gaustad, should be served by public transport. The state wanted to extend the
Ullevål Hageby Line
The Ullevål Hageby Line () is a light rail section of the Oslo Tramway. It runs from Stortorvet in the city center of Oslo, Norway to Rikshospitalet. It passes through the areas of St. Hanshaugen, Ullevål Hageby and Blindern before reaching ...
of the tramway to the new hospital, while many local politicians wanted to use the rapid transit. Since the Ring Line would increase traffic on the Songsvann Line, moving the line was considered to better serve the hospital. In 1998, an agreement was reached whereby the light rail line would be built, and a new station for transfer from the metro would open at
Forskningsparken.
A detailed proposal was presented by Oslo Sporveier in August 1996. It became clear that
Berg would not be served by the Ring Line. Many neighbours to the route of the Sognsvann Line complained about this proposal, stating that they had hoped that the section from Majorstuen to Berg would have been rebuilt as a tunnel. They also argued that it was irrational that the line was running at-grade in densely populated areas, while it would run in a tunnel through the then mostly unpopulated Nydalen. To compensate, Oslo Sporveier stated that they would build noise screens along the line. Also, the
Norwegian Public Roads Administration protested to the plans, and stated that funding should be allocated to upgrading
Ring 3 to six lanes before public transport investments were made in the area.
The city council voted in favour of building the Ring Line on 25 June 1997, against the votes of the
Progress Party. However, the decision did not include how the line would be financed, and the politicians stated that they were hoping that the state would use national road funds to finance the project. This was partially ensured in December, when a political agreement was reached for Oslo Package 2, a financing plan for investments in public transport in Oslo and Akershus between 2002 and 2011.

In December 1999, a disagreement arose between the
Ministry of Transport and Communications and the city; the city would not accept the government's promise to finance part of the line. Both
Minister of Transport and Communications,
Dag Jostein Fjærvoll from the
Christian Democratic Party and Oslo City Commissioner of Transport and the Environment,
Merete Agerbak-Jensen from the
Conservative Party, agreed upon the distribution of funding from the city and state, and both wanted construction to start as soon as possible. The city council did not accept the guarantees from the state until March 2000. Construction started in June, with the Agency for Road and Transport of the municipality responsible for construction. The city would pay NOK 224 million, while the state would pay NOK 673 million.
The first section opened from Ullevål stadion via Nydalen to Storo on 20 August 2003,
costing NOK 590 million.
With the opening, line 4 was extended from Ullevål stadion to Storo.
Nydalen had grown up as an
urban redevelopment
Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
area after the local industry had been abandoned in the 1980s,
where 14,800 jobs had been located by 2004.
On 20 August 2006, the final section opened, from Storo via Sinsen to Carl Berners plass,
with the whole project costing NOK 1,348 million.
A report published by the city in 2007 declared the line a success and stated that all goals for the line had been exceeded. A survey conducted by the city in 2003 and 2007 showed that the Ring Line had a significant impact on the use of public transport in the area. Total public transport usage increased from 28 to 45%; use for
commuting
Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...
increased from 35 to 61%. At the
Norwegian School of Management (BI), 85% of the students used public transport. The Ring Line reduced the estimated number of daily car trips by 10,000, and generated 11,000 more daily public transport trips. In 2007, daily passenger numbers at the stations were 8420 for Nydalen, 3630 for Storo and 2300 at Sinsen.
The line allowed travel time from the Nydalen and Storo to the city centre to be halved,
and travel time from Nydalen to the city center is faster by metro than by taxi.
Route

The Ring Line branches off from the Sognsvann Line after Ullevål stadion, just before
Berg. It immediately enters a tunnel that runs via Nydalen to Storo. The station at Storo is just outside the entrance to the tunnel. From Storo to Sinsen, the tracks are laid parallel to the Gjøvik Line of the mainland railway. Also the
Sinsen Line of the
Oslo Tramway
The Oslo tram network (, short from ', 'electric') is the tram system in Oslo, Norway. It consists of six lines with 99 stops and has a daily ridership of 132,000. It is operated by , a subsidiary of the municipally-owned who maintain the trac ...
and the
Ring 3 motorway follow the same corridor between the two stations.
The section between Ullevål stadion and Storo is , while the section from Storo to Carl Berners plass is . Of these, are in tunnels.
The Nydalen district, formerly an industrial area, has since undergone urban redevelopment. The immediate vicinity of the station includes several large workplaces. In 2005, BI, with 8000 students and faculty, moved into a new campus across the street from Nydalen Station.
Nydalen is the only underground station on the Ring Line. The escalators leading down to the platform features The Tunnel of Light, an artistic presentation of sound and colour around the passengers as they ascend from or to descend to the station. The artwork contains 1800 lights and 44 speakers. Nydalen also serves as a bus hub.

