Ekebergbanen

Ekebergbanen, or the Ekeberg Line, was a tramway in Oslo, Norway, that connected central Oslo with the Ekeberg district on the city’s eastern hillside. It served as a municipal transport link, providing access to residential areas and the hills overlooking the harbor and city center.

The line was built by the private company A/S Ekebergbanen and opened in the late 1910s. It used metre-gauge track and electric traction supplied by overhead wires, with trams running along streets and up the hillside to reach the Ekeberg area.

During its decades of operation, Ekebergbanen remained part of Oslo’s tram network, interchanging with other lines in central areas and offering a longer, suburban connection to the Ekeberg district. The service pattern adapted to demand and the development of adjacent neighborhoods, making it an important early twentieth-century transport corridor for eastern Oslo.

In the 1960s, as buses and private cars became more dominant, the line was gradually phased out and finally closed. The tracks were removed, and the former right-of-way was largely repurposed for roads and other urban uses, though remnants of the route and infrastructure persisted for some years.

Today, the Ekeberg area is known for attractions such as Ekebergparken sculpture park and panoramic views of Oslo. The Ekebergbanen is remembered as part of the city’s early electric tramway era and is of interest to transport historians studying Oslo’s suburban tram expansion.

See also: Oslo Tramway.