The history of The Flåm Railway

1871 - 1923 A branch to the Bergen Railway?

In 1871, the first plans to build a branch line to the Bergen Line were presented by forester Hans Gløersen from Voss. The purpose of the branch line was to link the Bergen Line to a port by the Sognefjord, in order to connect with the steamship traffic between the villages in Indre Sogn. At the time, these villages had no road links to the rest of the country, which meant that most freight, mail and passenger transport had to be carried out by ship to Bergen or by horse transport over the mountains.

The first assessments of route choices and technical solutions were made in 1893. Both the Flåm and Gudvangen lines were considered. For a long time it seemed that it was just as feasible to build a 47 km long line between Voss and Gudvangen, which was recommended in 1904. This alternative recommended crossing the steep Stalheimskleiva with a rack railway.

The county council in Sogn og Fjordane, however, supported a route through the Flåm valley

The county council in Sogn og Fjordane, on the other hand, supported a route through the Flåm valley. Here, too, the engineers felt that parts of the route had to be built as a rack-and-pinion railway to cope with the height difference. To save costs, consideration was also given to building an electric tram between Flåm and Kårdal, and a funicular from there to Myrdal. However, there were objections that a tram would not be able to negotiate the snow and ice in the Flåm valley in winter, which meant that the alternative was quickly shelved.

On July 10, 1908, about a year before the Bergen Railway officially opened, the Norwegian Parliament decided that the Flåm Railway should be built between Myrdal and Flåm as a combined adhesion and rack railway. In order to study the different types of railway in detail, Norges Statsbaner (NSB) sent engineer Ferdinand Bjerke to the Alps. He concluded that the best solution would be to build a conventional adhesion railway, but that the gradient would still mean that a reduced amount of cargo would be required. Furthermore, this meant that the price would rise from NOK 3.5 million to NOK 5.5 million.

Route options

Route options for funicular, combined adhesion and rack railway track and adhesion track.

Source: Final report for The Flåm Railway (NCB, 1960)

Click image for larger version

1923 - 1939 Construction period

In 1916, the Norwegian Parliament decided that The Flåm Railway should be built as a broad-gauge adhesion railway, and in 1923 it was decided that the line should be electrically powered. Construction work started the same year under the leadership of chief engineer Peder Lahlum, who had previously been responsible for the Voss-Evanger Line.

Fretheim (Flåm) at the start of the construction work. Source: Final report for The Flåm Railway (NCB, 1960)

(Interview with Engineer Sutter during work on the turning tunnel. Source: NRK 1936)

Ingolf Elster Christensen (seated to the right) is referred to as The Flåm Railway 's father. Here in Ivar Lykke's government where he was Minister of Justice and later Minister of Defense. Source: lokalhistoriewiki.no. Photo: Gustav Borgen (1926)

Times of economic crisis

In the mid-1920s, Norway experienced times of economic crisis. As a result, the price estimate for The Flåm Railway rose to NOK 14.5 million. To save costs, it was proposed to build a road instead of a railway in the lower part of the valley between Flåm and Berekvam. One of the proponents of this was Member of Parliament Hans Seip from Bergen. He later became county governor of Sogn og Fjordane.

One of the main promoters of The Flåm Railway, county governor and member of parliament and officer Ingolf Elster Christensen, was among those who succeeded in stopping these plans. County Governor Christensen is now referred to as the father of The Flåm Railway , and is commemorated with a memorial at the Flåm Railway Museum in Flåm.

Chief engineer Lahlum was in charge of construction until 1935. Department engineer Adolph M. B. Kielland then took over until 1942, and from 1942 until the end of construction in 1947 department engineer Rolf Aksnes.

Vendetunellen

The difficult technical work created railway history in Norway and the Nordic countries. The greatest feat of engineering lies in the "Vendetunnelen" that runs like a figure of eight inside the mountain.

The turnaround tunnel is designed to give the train an extra distance to climb the steep slope at the top of Flåmsdalen. The tunnel has a 180-degree bend and is one of two tunnels on the route where machine power supplemented drilling/driving by hand. The gradient, the winding valley and the need to avoid places prone to landslides made it necessary to build tunnels. A total of 20 were built.

The route had to cross the valley, and thus also the Flåm river, three times. To save costs, it was decided to put the river in water tunnels and lay the railway line across the valley instead of building bridges.

