Flåm Line, Mountain railway line in Aurland, Norway
The Flåm Line is a mountain railway in Aurland that runs roughly 20 kilometers through the Flåmsdalen valley, connecting Myrdal at about 867 meters elevation with Flåm at sea level. The track descends sharply through steep mountainsides, passing through numerous tunnels and crossing high bridges that span the valley at varying heights.
Construction of this mountain railway took place between 1924 and 1940 as a major undertaking by Norwegian railway engineers. Workers blasted roughly 20 tunnels through the rock, which represented a significant engineering feat given the difficult conditions of that era.
The railway passes through a landscape shaped by traditional Norwegian mountain farming, with old wooden farms and settlements visible from the train windows. These structures show how people adapted to living in steep valleys over centuries.
The railway runs year-round with regular services in both directions, with the journey taking around one hour and offering dramatic views throughout the descent. Planning ahead is helpful since train connections to the main Bergen-Oslo line should be checked before travel.
The track follows a particularly steep gradient of roughly 5.5 percent for about 80 percent of the route, placing it among the steepest standard-gauge railways in the world. This extreme slope makes the technical construction especially noteworthy and requires specialized braking systems to ensure safe operation.
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