Underrated railway is one of world's most beautiful from waterfalls to mountains
A railway line that takes passengers across towering waterfalls and by snowy peaks is one of the steepest and breathtaking you'll find anywhere.
The Flåm Railway has been described as one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world and is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Norway. The 16 mile long line is enough of a hook that railway buffs from across the globe travel to Flåm in the west of the country to give the line a ride.
Over the course of one hour, the train takes passengers from sea level at the Sognefjord in Flåm to the Myrdal mountain station, situated at 867 metres above sea level. Because Myrdal is a station on the Bergen Line, the Flåm Railway connects with trains running between Bergen and Oslo, making it accessible to those flying into Norway's main hubs.
The train runs alongside a bubbling river (Getty Images/iStockphoto)One of the most intriguing aspects of the railway is that it is one of the steepest standard gauge railway lines in the world, with 80% of the journey running on a gradient of 5.5%. That gives the rolling stock an almost rollercoaster-feel as the train winds its way snake-like up the steep side of the hills.
The train runs through spectacular scenery up vertiginous mountainsides, foaming waterfalls and through 20 tunnels. Many people get to the end of the journey and decide to do it all over again, so rich are the views from through the window.
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Before ascending into the more impassable sections of the valley, the train runs through agricultural landscapes, the old Flåm village centre and the old church. For much of the journey the line runs alongside a sparkling blue river and past small farms in locations you’d think no one could live.
The train journey features a five-minute photo stop at the Kjosfossen waterfall where passengers can hop off and get a good shot of the natural feature - a waterfall has a total fall of 93 meters and is only accessible by train.
As hot as the competition is to be named the most beautiful railway in the world - with the likes of Bernia in Switzerland proving to be a particularly well loved line - The National Geographic Traveler Magazine calls the Flåm Railway one of the top 10 train journeys in Europe while in 2014, Lonely Planet called it the best train journey in the world.
Work on the line began 101 years ago and saw around 200 men on site at a time. It was tough work, with eighteen of the tunnels painstakingly dug out by hand, including one which does a 180-degree turn inside the mountain. It took around a month of work to dig just one metre of tunnel, with almost 5700 metres of tunnel in total, On the Luce reported.
The train runs four times a day and costs 500 NOK (£37) for an adult ticket.
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