A/S Holmenkolbanen was a company that owned and operated part of the Oslo Tramway and Oslo Metro in Norway from 1898 until 1975 when services were taken over by the majority owner Oslo Sporveier. Holmenkolbanen opened the Holmenkoll Line in 1898, and expanded it to become the first Nordic underground railway in 1928. The company took over operations of the Smestad Line in 1933, the Sognsvann Line in 1934. The company was merged into Oslo Sporveier in 1992.
History
The company was founded on 17 February 1896 by H. M. Heyerdahl and Albert Fenger Krog as the leading executives. The goal was to build a suburban tramway—the Holmenkoll Line—from the Holmenkollen neighborhood in northwestern Oslo to the end of the street tramway at Majorstuen. The line opened first to Besserud (at the time called Holmenkolen) on 31 May 1898 and then to Frognerseteren on 15 May 1916.[1] The second part of the line was constructed by its subsidiary A/S Tryvandsbanen, and included a single track cargo line to Tryvandshøiden. It was established on 4 January 1912 and disestablished on 1 January 1920.[2]