 Tourism now takes centre stage: New concepts at The Rauma Railway from 2008!
On Friday, March 16, 2007 an historic piece of business was sealed: A deal for future collaboration of developing tourist trains on The Rauma Railway by NSB (The Norwegian State Railways) and the locally owned project development company Raumabanens Utviklingsselskap.
For the first time since the railway line was opened in 1924 all trains will be run as tourist trains. The Rauma Railway will from 2008 have separate schedules for the winter and summer seasons. The summer season trains will have an increased capacity, go at lower speed levels on most parts of the line and include multilingual guiding.
From 2008 the focus will be all about getting closer to the spectacular scenery along the railway line. Enjoying the comfortable seats and the large panoramic windows, our guests are given a first class view of well-known attractions such as the Trollveggen wall, the Kylling bridge and the Stavem turning tunnel. The famous river Rauma with its salmon-fishing follows the railway line through the incredible Romsdal valley.
Welcome to the new tourist trains on the Rauma Railway – starting 2008!
Why go with The Rauma Railway from 2008?
Since 2004, NSB and the local initiative Raumabanens Utviklingsselskap have been working towards establishing a future model for tourist trains on The Rauma Railway.
The frequency of tourist trains between Åndalsnes and Bjorli will increse greatly, while the important connections for trains to and from Oslo and Trondheim will remain.
So now everything is in place for our guests to experience the spectacular Rauma Railway, either as part of a roundtrip through Fjord Norway, or even as a return journey starting from Dombås, Bjorli or Åndalsnes.
As part of the new model, Åndalsnes-based Raumabanens Utviklingsselskap will promote the new tourist trains in the tourist markets around the world.
NSB will continue to deliver high quality train services for the tourist trains, and will also take up an ownership stake in Raumabanens Utviklingsselskap as part of the agreement.
The Rauma Railway – lifetime experiences lined up!
A journey on The Rauma Railway offers you a unique chance of getting close to one of the most spectacular areas in Norway. As you enter the train, make yourself comfortable, turn your attention towards the large windows and start enjoying the journey through this rugged and magnificent scenery.
Strong and clear colouring, clean and fresh air as far as your eye can see. You will experience everything from the steepest cliffs rising towards the majestic mountains tops pointing to the sky, beautiful meadows basking in the sun along the quieter parts of the river Rauma, and National Parks covering huge wildlife areas. As the train passes the most exciting points at low speed, you will get close to the famous Trollveggen wall and other breathtaking mountain formations.
The river Rauma really is a fascinating experience. The beautiful and crystal clear river follows us just outside the train window, through most of the journey. You might even get a glimpse of a great salmon playing games with a keen fisherman trying his luck. The river is both tranquile and wild, one moment passing by quietly along small, idyllic beaches, the next moment thundering angrily through rugged areas of giant rocks and white foaming waterfalls at high speed.
The train will be passing the Kylling bridge, the most spectacular railway bridge in the country. As the train rolls slowly across the bridge, you get to enjoy both the fantastic architecture and the view down into a 60 metre gorge where the river Rauma passes by at one of its most dramatic stretches.
The train takes us to places where you would never have imagined a train could run. At one point the climb is so steep, the train have to make use of both sides of the valley, and the Stavem turning tunnel, to tackle the ascent and descent.
The Rauma Railway with its fantastic bridges and the impressive turning tunnels, is indeed a tribute to the engineering works of its time. It is easy to comprehend why it took a full 12 years from the start of this pioneering building project and until Norway's King Haakon officially opened The Rauma Railway in 1924.
Facts about The Rauma Railway
Endpoints: Åndalsnes (2. metres asl.) og Dombås (659 metres asl.). At Dombås there are connections with north- and southbound NSB-services for Oslo and Trondheim.
Altitude difference: 657 metres
Total distance: 114 km.
Tunnels: 4. At 1340 metres, the Stavem vendetunnel is the longest.
The New Rauma Railway Experience
From June 1, 2008, a brand new concept for tourist trains will be operating on The Rauma Railway. All services during the summer season will be defined as tourist trains, whatever direction or time of day. Where the focus in previous years has been on getting from Åndalsnes to Dombås as fast as possible, the emphasis from now on will be on slower speed, exciting storytelling, and closeness to the overwhelming scenery along the line.
• Summer season: The summer season is defined in 2008 as the period between Sunday, June 1 and Saturday, August 31.
• Guiding: Throughout the summer season all trains on The Rauma Railway will have multilingual guiding in minimum three languages: Norwegian, English and German.
• Time of experience: An increased focus on experiences along The Rauma Railway will increase the time of the journey by approximately 15 minutes. This will mean the time of the journey between Åndalsnes and Bjorli will be 60 minutes, while the time of the journey between Åndalsnes and Dombås will be 1 hour and 40 minutes.
• New platform along the river Rauma: There will be a new plattform built for the new tourist trains, along the river Rauma. Our guests will be invited to feel or taste the crystal clear water of the river, or just enjoy watching some of the numerous waterfalls thundering down the steep mountainsides.
• “Better view-programme”: In recent years The Rauma Railway has been the subject of a “better view-programme”, which by clearing out dead trees and other objects makes sure the guests are given the best possible view of all the attractions along the line. As a consequence of the new tourist trains, more funds will be made available for this programme, to even further increase the quality of The Rauma Railway experience.
• Bjorli Station: The station at Bjorli will be upgraded as far as toilets are concerned, and more space will be made for buses picking up passengers from the Rauma Railway.
The Trains on The Rauma Railway
All services on Tha Rauma Railway will during summer season be run by sets of modern trains called “Type 93”. All services will have a capacity of minimum 156 guests.
All trains are equipped with new, comfortable seats, modern toilets, elevator for wheelchairs, electronic guidesystems (multilingual), large windows for excellent views and are fully air conditioned.
Contact information
Information and booking for cruise agents:
Raumabanen Åndalsnes AS - N-6300 Åndalsnes
E-mail: post@raumabanen.com
E-mail: post@classicnorway.no
Internet: www.raumabanen.com
Information for foreign tour operators:
NSB International sale
Booking for foreign groups:
NSB Incoming
Individual travelers - Norwegian Groups
NSB Kundesenter
Tel. +47 815 00 888
|
