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Oslo - Flam train questions

Hi Community,
I am looking for some help in booking the 8:23 AM train from Oslo to Flam for our July trip on the vy.no website for 2 passengers.
If I select Standard fares it wont let me pick the seat for the Oslo S–Myrdal segment (message: "We weren't able to show the seat map, your seat will be assigned."). The Plus fares do allow seat selection - how do I make sure that we face the direction of train travel and not get the quad arrangement?

Also both the flex and flex plus tickets are quite expensive - around $350 for both of us. Is this the norm or am I looking at the wrong place?

Thanks!

Posted by
26840 posts

What is your travel date?

You are quoting prices in dollars, so I think you are looking in the wrong place. If you use the website of the Norwegian rail system (www.vy.no), which you should, the fare will be in the local currency, and it should be the best available for the date and time you choose. The July dates I spot-checked showed a price of NOK 1379 for a single ticket on the 8:23 AM train, including the Flamsbana; at current exchange rates that's just over $130 per person. The problem is that other travelers seem to have already snapped up the bargain-priced LowFare tickets for the Oslo-Myrdal segment. For reasons of weather, non-skiing tourist traffic to Norway is concentrated in just a few months. July is definitely part of the peak period; June would probably be somewhat less expensive--at least it was last year.

On some dates in July the 6:28 AM departure is a lot cheaper than the 8:28 AM departure. No, I wouldn't want to take the early train, either.

Norway is very expensive in general. The Myrdal-Flam (Flamsbana) leg of the trip is on a private, tourist-oriented rail line and is not cheap; I don't think the fares on that train vary. The going rate for the Flamsbana seems to be NOK 470.

In terms of seating, I don't know that you can be sure you'll be facing forward in any case. Train carriages can usually be hooked up facing in either direction, so you may not know until you board. Now, that proviso may not apply in Norway or to the Oslo-Bergen trains in particular. It's true that if you were able to select your own seats, you should be able to avoid sitting at a table, but on the cheap 6:28 AM train I just tested, I wasn't able to select my own seat.

Posted by
64 posts

We are traveling on July 11. Sorry I was converting to USD. The price is presented in NOK actually.
And I can pick my seats on the Flex Plus seats but I I am unable to figure out which are the quad seats.

Thanks so much for your reply.

Posted by
862 posts

And I can pick my seats on the Flex Plus seats but I I am unable to figure out which are the quad seats.

I caught a lot of trains in Norway last year and it was always possible to identify the quad seats using the vy app or website. I found that the seat map would generally either have a little headrest picture or show the backrest of the seat as a solid line and the front of the seat as open. Some seat maps showed tables in the quad options.

Posted by
26840 posts

This is what I see for July 11:

Flex: 1379 NOK per person
Flex Refundable: 1460
Flex Plus: 1559
Flex Plus Refundable: 1759 ($166 US)

I see what you mean about the seat selection: I'm getting a seat diagram for Flex Plus but not for Flex. My guess is that there aren't many seats left in the Flex carriage but more are available at the Flex Plus rate. But on July 11 I only see two Flex Plus seats remaining that face forward (Seat 10 and Seat 48), they are not together and only one of them (Seat 48) isn't at a table.

Thinking back, I did have the occasional backward-facing seat last year myself.

Posted by
64 posts

I think I finally understand the seat map now thanks to your help. Now I just have to figure out whether to buy the standard tickets or change my date. Thanks everyone!

Posted by
49 posts

I called VY and got excellent help and reserved our tickets from Oslo-Flam, including seat assignments for the first leg. They send me a link to pay for the tickets. I think you know that you can only purchase ticket 60 days in advance. Happy travels!