Storo opened as a tram station as part of the
Grünerløkka–Torshov Line on 28 November 1902. It is located about 200 meters from Grefsen Station of the Gjøvik Line. The
Norwegian National Rail Administration is planning to move the station platform so there can be direct transfer between
NSB Gjøvikbanen's
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
services, and the metro.
Storo functions as a bus and tram hub; it serves line 11, 12 and 18 on the Grünerløkka–Torshov- and
Kjelsås Line, and line 17 on the Sinsen Line.
Sinsen opened on 20 August 2006, three years after the two other stations.
The station is located close to, but not adjacent, to the tram stop
Sinsenkrysset on the Sinsen Line (tram no. 17). Located at
the interchange between Ring 3 and Trondheimsveien, it also serves as a bus hub.
Lørensvingen, built in 2016, connected the Ring and Grorud Line. It splits from the Ring Line south of Sinsen, and run in tunnel until it connects to the Grorud Line west of
Økern. In the tunnel the new station,
Løren, was built. The line allows metro trains to run directly from the Grorud Line to the Ring Line, and thus pass from east to west without passing through the packed Common Tunnel. It was part of the political compromise
Oslo Package 3, completed by 2016.
Service
When operating a full
circle route, trains start through the
Common Tunnel
The Common Tunnel (), sometimes called the Common Line (), is a long tunnel of the Oslo Metro which runs through the Sentrum, Oslo, city center of Oslo, Norway. The name derives from the fact that all five lines of the metro use the tunnel, whi ...
. If running clockwise, they pass through all the common stations (
Tøyen
Tøyen is a residential area in the central parts of Oslo, Norway, part of the borough of Gamle Oslo.
Location
There are two different stations which carry the name Tøyen. Tøyen Railway Station is located on the Gjøvik Line, while Tøyen (st ...
,
Grønland,
Jernbanetorget,
Stortinget
The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...
,
Nationaltheatret
The National Theatre in Oslo () is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts.
History
The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiania Theatre, which was ...
and
Majorstuen
Majorstuen or Majorstua is a particularly affluent neighbourhood in the Frogner borough in the inner part of Oslo, Norway.
Majorstuen is known for its vibrant downtown and especially its shopping area. The area has several elegant townhouses c. 1 ...
). They head north on the Sognsvann Line, stopping at
Blindern
Blindern is the main campus of the University of Oslo, located in Nordre Aker in Oslo, Norway.
Campus
Most of the departments of the University of Oslo are located at Blindern; other, smaller campuses include Sentrum, Oslo, Sentrum (law), Gaust ...
,
Forskningsparken and Ullevål stadion. The Ring Line proper then splits off, and the trains serve Nydalen, Storo and Sinsen, before Carl Berners plass on the Grorud Line. After that, the trains again enter the Common Tunnel at Tøyen.

Line 5 operates the entire ring with a 15-minute headway. From east to west, trains on line 5 enter the common tunnel from the
Grorud Line
The Grorud Line () is a line on the Oslo Metro between Tøyen (station), Tøyen and Vestli (station), Vestli in Oslo, Norway. Built as a mix of underground, at ground level and as an elevated line, it runs through the northern part of Groruddale ...
then make a full clockwise circle around the Ring Line, including a second pass of the common tunnel, before proceeding to the end of the
Sognsvann Line.
Line 4, also with a 15-minute headway, serves all the stations on the ring except
Carl Berners plass. As with Line 5, trains originate on the Grorud Line in the northeast, but they branch off at Økern and enter the Ring via the
Løren Line. Line 4 trains then run counter-clockwise through most of the ring, branching off at Tøyen and continuing on the
Lambertseter Line
The Lambertseter Line () is a line on the Oslo Metro which runs from Brynseng (station), Brynseng to Bergkrystallen (station), Bergkrystallen. It further shares track with the Østensjø Line along the section from Tøyen (station), Tøyen to B ...
.
Travel time from Nydalen and Storo stations to the city centre stations is about the same, independent of which direction on the Ring Line travellers choose. Passengers heading for the city centre can therefore take the first train that comes, independent of which direction it is heading, thus giving Nydalen and Storo a five-minute headway service to the city centre. The trains are operated by Sporveien T-banen, a subsidiary of Sporveien, on contract with the public transport authority Ruter.
Transfer to the Kolsås-,
Røa- and Holmenkoll Line is available at Majorstuen; transfer to the Lamberseter,
Østensjø- and
Furuset Line is available at Tøyen and transfer to the Grorud Line is available at Carl Berners plass. Transfer to
Oslo Central Station
Oslo Central Station (, abbreviated ) is the main railway station in Oslo, and the largest railway station within the entire Norwegian railway system. It connects with Jernbanetorget station, which is served by trams and the Oslo Metro. It's ...
, which serves all trains in Eastern Norway, is available at Jernbanetorget. Most west-bound trains can also be reached at
Nationaltheatret
The National Theatre in Oslo () is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts.
History
The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiania Theatre, which was ...
, and trains along the Gjøvik line can be reached at
Nydalen Station, that is close, but not adjacent, to
Nydalen Metro Station.
[ ] The
Oslo Tramway
The Oslo tram network (, short from ', 'electric') is the tram system in Oslo, Norway. It consists of six lines with 99 stops and has a daily ridership of 132,000. It is operated by , a subsidiary of the municipally-owned who maintain the trac ...
can be reached from several stations. In the city centre, transfer to all lines is possible at Jernbanetorget (except line 13, which stops close at
Dronningens gate); All the lines can also be reached at Stortinget, but lines 11, 12 and 13 stops at
Øvre Slottsgate while lines 17, 18 and 19 stops at
Tinghuset. Lines 11 and 13 can also be reached at Nationaltheatret. Lines 11, 12 and 19 all terminate at Majorstuen; lines 17 and 18 run via Forskningsparken; lines 11, 12 and 18 can be reached at
Storo; and line 17 runs past
Carl Berners plass.
References
{{good article
Oslo Metro lines
Railway loop lines
Railway lines opened in 2003
2003 establishments in Norway