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Norway in a nutshell (the Flåm railway)

The Flåm Railway

Also see Flåm railway home page

Discover the Flåm Railway - an incredible train journey from the mountain station at Myrdal on the Bergen Railway down to Flåm station nestled in the innermost corner of the Aurlandsfjord. Nowhere in the world do adhesion railcars an normal tracks have o steeper journey than on the Flåm Railway Each year; this exciting stretch of track attracts people from all corners of the world, making the Flåm Railway one of Norway's major and most spectacular tourist attractions.

CHALLENGE

It was a major challenge for railway engineers of the period to build a railway track from the Myrdal Plateau, down the precipitous mountain sides, to the bottom of the Flåm Valley. The twisting tunnel, which winds its way through the mountain at several levels, is proof of the most audacious and skilled engineering exploits in Norwegian railroad history. The mountain line had to be laid along steep slopes and round sharp bends to enable the train to snake its way up and down the sheer inclines. Almost 80% of the railway line has a gradient of 5.5% or the equivalent of 1:18.

20 YEARS' CONSTRUCTION

The Bergen Railway from Oslo to Bergen was inaugurated in 1909. Work on the Flåm branch line was started in 1923 to ensure the transport route down to the Sognefjord, and progressed so well that they could begin to lay the tracks in the autumn of 1936. The line was opened temporarily for steam trains on 1. August 1940, and for electric trains in 1944.

20 TUNNELS

The train takes about one hour to cover the 20 kilometre long track, through 20 tunnels totalling a distance of six kilometres. Eighteen of these tunnels were excavated by hand, each metre claiming a month's hard labour from the railroad workers. To avoid areas at risk from avalanches, the Flåm Railway criss-crosses the river and the bottom of the valley three times in the course of its journey. Instead of building bridges, the river was led through a tunnel under the railway line.

BREATHTAKING SCENERY

The Flåm Railway is one at the world's most attractive and spectacular railway lines. The train journey from Myrdal to Flåm provides a panoramic view of some of the wildest and most striking examples of Norwegian mountain landscape.

Rivers cut through deep ravines, waterfalls cascade down the side of steep, snow-capped mountains, and mountain farms cling dizzily to sheer slopes.

At the foot of the mountains you can enjoy the natural beauty of the Flåm Valley and admire the majestic Aurlandsfjord, a branch of the world's longest fjord, the Sognefjord.