Flåm Railway
not assigned a category yet
N 60° 50.000 E 007° 07.000
32V E 397614 N 6745692
An undated postcard features the train in this village. Possible category: Picture Perfect Postcards.
Waymark Code: WM89QD
Location: Norway
Date Posted: 02/23/2010
Views: 4
Coordinates from Wikipedia, text from Wikipedia.
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Flåm Line - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Flåm Line (Norwegian: Flåmsbana) is a branch line of the Bergen Line which runs between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland, Norway. Because of the line's steep incline and scenery, it is a major tourist attraction.
History
The Flåm Line was built in order to provide a line of communication between Sognefjorden and the main railway. The resolution to make such a line was passed in Stortinget in 1908 and the route was decided in 1916. The route chosen was a difficult one. Construction on the line started in 1923 but the construction was not complete before 1947, although trains started operating on it a few years earlier. Eighteen of the twenty tunnels were dug out manually.
The line was opened in 1940, but passenger traffic did not start until 1941. The line was electrified in 1944. Since the line was completed during World War II, the line was not "officially" opened then, and the official opening was in fact not till 1980. The operation of the line was privatized in 1998 (actually transferred to a municipality owned company), though the line itself is still owned by the state through Norwegian National Rail Administration.
Line description
The single track line is 20.2 km long. The top station Myrdal is 865 metres above sea level, while Flåm is by the fjord at sea level. In order to manage the climb up the mountainside, the line twists and turns and has twenty tunnels to gain altitude; even so, the steepest incline of the railway is 1:18, the third steepest adhesion railway in the world. The line has one horseshoe curve (a full 180 degree turn) in Vatnahalsen tunnel as well as one horseshoe curve in open air at Reinunga to gain altitude. There is a crossing (passing) loop at Berekvam station to allow trains going up and down at the same time. Like most of the other operational railway lines in Norway, Flåmsbana is a standard gauge (1435 mm) railway and electrified.
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Flamsbanen - Sogn
Flam Railway, Norway
