The Most Beautiful Train Journeys in Europe
Twenty kilometres straight down a fjord
The Flam Railway falls from the bleak mountain junction of Myrdal to the fjord village of Flam in under an hour, and almost every minute earns its reputation. It is one of the steepest standard gauge lines in the world, clinging to the rock at a gradient of one in eighteen with no rack to help it. The train pauses at the Kjosfossen waterfall so you can step out into the spray, then drops through tunnels and hairpins to the still water of the Aurlandsfjord.
Distance
20 km Myrdal to Flam
Duration
About 1 hour
Gradient
One in eighteen, among the steepest
Highlight
The Kjosfossen waterfall stop
Interrail
Discount only, not fully covered
It links the Bergen Line at Myrdal and the Naeroyfjord boat, the classic Nutshell loop.
Interrail gives a discount rather than free travel here, so book ahead in high summer.