Rauma Railway

The Raumabanen opened in 1924 and runs 114 kilometres from Dombas on the Dovre line down through the Romsdalen valley to the fjord at Andalsnes, dropping about six hundred metres in the process. Its engineering is what people come for: the Kylling bridge, a stone arch of 1913 carrying the line 59 metres above the Rauma river, and the Stavem loop, where the track spirals inside the mountain to lose height. The valley itself does the rest, with the Trollveggen wall rising more than a kilometre directly above the line and the Romsdalshorn opposite. In summer a tourist service runs with commentary and slows at the viewpoints; the rest of the year it is an ordinary train.

What you actually see

• The Kylling bridge - a stone arch 59 metres above the Rauma river.
• The Trollveggen wall - Europe's tallest vertical face above the line.
• The Stavem loop - a spiral tunnel taking the track down through the mountain.
• The Romsdalen valley - the descent from plateau to fjord.

When to go

June to September for the tourist service with commentary and viewpoint stops; the line runs year-round as a regular train, and winter journeys through snow are striking with fewer passengers.

Honest expectations

Outside summer it is a normal service with no commentary or slow running. Seats are on both sides and the best views alternate. Cloud in the valley regularly hides Trollveggen entirely.

Nearby

Andalsnes and the Romsdalen gondola are at the fjord end; Dombas connects to Dovrefjell and the Oslo line.