Bybanen: The Bergen Light Rail System

In March 2000, Norway decided that a light rail system would be the ‘backbone’ of the city of Bergen’s public transport system, and so approved a 20km line from the city centre (Bergen sentrum) to the Bergen airport at Flesland via the suburban town centre of Nesttun and the major shopping area of Lagunen. Bergen did operate a tramway system from 1897 until 1965, but the new system will re-establish rail operations in the same corridor as the last line of the tram system. In addition to the first line, additional extensions to the system are also planned.

The first half of the first line, a 10km section between the city centre and Nesttun, has already been funded and construction officially began on 7 January 2008. The day was marked by an official ceremony with the laying of a foundation rail by the Norwegian Minister of Transportation, Liv Signe Navarsete.

The word for light rail in Norwegian is “bybane”, similar to the German “Stadtbahn”. The project has decided to take the definite form of this word as the system’s proper name, supplemented with an English explanation. In the same way as the airport train (“flytog”) in Oslo is called Flytoget: Airport Express Train, the new light rail system in Bergen will officially be called and registered as Bybanen: Bergen Light Rail.

The project was met with great scepticism during the early stages of planning in the early 1990s. However, a steady increase in traffic congestion, greater environmental awareness as concern over global warning increases and limited investment in new highway capacity, have all helped to turn the tide of public opinion. The scepticism of recent years has now been replaced by widespread support, concern about the inconveniences of the construction period, general impatience for the start of operations and a political commitment to further extensions.

Funding comes from highway usage charges

Bergen was one of the first cities in the world to introduce highway usage tolls for entry to the Central Business District (CBD) in 1985. At that time it was planned for a finite period of time (15 years) and was dedicated entirely to further road construction. At the end of the 15-year period, it was proposed to continue the scheme, but political consensus was only possible if it also included a significant portion of the funds being used for investment in the public transportation infrastructure.

The Bergen Programme for Transportation, Development and the Environment was approved in 2002 and includes a ten-year investment budget of approximately 5.3 billion Norwegian kroner (€650 million), which is to be invested 55% in public transportation systems and 45% in highway-related infrastructure. So, a project which had been a topic of discussion for several decades, suddenly had a way to secure funding for its construction.

Future extensions to the system are expected to be financed in a similar fashion. However, similar projects in other cities, particularly a tram-train project in Stavanger, are making a strong case for increased funding from the national government. There is growing concern about the environment and global warming and the national government is beginning to address the need for rapid and extensive investment in public transport infrastructure.

Organisation

The project is organised within the city government as a project office (“Bybanekontoret”) under the city’s Department of Transportation. The project office was started in 2001 with a small group to carry out the land use planning and public hearing process which ensures access to the necessary area for the first 10km. In 2005, a major expansion of the office began in preparation for detail design and construction activities. The project is now staffed by over 30 engineers, architects, building supervisors and other staff.

Infrastructure

The first 10km has been divided into four sections for the purpose of insuring significant competition in the letting of the civil works contracts. The line is double-track, has 4.8km of street track with grooved rail and 5.1km of independent track. There are also four tunnels with a total length of 2.6km and they range in length from 400 meters to 1,200 meters.

Technical design

The local Norwegian based firms of Norconsult and Asplan Viak, together with many sub-consultants with specific areas of special competence, are responsible for the detailed design of the system. A number of international consultants are also assisting in the design effort such as Pöyry Infra Ltd. (Switzerland and Germany), HTM Consultancy (Netherlands) and PB Consult (Germany).

Tendering strategy

The strategy is to offer a combination of traditional tenders (civil works) and turn-key contracts (technical installations: design/build). This puts a great deal of pressure on the owner; the city of Bergen and the Light Rail Project Office will thus have the responsibility of system integration and will have to make sure that all interfaces between the various contracts are addressed effectively and correctly.

