Flam Railway
Flamsbana: About 20 Km Standard Gauge Branch Line From Myrdal To Flam, Often Described As One Of The Steepest Standard Gauge Railways In The World · Flam, Vestland
The Flam Railway (Flamsbana) is a roughly 20 km branch line that drops from Myrdal, a mountain station at 866 m on the Oslo-Bergen line, to the village of Flam at the head of the Aurlandsfjord, almost at sea level, in about an hour. With gradients of up to around 5.5 percent on most of its length, it is often described as one of the steepest standard-gauge adhesion railways in the world. Built by hand through some 20 tunnels, it opened in 1940. The train winds down the Flam valley past waterfalls, farms and hairpins, and stops at the Kjosfossen waterfall, where in summer a performer in the role of the Huldra, a forest spirit, dances by the falls. Most visitors ride it as part of a Norway in a Nutshell combination with the Bergen Line and a fjord boat. The honest caveat: it is heavily marketed and crowded in summer, Flam fills with cruise passengers, fares are high for an hour's ride, and Myrdal has no road, so plan the return before you set off.
Flam station, Flam, at the head of the Aurlandsfjord, Aurland municipality; upper end at Myrdal on the Bergen Line, Flam, Vestland, Norway
Trains run all year: up to about ten departures each way a day in summer and around four in winter - confirm the current timetable, which is set around the Bergen Line connections at Myrdal. The ride takes about an hour each way. Flam station is reached by car on the E16 (about 2.5-3 hours from Bergen), by fjord boat from Gudvangen, or by express boat from Bergen in summer; Myrdal is reached only by train (Bergen Line from Oslo or Bergen) or on foot or bike on Rallarvegen. Book tickets ahead in summer.