The workforce numbered 400-500 men at its peak. The workers, known as navvys, were housed in barracks at Myrdal, Kårdal, Berekvam, Høga, Flatedalen and Flåm, as well as in private houses. Drilling dust from the tunnels caused many to develop the fatal lung disease silicosis. During the construction period there were two fatal accidents, which by the standards of the time was very low.

Image: Construction work at Hylla in Myrdalsberget. Source: Skoglund, Gösta, Norwegian Railway Museum

Video: Audio recording of former mayor of Aurlandkommune Olav Sævartveit (1863 - 1945).
He talks about expectations of what The Flåm Railway will mean for Sogn.
Source: NRK ca. 1930.

1939 - 1947 Occupation period, completion and opening

According to the original plan, The Flåm Railway was to be opened with electric locomotives in 1942, but this changed with the German occupation in April 1940. After construction work was halted for a short time, the Germans continued the work and opened the line with small steam locomotives in 1940. The first freight train ran between Myrdal and Berekvam as early as 1939. Regular passenger traffic started on February 10, 1941, and in 1942 the port by Flåm Station was constructed. In 1944, the line was fully electrified and a new power station in Kjosfossen was completed.

Opening of The Flåm Railway

Several prominent guests were invited to the first test run, but The Flåm Railway was not officially opened during the war. The official opening of the track was not until 1980, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary.

Electrification of The Flåm Railway.
Source: Gunvaldsen, Otto, Norwegian Railway Museum

1948 - 1997 Highs and lows

Passenger traffic increased steadily until the early 1950s, before stabilizing at 115,000 journeys a year until 1969. During this period, the railway was rarely mentioned positively in the press. It was mostly focused on the question of whether it should be closed down or not.

In 1958, sleeping cars were introduced between Oslo and Flåm - a major political statement for Sogn og Fjordane. In the 1970s, traffic increased to around 175,000 journeys a year, and to around 200,000 in the 1980s. This put a stop to discussions about closure for the time being.

Background image: EL 9 with passenger train at Håreina.
Source: Unknown, Norwegian Railway Museum

In "Sognefjord Line" X10 at The Flåm Railway.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Strategic investment in tourism

In the same period, Aurland Municipality chose to focus on strategic investment in tourism to create new jobs. NSB supported the municipality's strategy through the "Flåm Railway Project" with new station premises in Flåm completed in 1992, a new track arrangement and platform in Flåm completed in 1993, and a new, extended crossing track at Berekvam in 1994. The latter measure had a major impact on capacity, since long passenger trains could now cross in the middle of the line instead of having to run "relay".

Obsolete rolling stock eventually had to be taken out of service, and with large annual growth in travel numbers, between 1992 and 1999 a set of X-10 motor coaches was hired from Stockholm Lokaltrafik to handle summer traffic. The Swedish trains were blue with a large white SL logo on the front, and were popularly known in Flåm as "the Sognefjord Line". In addition to improving passenger comfort, the set of railcars increased daily capacity, as it became possible to have a higher frequency of departures and a more flexible operating model. This created room for significant growth in travel numbers.

Traffic boom in the 1900s

In the early 1990s, traffic increased dramatically to 380,000 journeys in 1994, but for The Flåm Railway there were still dark clouds on the horizon. A new year-round open road between Oslo and Bergen had made it possible to reach Flåm by car, both from the east and the west. The Flåm Railway 's role in public and freight transport was under threat.

At the same time, reorganization and rationalization since the 1980s had resulted in extensive downsizing at NSB. The establishment of Jernbaneverket in 1996 led to a number of NSB employees being transferred to the state-owned infrastructure company, and the following year NSB only had two employees left at Flåm station.

Based on the restructuring project "NSB Effekt 600", the train service to Flåm was significantly reduced from the summer of 1997. The night train service with direct sleeping cars to and from Oslo was discontinued, and Voss became the daily starting and ending station for the trains on The Flåm Railway except during the summer period May - September.

Background image:
Boarding for train to Flåm with two EL 9 locomotives. EL 9 2063 stands today at the Flåm Railway Museum. Source: Thor Bjerke, Norwegian Railway Museum.

Aurland Municipality feared what consequences this development could have for the local community in the long term. Together with external expertise, the mayor and councillor therefore initiated a process with NSB, Fylkebaatane i Sogn og Fjordane (FSF), the central administration of the county council and the political environment in Aurland municipality on a total concept to realize common interests, long-term commitment and ownership of the product. This formed the idea of Flåm Utvikling AS, an independent company responsible for commercial operations.

