Oslo to Flam

Wednesday 16^th May

We had an interesting night last night speaking with young men in the hostel kitchen; they were from Germany, Spain, Portugal (2), France of Japanese descent and Austrian of Chinese birth.  Apart from the Austrian they are all studying at Bergan and been home for a holiday, the common language was English.

We were booked on the Oslo to Bergen train for our trip to Flam.  No other train ride between two cities in Europe is at a higher altitude than the one between Oslo and Bergen.  Linking Norway's two main cities, this line takes in some dazzling scenery, with the most spectacular stretch being the one over the Hardangervidda, Europe's highest mountainous plateau.  Finse, at 1,222 metres above sea level, is the highest point on the line.  Building work, which started in 1875, took 34 years to complete, an involved a workforce of some 15,000 men. The 182 tunnels were carved by hand.

Our train to Bergen left Oslo on time and after stopping at several stations a short distance from Oslo we picked up speed and were soon into the country area, very hilly and with farms on the side of hills or river and lake edge, pocketed amongst the forest.  The trees were a mix of birch and conifer, with the light green new growth of the birch creating a patchwork amongst the dark green.  The hills started to increase in size and ruggedness and the rivers were dotted with hydroelectricity stations, some of the lakes took us forty minutes or more to pass.

About three hours into the trip we started to see some snow dotted on the mountains and the stations height about sea level increased, 114 metres, 185 metres, 270 metres and as we continued to climb the amount of snow thickened and the lakes were frozen, the birches started to disappear with only conifers in the forest.  Still we climbed 540 metres, 890 metres and the conifers disappeared and there was thick snow everywhere with little cottages dotted around the hills, possibly holiday cottages.  The train stopped at two towns obviously ski resorts before stopping at Finse, 1222 metres above sea level.  At Finse about twenty passengers left the train with their packs and cross country skis to ski to a nearby mountain, they were all equipped to snow camp. 

For a lot of our travel at the higher altitudes the train travelled through avalanche protection tunnels and structures, emerging for a few hundred metres before entering the next.

About five and a half hours after leaving Oslo the train stopped at Myrdal, height 866.8 metres, we were running 15 minutes late and the Flam train was waiting.

The only thing lacking when the railway line between Oslo and Bergen was opened in 1909, was a branch line to the Sognefjord.  In order to assure a transport route to the fjord, work was begun on the Flåm Railway in 1923 and took 20 years to complete the 20 km track, descending 865 metres from Myrdal to Flam.

The most time-consuming work was on the tunnels. These were excavated manually. Only two of the twenty tunnels, which have a total length of 6 km, were excavated using machines. Every metre of tunnel cost the labour force, the navvies, up to a month's hard work. The labour force, 120 strong at the outset, rapidly increased to 220.

The steep mountainsides were a major challenge, the solution being to build hairpin tunnels in order to equalise the big differences in altitude on the steep mountain. The danger of avalanches and rock falls also constituted a problem.  To avoid these hazardous stretches, the line crosses the river and valley three times during the journey, but it does not cross the river on bridges. Instead, the river is led through the mountain in tunnels underneath the railway line.

The Flåm Railway was opened temporarily for steam engines on 1 August 1940. The newspapers reported that the first train "honoured" the navvies by carrying freight in the cars. The railway was opened for passenger traffic not long afterwards, with two trains in each direction that connected at Myrdal with the day trains on the Bergen Railway. Electrification of the Flåm Railway was completed in 1944 making it one of the first Norwegian railway lines to be electrified.

The train is powered by two electric locos, one at the front and one at the rear of the train, the train is also equipped with five brake systems which with a 1:18 gradient is most important.  On the descent to Flam the train stops at a viewing platform near a 93 metre high waterfall to allow passengers to take photos, while in the carriages a commentary is provided in three languages.

The descent to Flam took 55 minutes and it would have to be among the most spectacular rail trips in the world.  Another interesting view on our descent was the old road beside the line which Zig Zagged down the mountain.

 

From the station we had a short walk to the camping ground where a new youth hostel has been built, it was here we stayed in a little cabin in 1986 and the family that owned the camping ground are still here and they also own the youth hostel.

Tomorrow will be Norway’s National Day and there are celebrations planned in the area.