Bybanen: the Åsane tunnel debated

The question of the Bybanen route to Åsane remains lively in Bergen. The proposed tunnel to run the line behind the UNESCO-listed buildings at Bryggen would lose 32,500 daily passengers compared with an open-air route, according to figures reported by Bergens Tidende and picked up by NRK Bergen / Vestland. But the public broadcaster has highlighted other data: the tunnel solution would deprive only 2,000 additional people of reasonable walking access to a Bybanen stop.

The file goes back to spring 2023, when Bergen city council voted for a route along the front of Bryggen. The same year, the local right won the municipal elections and reversed that promise, preferring a passage behind the historic buildings. Since then, figures and counter-figures have followed one another in the public debate, something that NRK Bergen / Vestland itself describes as "confusing".

The stake concerns the real accessibility of the future line for residents of northern Bergen. The number of passengers, walking distance to stops, and the preservation of the Bryggen heritage site are the three parameters shaping the controversy. No definitive decision on the route is announced in the sources consulted.