Vehicles: Variotram from Stadler

In May 2007, an agreement was signed with Stadler Pankow GmbH for the development of a new vehicle for the Bergen Light Rail system. In addition to supplying the city of Bergen with twelve 32-metre long bi-directional Variotrams, Stadler will have responsibility for the maintenance of the vehicles for the first eight years of operation.

The vehicles will be equipped with air suspension, air-conditioning, wireless internet (both for system information and supervision, as well as passenger access to internet services) and interior and exterior video surveillance cameras. Finally, the 5-module vehicles can be lengthened to 7-modules if traffic levels warrant, increasing their length to 42 meters and their capacity from 220 to 300 passengers.

Aesthetically pleasing

In 2005-2006, a major international design competition was organised to determine the appearance of the various components of the system. The winners of this competition were the Bergen-based firms of the architect group Cubus, Fuggibaggi Design and T-Michael together with the Danish firm Kontrapunkt.

The design team has been working together with the main consulting team to develop a unified design identity for the Bergen Light Rail system and they are responsible for:

• Graphic profile
• Marketing and branding
• Landscaping and station design
• Vehicle design: exterior and interior
• Uniforms

Graphic profile

The design team has developed a complete graphic profile for both the corporate image and the visual elements of the infrastructure and vehicles. The main element is the strong use of the colour orange for the corporate identity, stations and vehicles.

Marketing and branding

The success of the airport express train in Oslo, and its approach to design and marketing of that new transportation system has been an inspiration for the Bergen project. It is the goal of the project to create a transport system which is easily recognisable, that will create an image for the city and that will create a feeling of pride among the public.

Stations

The main design elements and colours will be incorporated in the stations and are consistent with the overall goal of universal design (guaranteed accessibility for all users) and visibility. The great advantage of rail systems is their ability to communicate their services to potential users. Riders and potential riders are attracted by the ‘easy understandability’ of a rail system. This aspect will be highlighted by various design elements such as a continuous white line on each side of the rail right-of-way over its entire length.

Vehicle design

The chosen vehicle, Variotram from Stadler, is a standard vehicle and there are only minor opportunities for structural changes. However, the design team can influence the appearance of the vehicles to a great extent. The livery of the vehicle (colour scheme) is certainly the most important aspect of this work. But other items, such as seating, interior and exterior lighting, placement of handrails and other furniture have been decided by the design team and will make a major impression on the passengers. The locally appointed design team has worked closely together with both Stadler and their appointed designer, Paulussen Design of Düsseldorf.

The vehicle will have a roof lighting system based on four longitudinal lighting strips. The two strips at the side will give indirect lighting to the panels/flaps over the windows. The two main lights in the middle will also give indirect backlighting to roof panels showing attractive designs or photographs. The backlighted panels could even give the impression of a glass roof by showing a motif for example of a blue sky. This is interesting in that low-floor vehicles are known to have most of their technical equipment on the roof.

Uniforms

The design team is developing uniforms for all employees, which will include the drivers, maintenance personnel and supervisors. This will provide a uniform image for the system, as well as provide a feeling of safety and security for passengers.

Operations

The construction schedule anticipates that the system will be able to open in 2010, although no opening date has been officially announced. The county of Hordaland will have the responsibility for operations, but will put the operations out to tender in 2008. Rail operations present special challenges due to the requirements and involvement of the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate. It is hoped that an operator will be in place at the beginning of 2009, approximately 18 months before the start of revenue operations.

Major challenges

Noise

There is a great challenge to provide a quiet and smooth operation for the citizens of Bergen. The memory of the previous tram system is one of vehicle noise, and particularly noise associated with specific curves in the system. The combination of an extremely quiet vehicle and innovated track design is hoped to ensure an acceptable level of noise and vibration.

