Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 24, 2010

Bergen Light Rail (Bybanen i Bergen) is a light rail system under construction in Bergen, Norway. The first stage of the project is a fifteen-station, 9.8 km stretch between the city center and Nesttun, scheduled to open on 22 June 2010. Construction will continue from Nesttun to Rådal in August 2010; further plans for the project involve three lines, stretching to Bergen Airport, Flesland; Åsane and Storavatnet. Plans for rail transit have existed since the 1970s, following the 1965 closing of the Bergen Tramway. A rapid transit design was first discarded, and in the 1990s a light rail was proposed. The final decision to start construction was made in 2005. The first stage of the line is being built by the municipality, with financing from the state and the toll road ring, based on the Bergen Program. Ownership, maintenance and further extensions of lines and vehicles will be the responsibility of Hordaland County Municipality through their wholly-owned limited company Bybanen AS. Operation is done after public service obligation contracts issued by the county public transport authority Skyss. From 2010 to 2017, the system will be operated by Fjord1 Partner, who will operate the system's twelve Variotrams.