Asker station

The first public transport between Asker and Christiania (Oslo) commenced in 1866, when a ferry would was started up.[1] The decision to build the Drammen Line was taken by Parliament on 16 June 1869.[2] Ground on the farm of Fusdal was selected for the station to serve Asker.[3]

The first station building was designed by Georg Andreas Bull. Known as the Asker Class, a similar design was used for another eleven train stations on the Drammen- and Randsfjorden Lines. The original station building was among the most spacious and elaborate for its size category.[4] Built in Swiss chalet style, it featured a saddle roof and was split between a public area and a residence for the station master. Unusual for stations at the time the residential door was on the front, rather than the side, of the building. The station was decorated in fretsaw ornaments in organic and Gothic styles.[5]

The line and Asker Station opened on 7 October 1872.[2] From 1875 Asker Station had four employees: a station master, a telegraphist and two carriers. The station served 17,466 passengers that year, rising to 33,851 in 1900.[6] Travel time from Asker to Oslo West Station was about an hour. The arrival of the railway in Asker resulted in city dwellers buying or renting holiday homes in Asker.[7] There was at first little settlements around the station, but as it generated traffic the interest for the area grew through the 1870s. Soon the neighborhood's general store moved to the vicinity of the station.[8] A Narvesen kiosk opened at the station at about the turn of the century.[9] Growth was gradual. From 1910 Statistics Norway registered Asker Station as a settlement, with 20 building and 184 residents.[8]

The traffic on the line rose quickly. Within a few decades the Drammen Line was serving the Vestfold Line, the Randsfjorden Line and the Sørlandet Line. The line was soon found to be underdimensioned and delays were common.[10] To meet the higher traffic levels, a major upgrade of the Drammen Line was carried out from 1917 to 1922. For Asker this involved gauge conversion from narrow to standard gauge and electrification. The segment from Asker to Sandvika was converted to dual gauge on 15 December 1918. This arrangement of a mix of standard and narrow gauge rolling stock lasted until 13 November 1922, from which time only standard gauge stock was used. Meanwhile, the line was also electrified, which was taken into use on 26 November 1922.[11]

Asker Station in 1923

As part of the upgrade to the line an all-new station building was built at Asker. Designed by Ragnvald Utne at NSB Arkitektkontor, it was completed in 1921.[12] During the first decades of the twentieth century the number of commuters into Oslo grew rapidly. In 1890 there were only five people with month or yearly passes commuting to Oslo, while this rose to 432 in 1930.[13] By 1939 there were two bus services corresponding with the trains at Asker: one to Slemmestad and one to Dikemark and no:Vardåsen.[14]

Construction of double track between Asker and Sandvika was carried out between 1953 and 1958. The second segment, from a point north of the Asker Tunnel to Hvalstad Station opened on 29 November 1955. The new Asker Tunnel, located immediately northwest of the station, opened on 8 December 1958, completing the new segment of double track.[15] The tunnel was taken into use in two steps: the one track on 8 October and the second on 8 December.[16] In conjunction with this a new station was built, designed by NSB Arkitektkontor and opened in 1960.[12]

The Lieråsen Tunnel was built to allow double track to Drammen and cut the route west of Asker by 12.4 kilometers (7.7 mi). Construction started in 1963, but the tunnel was delayed due to geological challenges and opened on 3 June 1973. The old section of track from Asker to Spikkestad was kept and became the Spikkestad Line.[2] With the opening of the tunnel the local train routes were rearranged, so that there were two trains from Asker to Oslo each hour and one train each hour to Spikkestad and Drammen, respectively. These served all stations from Asker to Sandvika and then ran directly to Oslo.[17]

Class 69 train heading off on the Spikkestad Line, with the Lieråsen Tunnel to the right

Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk took over operations of the bus routes in Asker from 1 January 1975 and started to feed the bus services to Asker Station rather than drive directly downtown.[18] From mid 1984 NSB terminated express train stops at Asker, but these returned the following year.[19] The old station at Asker burned down on 24 June 1992.[20] The section from Asker to Drammen received centralized traffic control with the opening of the Lieråsen Tunnel, while the section from Asker to Sandvika did not receive this until 14 December 1993. Automatic train stop was introduced from Asker to Drammen on 1 June 1987, while the segment from Asker to Sandvika received it on 12 December 1993.[16]

Planning of a new station design started in the early 1990s, originally with focus on developing it as a renewal project to make the town center in Asker more attractive.[21] It kept the existing station building, but it was significantly upgraded in a design by Niels Torp. The underpass was closed and replaced with an overpass, and the new station received five tracks. The upgrades were timed to allow the station to act as the terminus for the Airport Express Train, which commenced services that year.[12] The work also saw the construction of a new parking house.[22]

The Asker Line was built to allow regional trains to bypass local trains on the Drammen Line, increasing both capacity, speed and regularity through the West Corridor. The first segment was the section from Asker to Sandvika, which started in 2001 and was opened on 27 August 2005.[23] Upgrades of Asker Station were carried out from 2002. It involved both upgrades to the station itself and construction of a 130-meter (430 ft) culvert acting as the entrance to the Skaugum Tunnel. The station was rebuilt from five to six tracks. Construction was carried out in such a way that four tracks were at any time kept in operation, starting from the east and working westwards.[24]