Commercial speed

The light rail system will replace the busiest section of the city’s bus network. These buses offer trip times between the end points of between 20-25 minutes. It is therefore necessary for the light rail system to achieve a comparable trip time. This translates into a commercial speed of close to 30km/hr (a trip time of 21 minutes for the 9.8km run). A high commercial speed also reduces the fleet size and lowers the amount needed for investment in rolling stock.

Another aspect is the need to operate at an interval/headway of five minutes. Again, this is due to the fact that the bus system offers five minute headways from 07:00hrs until 19:00hrs. Operating patterns and costs are therefore based on a demanding operations scheme.

Traffic priority

In order to meet the ambitious commercial speed, it is necessary to reduce delays at signalised intersections and crossing to a minimum. Priority at all intersections, based on detection, prediction and calculation is therefore necessary. Integration of such a system with passenger real-time information as well as traffic control systems is also a part of the project.

Safety

The light rail system will be a new element in an already complex and overloaded traffic system. The northern climate, known to have poor visibility caused by both rain and long periods of darkness during the winter months, also creates challenges for safe operations. Experience from other start-ups, together with a focus on design to send strong visual signals, are expected to allow a safe and problem-free transition, but we know that such a learning period for the people of Bergen will be over many months.

Integration with bus services and parking

Because the first line to be built is only 10km long, and ends at the city centre, there is a need for an efficient and effective system of feeder buses. Passengers must be transported to the terminal station in Nesttun and be able to move quickly and comfortably from bus to rail. Likewise, passengers bound for destinations beyond the city centre must be able to move from rail to bus easily. It is estimated that over half of the expected ridership will use such bus services as part of their trip. Bergen has an integrated ticketing system, which will allow such transfers.

Parking

Another great challenge will be to provide convenient and available parking for those wishing to access the system by car. The politicians and project team have been impressed by how well this works in many of the newer North-American and French tram systems. However, land and investment funds for parking facilities are not available as part of the Bergen Programme. Due to this lack of funding, there has been a great reluctance to provide significant amounts of parking at any of the planned stations along the line. It is feared that informal parking on city streets will create a problem among neighbours of the system. This is probably an area that will be addressed in the years to come, after the opening of the system.

Maintenance: workshop and depot

The line runs through an area which is already heavily developed. It was therefore quite difficult to find a location for a workshop and depot along the line. It was originally proposed to build a ‘temporary’ workshop with the hope of being able to extend the system quite quickly and thereby find a place for a permanent facility. Unfortunately, the first planned extension to the major shopping centre of Lagunen has not been able to identify such a location. The temporary facility has therefore taken on a more permanent character and is located at Kronstad, the future junction of two lines.

Economic activity in Norway

Another great challenge for the construction of the system is the economic situation in Norway. The economy is doing quite well which reduces the availablity of excess construction capacity in the market in turn and increases the costs of such construction. A major effort is being made to make sure that the infrastructure budget of 2.4 billion kroner (€300 million) for the project is maintained.

Extensions to the system

Planning is now underway for a 3km extension from Nesttun to Rådal/Lagunen. This will leave a 7km extension to the airport of the original and approved 20km line.

In addition to the initial airport line, a second line connecting the northern and western suburbs is planned. There has been a great deal of focus on this line to alleviate the traffic challenges from these two areas.

Finally, the main railway line is being expanded to double-track between Bergen and the eastern suburban community of Arna. It would be possible to offer a tram-train service on this line, with connection to the light rail system at the Bergen railway station.

Conclusions

The construction of the new light rail system in Bergen, Bybanen, is proceeding as planned. A contract for vehicles was signed with Stadler Pankow in May 2007. It is expected that an operator will be in place by the beginning of 2009 and that revenue operations can commence during the summer of 2010, although no official opening date has been announced. Local elections took place in Bergen in September 2007; the construction of extensions to the system was a major topic during the election campaign. The newly-elected coalition has proposed increases in the city’s toll structure to insure the immediate construction of future extensions to the light rail system without any pause in construction after the completion of the section between the city centre and Nesttun.