Oslo Commuter Rail

The Oslo Commuter Rail runs entirely on mainline railways owned and maintained by the Norwegian National Rail Administration. The commuter rail uses ten lines, utilizing a line length of 553 kilometers (344 mi).^[2][3] The lines are all electrified at 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC^[4] and consists of 128 stations.^[5] The Asker, Drammen, Gardermoen and Østfold lines, and part of the Trunk Line, have double track, accounting for 204 kilometers (127 mi), while the rest of the network has single track.^[2]

Oslo S is the central hub of the commuter rail. Located in the central business district of Oslo, all lines either terminate at, or run through the station. From Oslo S, there are four main corridors. All trains running through the West Corridor continue along either the North, South or East Corridor. Because there are more services in the latter three, some of these terminate at Oslo S.^[5] The line numbers for the commuter and the regional lines are such that those going along the Eastern and Western corridor (beyond Stabekk) have 1 and 10–14, those going along the Southern corridor have 2 and 20–22, and for the Northern corridor 3 and 30.

Along the West Corridor, the Drammen Line runs straight into the Oslo Tunnel, which starts directly beneath Oslo S. Trains run through Nationaltheatret, Norway's second-largest station, while in the tunnel.^[6] Just after surfacing, trains halt at Skøyen. One of the routes see their trains terminate at Skøyen, while the remaining nine continue onwards to Lysaker.^[5] After Lysaker, Line L1 continues stopping at all nine stations serving suburbs in Bærum and Asker, before reaching Asker Station, which serves as the terminus for most Line L1 services.^[5] For Line L1, Asker is 35 minutes^[7] and 24 kilometers (15 mi) from Oslo S.^[8]

Lines R12, R13 and R14 only call at Sandvika before Asker, and use the Asker Line between the two stations. Line R14 terminates at Asker.^[5] After Asker Station, Line L1 branches off along the Spikkestad Line and calls at six stations in Asker and Røyken before terminating at Spikkestad Station.^[5] Spikkestad is 44 minutes^[9] and 37 kilometers (23 mi) from Oslo S.^[10] Lines R12 and R13 continue through the Lieråsen Tunnel and make two more stops (R13) before reaching Drammen. Line R13 terminates at Drammen.^[5] Drammen is 39 minutes^[11] and 42 kilometers (26 mi) from Oslo S.^[8] Lines R12 continue, along the Sørland- and the Vestfold Lines, calling at seven stops in Eiker and Kongsberg before terminating at Kongsberg Station (R12).

Along the East Corridor, Line L1 follows the Trunk Line and makes twelve stops serving suburban areas in Oslo, Lørenskog and Skedsmo before reaching Lillestrøm Station, where the line terminates.^[5] For Line L1, Lillestrøm is located 29 minutes^[7] and 21 kilometres (13 mi) from Oslo S.^[12] Lines R12, R13 and R14 use the Gardermoen Line and the Romerike Tunnel to run directly to Lillestrøm.^[13] From there, lines R12 and R13 run along the Trunk Line (R13) and the Gardermoen Line, making four (R13) and no stops, respectively. After Kløfta Station, Line R13 continues along the Trunk Line, making three more stops until terminating at Dal Station.^[5] Dal is 34 minutes^[14] and 57 kilometers (35 mi) from Oslo S.^[15] Line R12 calls at Oslo Airport Station and Eidsvoll Verk Station before terminating at Eidsvoll Station.^[5] Eidsvoll is 51 minutes^[13] and 64 kilometers (40 mi) from Oslo S.^[2] Line R14 branches from Lillestrøm and operates along the Kongsvinger Line. It calls at thirteen stations and enters Hedmark after Årnes Station.^[5] Årnes is 53 minutes^[16] and 58 kilometers (36 mi) from Oslo S.^[17] After Årnes, trains call at another station, Skarnes before reaching Kongsvinger Station,^[5] which is 1 hour and 10 minutes,^[16] and 100 kilometers (62 mi) from Oslo S.^[17]

Along the South Corridor, there is since end of 2022 a tunnel, Blix Tunnel for fast trains without any stops before Ski Station, which includes lines R21, R22 and R23. The opening of this tunnel gave reason for a change in the Oslo regional and commuter rail systems. Line L2 follows the old Østfold Line and makes 13 stops before terminating at Ski Station,^[5] which is 31 minutes^[18] and 24 kilometers (15 mi) from Oslo S.^[19] Southwards, Line R21 follows the Western Østfold Line with four intermediate stops before Moss,^[5] which is 49 minutes^[9] and 60 kilometers (37 mi) from Oslo S. Line R22 runs along the Eastern Østfold Line with 11 intermediate stops before Rakkestad Station,^[5] which is 1 hour and 5 minutes^[20] and 63 kilometers (39 mi) from Oslo S.^[21]

North of Oslo, NSB Gjøvikbanen operates along the Gjøvik Line. Trains operate either to Hakadal Station or Jaren Station (R31) or Gjøvik Station (RE30). The lines call at 17 (R31) or 16 (RE30) stations north of Oslo S.^[22][23] Hakadal is 43 minutes^[22] and 32 kilometers (20 mi) from Oslo S,^[24] while Jaren is 1 hour and 25 minutes,^[22] and 72 kilometers (45 mi) from Oslo S.^[24]

Seven of the lines are operated by Vy, owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport,^[25] while the Gjøvik Line is operated by the Vy-owned Vy Gjøvikbanen. The operating deficit is covered by the state for Vy's lines, while Vy Gjøvikbanen's routes are financed by a public service obligation.^[26] The trains have two sections, manned and unmanned. Validated ticket-holders can travel in the unmanned section, which have green doors. Manned sections, with gray doors, have a conductor and allow passengers to purchase tickets. Tickets are available at ticket machines at stations; if bought on board, there is an additional 20 Norwegian krone (NOK) fee.^[27]

