The Flam railway - a 900m rail journey through spectulary Norwegian scenery! (Flamsbana The Flam Railway (Norway))

Member Name: karlsm93

Product:	Flamsbana The Flam Railway (Norway)
Date:	10/06/09 (246 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful scenery at every vantage point. Feat of engineering

Disadvantages: None

The summer holidays are fast approaching and I am reminiscing about my holiday last year to Norway and so I thought I would review on of Norway's famous tourist attractions - the Flamsbana (Flam) railway.

This 20km long train ride takes passengers between the mountain station of Mrydal and the little village of Flam, all year round - quite a feat when you consider some of the weather conditions that Norwegians would experience in the heart of the Winter, particularly in the mountains regions. In fact, this rail line becomes some what of a life line to those living in the area.

You may wonder however, why so many tourists would flock each year to take a trip on this normal gauge railway. Well, the reason lies in the fact that the journey from Flam to Mrydal takes you through some spectacular scenery including waterfalls, tunnels, mountain farms etc at an extremely steep climb of nearly 900m. In fact, according to the website -www.flaamsbana.no - where you can find out more about it, the gradient is 55/1000 on almost 80% of the line.

Most tourists being their trip on this rail line at Flam, purchasing their ticket at the Flam station. Flam itself does not have a lot of recommend itself in terms of eateries, lodgings, shops etc, but relies on his beautiful location, at the edge of the aurlandsfjord to attract visitors. Timetables and ticket prices are available on the previously stated website, although reservations are not necessary unless you are in a party of 10 or more, when booking in advance is then essential. The number of departures vary at different seasons of the year, so it worth looking ahead to check the number of departures on that day. A single ticket for a adult currently costs 230Nk (approx £23) whereas a return ticket costs 330Nk (approx £33). Many go for the single ticket option and walk or cycle back down the mountain route following tracks, and can even jump back on the train if they start to tire early.

There are 11 main stops along the line. Starting from Flam, the first stop is at Lunden, where you start to get a glimpse of some beautiful mountaineous scenery. It was at this early point in our trip that one of the locomotives on the train failed, however with 5 brake systems, you can be sure that you are highly unlikely to start descending back down the track involuntarily. It wasn;t long however, before the problem was sorted and we were on our way again.

The next stop is at Hariena, where you get to see some of the mountain farms, as well as the lovely Rjoande Waterfall. You are already at 48m above sea level.

The journey continues to Dalsbotn, where you enter two tunnels, followed by a stop at Berekvam. You are now at 343km, so quite a climb. This is actually the half way point on the line, between Flam and Mrydal. At Berekvam there are also double tracks, so the trains returning from Mrydal came pass.

Continue on to Blomheller, where you can see the location of the dangerous Trolla Avalanche that plummets down the mountain each winter.

Next up is a stop at Kardal where yet more waterfalls are in view, as well as a tiny hamlet. The train is now at 556m above sea level.

The next stop is the main stop that passengers off load the train at, and in fact the train stops for longer at this location to allow time for photographs of the breathtaking Kjosfossen Waterfall - and in fact the water from here flows down to the nearby power station- providing hydro electric power for the railroad. As you get off the train, apart from the noise of the thunderous waterfall and its spray, you here some soft celtic like music. As you listen on, you can then see a 'dancing maiden' appearing near the rocks at the falls.

After maybe 10-15 minutes, enough time for photographs, passengers are beckoned back on the train for the rest of the spectular journey. Just beyond Kjosfossen, the train makes its first sharp bend through yet more tunnels. There are windows cut out of the tunnel walls, giving fleeting glimpses of the Flam valley.

Past Reinunga, and then on to Vatnahalsen, where you can start at the Vatnahalsen hotel and enjoy yet more views over the Flam Valley. At this point the train is at 811m above sea level.

The final destination is then reached at 866m at Mrydal, where passengers can, if they wish, link to the main Oslo Bergen rail line.

Obviously, this railway line took a remarkable amount of engineering know how and hard labour. Work began on the Flam railway in 1923, taking 20 years to complete, with all but two of the twenty tunnels being excavated by hand. One of the very clever features of the rail line was in the way the train criss crosses the river near the bottom of the valley three times in order to avoid thre risk of avalanche.

All in all, the scenery that you will see both on the way to Mrydal and on the return journey to Flam, (if you select a return ticket) is spectacular and you are continually surrounded by breathtaking views, waterfalls, clifftop farms, zig zag hair pin mountain roads between villages etc. You will not want to take your eyes off the side windows as you climb up through the Flam Valley. Like all things Norwegian, the rail ticket is expensive, but it is well worth it, since the journey itself takes around an hour, and in my opinion an hour well spent. A great and well deserving tourist attraction in Noway - one not to miss.

Summary: A great and well deserving tourist attraction