Trondheim Tramway controversy
The first debate came after the 1956 Dalsenget fire, when most of the city's tram fleet was destroyed; a proposal to replace the tramway with a trolleybus line was rejected.
Some politicians and activists demanded that decision processes be made open, and to reduce the massive plans for motorway construction throughout the municipality.
Alternative 1 followed an at-grade route, along Innherredsveien to Strindheim, and along Bromstadveien, Kong Øysteins veg and Jonsvannsveien, and would cost NOK 68 million.
The deputy chairman Eigil Gullvåg and the labor unions criticized the suggestion, saying that it would not be beneficial to close parts of the network.
The information brochure made by the city announced that the investment costs were equal to five new schools, ten new kindergartens, two swimming halls, a library and 1,000 new housing lots.
Mayor Olav Gjærevoll had contacted the state to investigate if the tram could receive the same subsidy level as an equivalent bus route, but this had been rejected by the department, even though Minister of Transport, Ronald Bye of the Labour Party, was positive.
Chief of Administration Odd Sagør suggested, during the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications of the Norwegian Parliament's visit to Trondheim in 1979, that state road funds could be used on tramway infrastructure.
By 1 December, eight bids had come in from La Brugeoise et Nivelles (BN), Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB), Strømmens Værksted, Duewag, Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, Valmet, Waggon Union and Pragoinvest/Tatra.
On 26 November 1981, the city council decided to consider reducing the number of trams to eleven, and close line 2, from Voldsminde to Elgeseter.
In July, the executive committee of the city council voted to have only one new line, buy eleven trams and build a new depot.
A new washing hall would replace cleaners; combined with reduced maintenance on new trams, it would give a reduction from 40 to 13 depot employees.
However, on 16 August 1984, the city council decided to transfer Dalsenget to a municipal property company, and develop it as a "techno stable" for new ventures.
Combined with the unwillingness to use the parking funds, this resulted in 100% loan financing of the depot and the trams, the most expensive method.
In 1985, the city council voted for a full economic analysis of the costs of trams versus diesel buses.
Conservative chair of Oslo Sporveier, Haakon Magnus Preus said live at a public meeting for the labor union in January that they did not want the trams.
TT claimed they could save NOK 19 million by closing down the tramway.<[21] An alternative report was launched by business administration student Knut Myhre.
It showed that the TT report had false premises, since it had calculated the amortization from 1987 to 2000, as compared to the end of the economic lifetime of the trams around 2020.
The chair of TT, Ove Dalheim (Labour), and chief of administration, Axel Buch, both supported the closing of the tram.
Dahlheim, a railway employee and a former member of the Communist Party, had been an eager supporter of the tramway, but subsequently changed his mind.
This resulted in controversy on 5 November, when it was reported on the front page of newspapers that Gjærevoll and Fostervold had met with Reinertsen in the fall of 1986.
An opposing report was made by Knut Myhre and Rune Kjenstad, who claimed that the line would be built using overly expensive standards and that costs could be reduced by 30%.
A memo from TT had circulated among the politicians, showing that the sales price for the trams and depot would increase, giving a saving of NOK 30 million if the tramway was closed.
[26] Many tram-friendly politicians were disappointed about how the Labour and Socialist Left Party had not been able to secure the tramway, despite a left-winged majority in the city council.
Following the 1987 election, the City List won six seats, and was larger than the Christian Democrats, the Liberals, the Centre Party and Red Electoral Alliance.
[27] After the election, the City List made a committee to find ways to rationalize operations, led by engineer Arne Vidar Hesjedal.
Hesjedal claimed that the tramway could operate NOK 15 million cheaper than with the current cost structure, but this would require that it become a separate business unit within TT—just like Oslo Sporveier had done.
They now threatened that if Berge and the Labour Party voted in disfavor of keeping the tram, they would not support his reelection for major in 1989.
During the proceedings in the city council on 27 May 1988, CEO Nymo chose to argue along the line of the administration, and not the company's board.
During the discussions, TT demanded that the municipality pay NOK 23.8 million for the trams, depots and other material, but this was rejected by the city.
On 2 January 1990, TT sent a letter to Gråkallbanen giving them the option to purchase the trams for the same price as the Egyptions, at an estimated NOK 17–20 million.
