Bergen City Council has to choose over the tunnel or the overground alternatives for the extension of the Bybanen (Bergen Light Rail) to Åsane.

Despite a recent report that said that the tunnel option would cost almost 3 times more (NOK 3.4 billion while the overground option along Bryggen would cost only NOK 1.2 billion) and would take 3-4 years longer to build, the politicians still seem to favour the tunnel option.

The experts are certainly behind the overground option as the NRK quotes the project manager Solveig Mathiesen (Bybanen til Åsane in Plan og bygningsetaten) saying " Our recommendation is clear. We recommend the day alternative through the city center". Experts also believe that the overground alternative is safer for Bergen's UNESCO World Heritage houses along the coast.

On the other hand, it all depends on the Bergen City Council's voting on 27 November. The decision needs to be taken with a majority of 34 votes while the ruling Labour, MDG, KrF and V coalition rules in minority and even with the support of the SV they have only 31 votes. Whatever their decision, they need the support of the opposition parties. Center Party nor the Red Party still support the tunnel option. They believe an overground option will block the view of the Heritage Site houses and a tunnel is a better option also in longer term, regardless of the cost.

https://www.nrk.no/vestland/fagfolk-mener-at-bybanen-bor-ga-over-bryggen_-men-alternativet-mangler-flertall-1.15673554