Technical Information - Flåm Railway
Here you will find technical information, distance to the stations, and the length of the tunnels on Norway's most popular train route.
Incredible engineering
The Flåm Railway is one of the world's steepest railway lines on standard gauge tracks. The 20 km long stretch has an elevation difference of a full 866 meters, with an average gradient of one meter per 18 meters. Railway construction began in 1923 to ensure a transport route from the fjord directly to Bergen and Oslo. It was completed in 1940, after nearly 20 years of tough construction work.
There are 20 tunnels on the stretch, where 18 were made by hand. The turning tunnel that spirals in and out of the mountain is a living testimony to some of the most daring and skilled engineering in Norwegian railway history.
20 is a number that recurs. The project had also cost about 20 million when it was completed. It opened on August 1, 1940, with two steam locomotives in each direction that corresponded with the day trains on the Bergen Railway. In 1944, the electrification of the Flåm Line was completed, as one of the country's first electric railways.
| Length of the Flåm Railway | 20.20 km |
|---|---|
| Elevation difference | 863.5 m |
| Highest station | 865.5 meters above sea level |
| Lowest-lying station | 2.0 m above sea level |
| Steepest incline | 55 ‰ – 1:18 |
| Gradient > 28% | 16 km – -79.3% |
| Min. curve radius | 130 m |
| Wingspan | 1435 mm |
| Excitement | 15,000 V – 16.7 Hz |
| Max. speed, km/h | 40 km/h |
| Driving time | 60 mins |
| Tunnels | 20 |
| Bridges | 1 |
| Water tunnels | 4 |
| Stop | 8 |
| Station | Metres above sea level | Myrdal | Flåm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myrdal | 866 | 0.00 km | 20.20 km |
| Vatnahalsen | 811 | 1,13 | July 19 |
| Reindeer | 768 | 2,20 | 6:00 PM |
| Kjosfoss | 669 | 4,40 | 15,80 |
| Card Valley* | 556 | 6,34 | 13,86 |
| Flower Shelters | 450 | 8,40 | 11,80 |
| Berekvam | 345 | 10:51 | 9,69 |
| Valley Bottom* | 200 | 13,90 | 6,30 |
| Completely clean | 48 | 48 | 2.99 |
| London | 16 | 18.60 | 1.60 |
| Flåm | 2 | 20,20 | 0.00 |
* Kårdal/Dalsbotn – not available for boarding or alighting.
| Name | Length | Year of construction |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Mountain | 424.00 | 1926–34 |
| Playground | 24,60 | 1929–30 |
| Lower Dalsbotn | 206,60 | 1930–35 |
| Upper Dalsbotn | 154,30 | 1925–28 |
| High | 59,20 | 1927–28 |
| Timberheller | 172,60 | 1932–33 |
| Geithus | 139,20 | 1934–35 |
| Own goal | 39,20 | 1931–35 |
| Fox | 132,90 | 1926–28 |
| Melhus | 177.5 | |
| Melhusgjelet | 11,10 | |
| Flower Shelters | 1029,60 | 1924–35 |
| Needle | 1341,50 | 1924–35 |
| Kjosfoss | 478.40 | 1924–35 |
| Okra | 195,10 | 1924–34 |
| Tunnel page 1,668 | 22,70 | |
| Tunnel page 1,692 | 2:00 PM | |
| Vatnahalsen | 888.60 | 1924–34 |
| The top, the bottom | 79,90 | 1925–26 |
| Peak, upper | 101,40 | |
| Total | 5,962.40 |
Source: Flåm Line – Johs B. Thue