An important condition for success was that it had to invest holistically, and see The Flåm Railway in the context of accommodation, boat traffic and port facilities, investment in new attractions and destination development in general.

The CEO of NSB, Osmund Ueland, joined the initiative. He made it a condition that Fretheim Hotel was to be expanded and eventually be open year-round, and that the municipality built a deep-water port for cruise ship calls.

Flåm Utvikling AS was established on June 30, 1997, and had its first year of operation in 1998. NSB still operated the trains, and Flåm Utvikling was responsible for sales and marketing.

The company is currently owned 50% by Norway's Best Group and 50% by Vy (formerly known as NSB). Among the owners of Norway's Best Group is Aurland municipality, which in addition to its role as an important initiator also played a key financial role in the launch of Flåm Utvikling.

The interest organization "Vener av The Flåm Railway" was founded in 1987. The association preserved and communicated The Flåm Railway 's history, and actively campaigned to ensure public transport services for the local community. The association put a lot of effort into preserving one of the old El9 locomotives that was specially built for The Flåm Railway. This was achieved when the legendary locomotive El9-2063 was donated by NSB to Aurland municipality in 1989. After a few years, the locomotive was given its rightful place in an extension to the The Flåm Railway museum.

1998- Among the world's most beautiful train journeys

At the same time, "type 3" wagons were introduced on the line. These carriages were originally built at Strømmens Værksted between 1962 and 1973, but underwent a significant rebuild before they were put into service at The Flåm Railway. Among other things, the seats were replaced with seating groups of 4-6 seats. The traditional carriages with their classic interiors have since contributed to giving the journey its nostalgic character. Externally, the carriages were given a green color that distinguished them from NSB's red trains used on other routes.

Tourism has long traditions in Flåm. English lords began traveling to the area to fish for salmon over 150 years ago. In 1892, the world's first cruise ship "St. Sunniva" docked in Gudvangen, and Vatnahalsen was already a popular winter destination in the first part of the 20th century, nicknamed the "St. Moritz of the North".

Background image: Type 3 carriages in train at The Bergen Line in 1969.
Source: Börje Lagergren, Norwegian Railway Museum.

"Norway in a nutshell"

The popular tour "Norway in a Nutshell" started in 1976, and The Flåm Railway has in itself been a unique experience ever since the first departure in 1941.

However, it wasn't until around the turn of the millennium that the railway was reintroduced as an adventure trip, and a start was made on developing Flåm as a tourist destination in its own right. Major investments were made in the destination, with the expansion of Fretheim Hotel, an "open terrace" at Kjosfossen station, the construction of a cruise quay in Flåm and the establishment of the The Flåm Railway museum in the old station building.

From the 2000s

Investments in sales and marketing were increased, and the number of journeys rose markedly in the following years. In 2002, there were over 400,000 journeys and in 2006, 500,000 journeys were passed. In 2011, 600,000 journeys were made and in 2013 700,000 journeys. In 2017, 990,000 journeys were made with The Flåm Railway.

In 2010, National Geographic Traveler Magazine named The Flåm Railway one of the ten most beautiful train journeys in Europe, and in 2014 Lonely Planet Traveler named The Flåm Railway the best train journey in the world. Today, The Flåm Railway is widely recognized as one of the world's most beautiful train journeys.

In 2013, Aurland Ressursutvikling (now: Norway's Best Group AS) established its subsidiary Flåm AS (now: Norway's Best AS), which among other things runs several businesses in Flåm, distribution, sales and marketing. The Flåm Railway Flåm AS works closely with Norway's Best on sales, marketing and distribution of The Flåm Railway.

From 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a significant decline in visits in 2020-2022. The Flåm Railway continued with daily departures throughout the year, even though there were periodically fewer departures than before.

In 2024, Flåm Utvikling AS changed its name to Flåmsbana AS. The company also acquired Cafe Rallaren AS, the company that runs the café at Myrdal station. The purpose is to be able to improve the service and facilities at Myrdal station.

Developments since 1998 have shown that the route is economically viable and has a right to exist. The Flåm Railway has established itself as one of the best-known and most popular tourist attractions in Norway, providing lifelong memories for visitors from all over the world in all seasons.