The Norwegian Railway Directorate has issued a request for information (RFI) to the market to assess the interest in operating all or part of the train service on the 20 km Flåm Railway without a traffic agreement with the state. In parallel, the directorate will assess passenger traffic flows and transport demand on the Flåm Railway.
Passenger train operators and other stakeholders who wish to participate in the process must deliver the information until April 10, 2025, highlighting their option to operate the entire line or a part of it.
The requested information will be used by the authority to map the need for a new traffic agreement for passenger train services on the Flåm Railway from December 2027.
The current traffic agreement includes four main requirements:
A minimum of four departures each way every day on the Myrdal–Flåm route. There shall be one departure in the morning, one in the middle of the day, one in the afternoon and one in the early evening every day. The route offer can be adjusted during holidays, public holidays and bank holidays.
The route offers should correspond as closely as possible with other train traffic to/from Myrdal station.
The train services must have high reliability
Frequent travelers will be offered the annual “ambassador card”, that follows the calendar year. In 2025, this annual card will cost NOK 950 (EUR 81.40) for those who pay taxes to Aurland Municipality, and NOK 1,300 (EUR 111.39) for other passengers. Children receive a 50 percent discount.
The traffic agreement does not include a fee, but under the agreement, Vygruppen (Vy, the current rail operator) has the exclusive right to offer passenger train services on the route.
The Flåm Railway is one of Norway’s most popular tourist attractions and is regularly voted one of the world’s best train journeys. The spectacular and steep one-hour train journey stretches from the high mountain station of Myrdal (situated at 867 metres above sea level) on the Bergen Line down to Flåm (2 metres above sea level) at the head of Aurlandsfjord, in Vestland county. Flåm Railway is a branch line of the Bergen Line, meaning the Flåm Railway connects with trains running between Bergen and Oslo.
The 20 km line crosses through 20 tunnels, 18 of which were constructed by hand and has been described as one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world and is one of the leading tourist attractions in Norway.
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