Opening on 30 September 1931, it branched off the Ekeberg Line at Jomfrubråten and had three stops along the 1.5-kilometer (0.9 mi) route—Ekebergparken, Smedstua and Simensbråten.

They felt a funicular was not an appropriate and efficient means of transport for the planned residential areas at Ekebergplatået.

Oslo City Council stated on 27 April 1921 that instead a branch of the Ekeberg Line should be built from Sportsplassen Station to Simensbråten, in addition to the funicular.

However, at the time the plateau was being considered as one of the possible locations for the new airport to serve Oslo, and this delayed the planning.

In 1938, the application was approved by the Parliament of Norway, but Oslo and Aker municipalities could not agree on the route along Brannfjellet.

[8] World War II and the limitations on fuel gave the Ekeberg Line a large increase in traffic Unlike many other Norwegian tramways, the tram vehicles were not confiscated and moved to Germany, because no German tramways used both 1,200 volts and allowed 2.5-meter (8 ft 2 in) wide vehicles.

In March 1948, Oslo Sporveier, the municipal company that operated among other things the street tramways, offered to purchase Ekebergbanen.

[11] The use of a unique voltage gave operational difficulties, as fuses could regularly blow at Oslo Hospital if errors were done while switching from the one current to the other.

In addition, all the trams were custom built with extra equipment with limited spare parts.

Oslo Sporveier took over all employees and rolling stock, but Ekebergbanen remained a holding and real estate company.

Traffic had decreased on the Ekeberg Line, but proponents for keeping it stated that this was because Oslo Sporveier had reduced the frequency and moved the end station out of the core of the city center.

[18] It was replaced by a bus route that went up the other side of the hill, and did not correspond with the Ekeberg Line.