Flam Railway, Bergen

...branch of the larger Sognefjord, Flam is some 100 miles (160 km) west from Bergen and 220 miles (360 km) north-west of Oslo. Getting there can be done by rail, road or by boat as there is a port at the Flam end of the branch line. Flam railway or Flaamsbana to the locals is advertised as one of the most scenic in Europe. Whilst I'm not going to fully agree with this bold statement, I will agree that the railway does have a steep climb through a scenic ...
...We arrived at Flam around 10am after a two hour road trip from our hut near Eidfjord. I would guess that a road journey from Bergen would be about the same and from Oslo it would be in the 4-5 hour bracket. These are long road journeys so the alternatives are taking the Bergen to Oslo train and getting off at Myrdal which is the mountain side of the Flam branch line or taking a Fjord line boat from Bergen up the Sognefjord to Flam.

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Located at the upper end of the Aurlandfjord, a branch of the larger Sognefjord, Flam is some 100 miles (160 km) west from Bergen and 220 miles (360 km) north-west of Oslo. Getting there can be done by rail, road or by boat as there is a port at the Flam end of the branch line. Flam railway or Flaamsbana to the locals is advertised as one of the most scenic in Europe. Whilst I'm not going to fully agree with this bold statement, I will agree that the railway does have a steep climb through a scenic part of Norway from fjord to mountain.

We arrived at Flam around 10am after a two hour road trip from our hut near Eidfjord. I would guess that a road journey from Bergen would be about the same and from Oslo it would be in the 4-5 hour bracket. These are long road journeys so the alternatives are taking the Bergen to Oslo train and getting off at Myrdal which is the mountain side of the Flam branch line or taking a Fjord line boat from Bergen up the Sognefjord to Flam.

If you do go by road the parking at Flam is good with lots of spaces for cars, larger vehicles and coaches. When we pitched up it was getting busy, but there seemed to be enough spaces for everyone and the parking was free. We worked our way to the ticket hall as a train was at the platform waiting for the off. Train times are numerous, but not regular in the summer so there are plenty of opportunities to get a train. We were lucky to arrive early in the day as we later learned that the afternoon trains could be booked up with hordes of coach parties so it would be wise to either book in advance or get there early as we did.

The cost of the return trip in 2006 was 225 NOK (£18) per adult, however a return ticket is not necessary as some of our fellow travellers on the up journey were going one way and were taking the mainline train at Myrdal on to Oslo. So tickets for the single journey are available and they do take rail cards for this journey which I could list here, but it would be wise to double check before booking or taking a ride in case they change in the future.

With our tickets paid for we hastened onto the platform and got on the train before it started to leave. On the train we found that the carriages were older than I would have expected with lots of wooden panelling, however they were comfortable. The orange seats were well worn, but not too battered and the smell of the carriage was old, but not too musty. We settled down on the left-hand side of the train as viewed from the ticket office. In hindsight this was not the best position as all the views seemed to be on the right hand side as the train goes up the mountain. If you are unlucky to be on the left there is some commentary for you as you go up the mountain. So after the departure of the train from the platform the commentary started.

Now I don't know what it is, but I don't like commentary whilst I'm on the move. It bores me and I think it is even worse if it is in a variety of languages. To me commentary on the move is best summed up by the recent 'Little Britain Abroad' sketch from this Christmas when Carol 'computer says no' takes a job as a tour rep in Spain. As the coach drives new arrivals from the airport she announces over the microphone.
'To the left you will see Spain and to your right you will see ... Spain.'

Sometimes the commentary was interesting and the girl who was doing the one on our train was very good at her languages. Her tone, speed and accentuation were pitch perfect, Mrs Cad said her German was very good too. The bit that annoyed me was the commentary kept repeating it self with 'To the right you will see a waterfall, this it the x waterfall...' I must sound like a whinge bag and I am, but it sort of ruined the whole atmosphere a bit as it meant you could not converse with your travel companion or indeed the American couple who were sat near us. They were a lovely couple, but I just couldn't hear what they were saying over the damned commentary. It did pause in places, but it was a little too much talking for me.

The views that the commentary rattled on about were very good, although I would slightly disagree with the 'most scenic railway in Europe' tag, I'm sure there are other equal candidates for that title. The train did stop at the minor stations on the way up the mountain and there were a few brave souls who got off in hiking gear to go for a walk. There was only one really stunning waterfall which the train did stop at for five minutes so everyone could get off and take a decent photo. Mrs Cad felt that this was a wonderful idea and loved it even more when some Celtic type horn music echoed out around the valley as we all stood watching the Kjosfossen. Forever a cynic, I thought it was trashy move and devalued the natural beauty of the waterfall to a mere tourist trap.

Once back on the train it climbed through a tunnel covered steep face up higher into the mountains, from here you could get a half-decent view of the valley below where the train had just come from, but then that disappeared behind a concrete wall and then the rock face of a tunnel. When the train eventually did reach the mainline at Myrdal I was surprised that I was still slightly apathetic about the uphill journey. It was only on the way down when Mrs Cad and myself swapped over to what would now be the left-hand side as the train went back to Flam that I started to change my mind.

On the way back I was able to sit down and get much better views of the scenery and I could see exactly what the commentator was talking about now I was on the best side of the train. The route was precisely the reverse of what we had just done on the way up, so I was pleased that I was enjoying it more on the way down. Once again we stopped at the Kjosfossen and Mrs Cad got off to soak up some Celtic horn music again whilst I sat on the train. As the train went down into the valley I really began to appreciate the views a little more now I was no longer looking at the side of a mountain or people in the carriage. The steep rocky faces and small mountain huts soon gave way to larger hamlets and sloping valleys, which then mingled into to a village with gentle rolling fields until finally we were back in Flam.

The entire round trip was around two hours so once off the train and in Flam we were able to have a hunt to find a restaurant. The shops around the train terminal were clearly built and run for the tourist trade with souvenir shops and high output, low content restaurants. The buildings though were well designed being low level single storey and made of wood or concrete. This was good to see as even though there was a definite push to get the tourist to part with some cash it was not over tacky or gaudy. So we spent another hour or two eating a late lunch, buying some gifts and walking around the dock before we took our leave of Flam and it's railway.

Overall both Mrs Cad and I liked the Flam railway, but for entirely different reasons. She loved the waterfall with its Celtic music and the shops at the Flam end of the railway. I on the other hand liked the return train journey with the scenery, but wasn't to keen on the running commentary or the horn music. In short I can recommend the Flam railway for most people as it is a nice little excursion from the fjords to the mountains. I would recommend a booking if you need to travel at a certain time and I would also recommend that you sit on the correct side for the best views. That is right hand side on the way up and left hand side on the way down.

(c)2007 Cad
This review may be found at other websites under the same username and is also written by me.

Flaamsbana website reference: http://www.flaamsbana.no/eng/Index.html  

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