‘I’m on the Scandinavian Tour that ends in Bergen on August 26. I have a ticket to take the ferry to Flam and from there a train reservation to Myrdal and Oslo. Given the current weather conditions, I’m concerned the train won’t be up and running by then. Any information you have or websites you’ve found to be helpful would be appreciated. Thank you.
Vy.no is the the Bergen Line train operator (Vy) website. It currently has an alert posted for extreme weather, which appears to be updated daily or more often. There are no trains between Geilo and Honefoss and also between Honefoss and Vikersund. Both of these segments are on the line between Myrdal and Oslo, so those two are worth monitoring over the coming days.
The Oslo to Bergen train line is closed but is expected to reopen in three days on August 14. Train tickets are already being sold on Vy’s website for the 8/14 night train from Oslo to Bergen and for trains beyond then.
Trains from Flam to Myrdal (the Flamsbana) run on a highly scenic spur line. I have no idea whether it has been affected by the severe weather. Just in case you run into a problem there, I think this is your beet detour option to get from Flam to Oslo:
- Bus Flam to Gudvangen
- Bus Gudvangen to Voss
- Mainline train Voss to Oslo (www.vy.no)
The Flam-Gudvangen bus is generally used by cruise passengers to complete a round-trip between Flam and Gudvangen when they're taking the ferry in the other direction. I don't know how one buys a ticket for that bus separately, if one already has a ferry ticket. I'd try NorwaysBest.com. If no luck there, the "Visitor Center" in Flam, which is really just a place selling tickets, might be able to help.
In the past tickets for the Gudvangen-Voss bus were simply purchased from the driver, but more recently people have been able to buy them in advance. Check the same two sources as for Flam-Gudvangen tickets. I imagine you can still pay the driver but cannot guarantee it.
That plan is that the trains will run again by then. But who knows what happens? You can check the status here: https://banenor.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=864a932ded0049da9db1ab943fd74435 (red = closed).
Trains from Flam to Myrdal (the Flamsbana) run on a highly scenic spur
line. I have no idea whether it has been affected by the severe
weather.
It hasn't, Flåmsbana is open.
I imagine you can still pay the driver but cannot guarantee it.
You can. Cash only if I'm not mistaken. Or use the Skyss app.
Thanks for that map link, Badger. It's amazing the data that one can find these days if one knows where to look (or has a fellow Forum member to show them!).
I am headed to Bergen and Balestrand in a couple of weeks. I feel so bad for everyone in the center, south and east of the country (like I feel horrible for Hawaiians and other Hawaii residents).