Two of the lines, L1 and L2, are designated as providing inner services. These operate along the Drammen Line to Asker, along the Trunk Line to Lillestrøm and the Østfold Line to Ski, stopping at all stations. The six other line, which make up the outer services, only make occasional stops on these sections. The inner services operate with a normal headway of 30 minutes, with 15 minutes offered in one direction during rush hour. In late evening and parts of the weekend, this is further reduced to 60 minutes. Vy's outer routes operate with a normal headway of 60 minutes, with rush-hour services offered at 30-minute intervals and late evening service provided every 120 minutes. Services between Årnes and Kongsvinger is limited to five daily services, and from Mysen to Rakkestad with four daily services.^[25] The Gjøvik Line runs with a 40-minute headway, with three different stopping patterns. One calls at all stations until Hakadal, one calls at most stations until Jaren, while one is an express service that runs the line's full length to Gjøvik.^[22]

Within Oslo and Akershus, Vy has an agreement with the public transport authority Ruter to use their fares and ticketing system to ease transfer between the commuter rail and other forms of public transport.^[28] Ruter makes use of a zone system, including a single-zone fare within Oslo.^[29] From 2010, the contactless ticket system Flexus is being introduced.^[30] In Oslo, there is transfer to the Oslo Metro at Oslo S (to Jernbanetorget), at Nationaltheatret and at Grefsen (to Storo). Transfer to the Oslo Tramway is possible from Oslo S, Nationaltheatret, Skøyen and Grefsen.^[31] At Moss, there is transfer to the Moss–Horten Ferry.^[32] Line L12 provides connection to Norway's main international airport, Oslo Airport, Gardermoen.^[33]

Class 69 is a series of 88 two and three-car electric multiple units built by Strømmens Værksted between 1970 and 1993. A motor car has a power output of 1,188 kilowatts (1,593 hp), allowing a speed of 130 kilometers per hour (81 mph). Each car is 24.85 meters (81.5 ft) long, with motor cars weighing 64.0 to 53.9 tonnes (63.0 to 53.0 long tons; 70.5 to 59.4 short tons) and end cars weighing down to 28.8 tonnes (28.3 long tons; 31.7 short tons). Typical seating capacity is 96 passengers in the motor cars and 112 passengers in the end cars.^[34] The class was delivered in four versions, named A through D. After the initial delivery of fifteen 69As in 1970 and 1971, twenty 69Bs were delivered in 1974 and 1975. These were designed to operate on longer sections and were equipped with only one door per car. This turned out to extend stopping time too much, and the C and D versions were delivered with two doors per car. From 1975 to 1977, NSB took delivery of fourteen 69Cs and from 1983 to 1993 thirty-nine 69Ds. The latter is distinguishable because of its different front. Vy operates both two- and three-car sets, and up to three units can be run in multiple, allowing Vy to operate any train length from two to nine cars.^[35] Eighty-two units remain in service, although some of those are used on the Bergen Commuter Rail and the Arendal Line.^[36]

Class 72 is a series of 36 four-car electric multiple units built by AnsaldoBreda. The units are permanently coupled together using Jacobs bogies. Each unit has a power output of 2,550 kilowatts (3,420 hp), allowing a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph). The trains are 85.57 meters (280.7 ft) long and weigh 156 tonnes (154 long tons; 172 short tons), and have seating for 310 passengers and one toilet.^[37] The trains have better accessibility than Class 69 and unlike their predecessors are equipped with an electronic public information system. Some of the 36 units are used on the Jæren Commuter Rail.^[38]

42 new electric multiple units called Class 75 were delivered 2013–2015. Similar units called Class 74 adopted for regional rail were delivered in 2012–2013.

Class 62 was a series of four multiple units built in 1931 and 1933 by Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk and Norsk Elektrisk & Brown Boveri (NEBB). The units had a power output of 344 kilowatts (461 hp), giving a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour (43 mph). The motor cars were built in wood, were 20.60 meters (67.6 ft) long, weighed 43.2 tonnes (42.5 long tons; 47.6 short tons) and seated 73 passengers. They ran mostly on the Drammen Line and were in service around Oslo from 1931 to 1953.^[39]

Class 65 and Class 67 were two similar series of electric multiple units, all built by Skabo and NEBB. Class 65 was delivered in three versions, named A through C. Class A and B were rebuilt passenger wagons. Fourteen units of Class 65A were built from 1936 to 1939 and had a wooden body. Thirteen units of Class 65B were delivered in 1941 and 1942 and was built with a steel frame. They were 22 centimeters (8.7 in) longer than the A-series. Twenty-two Class 65C units were built from 1949 to 1952. From 1949 to 1950, 17 middle and end cars were delivered for the Class 65 units.^[40] Class 67 was a series of 18 units built from 1953 to 1955. They had a slightly more advanced technological system, but were otherwise often run mixed with Class 65 units.^[41] The Class 65 motor cars had a power output of 464 kilowatts (622 hp) and a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour (43 mph). They were 20.70 meters (67.9 ft) long, weighed 42.5 to 46.6 tonnes (41.8 to 45.9 long tons; 46.8 to 51.4 short tons) and had a seating capacity for 66 passengers. Class 65 remained in service until 1993 and Class 67 until 1995.^[42]

Many Class 69 units were taken out from traffic in 2013–2015, replaced by Class 75 units.