The tramway past Nationaltheatret was opened on 2 March 1894, when
Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei opened the Briskeby ine from Oslo East Station via
Briskeby to
Majorstuen. In 1898, the Holmenkollen Line was opened, a
light rail running from Majorstuen to
Holmenkollen. The terminus at Majorstuen was a major hassle for passengers; most people were bound for the city center, and these had to change to the street trams at Majorstuen. For Holmenkolbanen, there were two ways to solve the issue. Either sign trafficking rights with
Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei to use their tracks on the
Briskeby Line to reach the city center. Alternatively, a tunnel could be built to an underground station in the city center. Applications for a tunnel were sent to the municipality in 1901. A new application was sent in 1907. It was proposed as a
single track line which would run to the intersection of
Karl Johans gate and Fredriks gate, and estimated to cost 1.5 million
Norwegian krone (NOK). The plans were opposed by some in the city, who stated that the line would take passengers from the street trams, and stimulate migration to the areas along the Holmenkollen Line in
Aker, and thus reduce the tax income for the city. In 1909, the municipal council stated that they were opposed to the tunnel. On 9 June 1911, the city council voted that they would accept the tunnel if the terminus was moved to the intersection of Karl Johans gate and Ruseløkkveien, but this was rejected by the company. Aker Municipal Council voted on 27 May 1909 that they were in favor of the tunnel, and on 9 June 1911 the proposal was passed by the
Parliament of Norway. Both municipalities wanted the
redemption right, but this given to the state. Holmenkolbanen received a
concession for 60 years from the date of opening. By October 1914, the tunnel works had been completed from Rosenborggaten to the statue of
Karl Johan in
Slottsparken. The issue of the terminus was still not completed, and work was therefore halted. Holmenkolbanen were planning on building the line through the city center, and therefore wanted the terminus at Fredriks gate, while the municipality wanted it at Ruseløkkveien. It proposed connecting the
Lilleaker Line to Majorstuen, a tunnel through the city center from Majorstuen to
Stortorvet and
Vaterland, and onwards as an elevated line eastwards, along routes that closely resemble the current metro lines and the
Ekeberg Line. From Stortorvet, there was proposed a northern branch which would be built northwards towards
Kjelsås. In addition, a route close to the current
Ring Line was proposed. Following a competition for the design of a new light rail network in the city, which was concluded in 1919, the municipality to again consider the terminus of the tunnel. The executive committee supported terminating the tunnel at
Eidsvolls plass, but this was rejected by the city council on 13 July 1920. Holmenkolbanen convinced the municipality to establish a committee to look into the specific issue. In September 1921, the committee proposed creating a temporary terminus, following Holmenkolbanen's route, in the square behind the National Theatre. This was under the condition that experts concluded that construction would be done without damage to surrounding buildings. The proposal was passed by the city council on 13 October 1921. In June 1922, an expert committee concluded that construction would be satisfactory. Concession was granted on 15 January 1926, which demanded that the tunnel open by the end of 1928. The station officially opened on 27 June 1928 by
King Haakon VII. The tunnel was long and trams used three to four minutes to run the length. In 1931, Aker Municipality purchasing the majority of Holmenkolbanen, and merging the Røa Line and Sognsvann Line into the company. In 1939,
Bærumsbanen started the construction of a branch from the Lilleaker Line to Majorstuen. From 15 June 1942, the
Kolsås Line, as it was renamed, started running via the tunnel to Nationaltheatret. Bærumsbanen became part of Oslo Sporveier in 1971. By the 1930s, Oslo had two main railway stations, Oslo East Station and Oslo West Station. Serving as the terminal station of the Drammen Line, Oslo West Station (Oslo V) was located in Vika. The much larger Oslo East Station (Oslo Ø) served most commuter, regional and intercity trains. In 1938, the Station Committee of 1938 was established to look into a possible connection of the Drammen Line to Oslo Ø. Led by
Axel Grenholm, the committee recommended building a branch from the Drammen Line as a tunnel under the city center, allowing all trains would terminate at Oslo Ø. Construction of the Oslo Tunnel, Oslo Central Station and Nationaltheatret was passed unanimously. During the 1960s, the
Oslo Tunnel was being planned to connect the
Drammen Line to Oslo East Station. This would make
Oslo West Station unnecessary, and would allow a central station to be built at the location of the East Station. The tunnel was planned to run in a similar route as would be necessary to connect Jernbanetorget to Nationaltheatret, and a railway station was planned to connect to Nationaltheatret. Simultaneously, Oslo Sporveier worked with possibilities to connect their eastern and western networks, and get both into the city core. During the 1960s, the planning office for the metro proposed to build a connecting tunnel between Nationaltheatret and Jernbanetorget. However, the initial plans involved creating a station close to Nationaltheatret, named for
Slottsparken, which would serve as the transfer point between the two systems. This station had a planned dimension to hold 25,000 people. At the time, the western and eastern networks were incompatible; in addition to different platform heights, the eastern network used six-car trains with a
third-rail power supply, while the western network used
overhead wires and two-car trains. The initial plans were met with criticism, following media's discovery that the main planners had not consulted several hired specialists, and that alternatives to the preferred route had not been made. As a consequence, several engineers working for the
Norwegian State Railways made two alternative suggestion for the route. By 1975, the plans were changed so Nationaltheatret would become the transfer station, by building a
balloon loop for the eastern trains, while the western trains would terminate as before. This solution would allow the two networks to be connected later. The decision to build Sentrum, located west of Jernbanetorget, was taken by the city council on 22 May 1969; the decision also involved that the transfer station be placed at Slottsparken/Nationaltheatret. Construction started in 1972, and the first leaks were revealed. By the time the station opened on 9 January 1977, the leaks had not been removed. In 1978, the city planner discarded the proposal from Oslo Sporveier to build a new station at Slottsparken, and instead decided that Stortinget would become the interchange between the two systems. This would allow the western network to later be upgraded to metro standard and allow through trains. The proposal was supported by all political parties except the
Labour Party. The railway station and the Oslo Tunnel was taken into use on 1 June. On 20 February 1983, Sentrum was closed to finally remove all leaks. On 27 May 1989, Oslo V was closed and all traffic started running via Nationaltheatret. at the railway station On 7 October 1987, the city decided to connect the four light rails west of the city center with the Oslo Metro. The Sognsvann Line was selected as the first line to be upgraded, so the two systems would become compatible. The line, including the Common Tunnel and Nationaltheatret, were upgraded to metro standard by replacing the overhead wire with a
third-rail power supply and installing
automatic train protection. The platforms were lengthened from fitting two-car to fitting six-car trains, and the
platform height increased. From 4 April, the line started operating through the Common Tunnel and connected to the Lambertseter Line. From 1998, the Airport Express Train would start operating, and more capacity would be needed, both at Nationaltheatret and through the Oslo Tunnel. In 1995, NSB held an architecture competition to expand the station complex, which was won by
LPO Arkitektur og Design and their design "Next To Nothing". Most of the work involved the railway station, which received four platforms, escalators and art. However, it also involved a larger vestibule and easier access between the two stations. == Transport Hub ==