We jumped on the shuttle bus for the the 20k journey to Flam, the starting point for the Flam to Myerdal railway. The trip is mostly through tunnels, so there’s not much to see. The coach was held in queue of traffic at the tunnel entrance for about 20 minutes. The driver disconcertingly announced that some rocks had fallen from the roof and needed to be cleared.
Flam is a town of two halves. There’s the ‘proper’ residential area set a little apart form the busy train terminal. And then there’s the train terminal area with cafes, food stalls and a shop selling Norwegian tourist items such as deer pelts, bobble hats, flags and keyrings. It all seems a bit Disneyesque and contrived but clearly caters for the needs of the discerning tourist.
So far as the train is concerned, I was expecting a quaint railway, quaint wooden carriages with quaint wooden seats and a quaint puffing billy engine. I was wrong.
This enterprise is a slick and efficient operation. It is a ‘proper’ railway which links the low lying area to the the Bergen mainline. It’s a very comfortable train pulled by a couple of muscular looking engines. The booking hall is cool and business like and able to deal with the hundreds of tourists and few regular travellers who wish to ride this the most scenic railway in Europe. Because of its steep gradient and picturesque nature, the Flåm Line is now almost exclusively a tourist service and has become the third-most visited tourist attraction in Norway.
Amazing is an overused word these days. But the experience of riding this train qualifies for this adjective over and over again. Breathtaking views around every corner, nature magnificent. Water falls, snowy peaks and verdant valleys.
The engineering feat of building this line is inspiring. Tunnels that turn back on themselves, ledges that cling to the very edge of the mountain.
I loved it. Don’t be put off by the hordes of tourists. Or the cost. Do it if you can
Technical stuff thanks to Wikipedia.
The Flåm Line (Norwegian: Flåmsbana) is a 20.2-kilometer (12.6 mi) long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. The line’s elevation difference is 863 meters (2,831 ft); it has ten stations, twenty tunnels and one bridge. The maximum gradient is 5.5 percent (1:18).
Construction of the line started in 1924, with the line opening in 1940. It allowed the district of Sogn access to Bergen and Oslo via the Bergen Line. Electric traction was taken into use in 1944; at first El 9 locomotives were used, and from 1982 El 11. Until 1991, the train connected with a ferry service from Flåm to Gudvangen. In 1992, freight services were terminated, and due to low ticket prices and high operating costs, the line was nearly closed. In 1998, Flåm Utvikling took over marketing and ticket sale for the line, prices were heavily increased and El 17 locomotives were introduced. The trains remain operated by the Norwegian State Railways (NSB), while the line itself is owned and operated by the Norwegian National Rail Administration