Oslo to Bergen by train: the Bergen Railway in 6.5 to 7.5 hours, 471 km, one change for Flåm

The Bergen Railway, Bergensbanen in Norwegian, carries you 471.25 km from Oslo S to Bergen in 6.5 to 7.5 hours, and Vy lists 6 to 7 departures a day including a night train. Buy on vy.no or in the Vy app: Lowfare is the cheapest ticket and sells out first, Flex lets you choose a seat and move your departure. Sit on the left out of Oslo for the Hardangervidda plateau, then on the right after Voss. Finse, at 1,222 metres, is the highest station on the Norwegian network, and Myrdal at 867 metres is where you change for the Flåm Railway. Fjord Tours sells the same corridor as its Norway in a Nutshell package from 2,698 NOK, price checked 11 October 2026.

Clients book this train as a slow flight. It is the opposite. The train puts the Hardangervidda, Europe's largest high mountain plateau, outside the glass at 1,200 metres for the price of a seat. Here is how the logistics work, and when the plane or the package is the better call.

The honest overview

Construction ran from 1894 to 1909. King Haakon VII opened the line on 27 November 1909 and electrification finished in 1964. From Oslo the train uses the Drammen and Randsfjord lines to Hønefoss; Bergensbanen proper is the 371 km from Hønefoss to Bergen. Vy counts 182 tunnels. The longest, Finsetunnelen, is 10.3 km and holds the line's high point at 1,237 metres. The last long bore, Ulriken, runs 7,670 metres from Arna into Bergen. The train stops 21 times, has a café carriage selling hot and cold dishes, pastries and drinks, and wifi that drops in the tunnels.

The booking plan

Vy sells every ticket on vy.no, in the Vy app and at the stations. The types that matter:

• Lowfare. The budget ticket, limited per departure. It goes first on summer dates, so book when your dates are fixed.
• Flex. Choose your seat and move your departure right up to the original time. The route cannot change. A four-hour cancellation window runs from purchase.
• Flex Refundable. Money back if you cancel before departure. Children 0 to 5 travel free, 6 to 17 pay 25 per cent, students and seniors pay half.
• Plus and compartments. Plus buys a more comfortable seat with coffee. Compartments take up to six; the Family carriage has a playroom.
• Night train. PlusNight lie-flat seats, Rest compartments with six berths, Sleeper with two. You sleep through the plateau, which defeats the point unless the day trains are full.

Luggage. Three items, 30 kg in total, carried and stowed by you. Fjord Tours runs a hotel-to-hotel luggage transfer between Oslo and Bergen only: collected before 06:00, delivered by 21:00.

Bikes. Reserve a bicycle space with your ticket; Vy asks for this on the Bergen Line. The bike rides your train, unlocked and without bags. Remove e-bike batteries. A folded folding bike is free hand luggage.

Which side to sit

From Oslo, the Hardangervidda is better from the left and the Voss to Bergen stretch from the right. I book a left-hand seat and move after Voss if one is free.

The route, segment by segment

Vy gives 6.5 to 7.5 hours end to end; the fastest trains sit near the lower figure. Segment times vary by departure, so check your train on vy.no.

Myrdal and the Flåm Railway connection

Myrdal opened in 1908, 335.80 km from Oslo S and 867 metres up, with no road. The Flåm Railway, Flåmsbana, opened from here in 1940. Flåm station is 2 metres above sea level and 356.0 km from Oslo S, so the branch runs 20.2 km and drops 865 metres in about 55 minutes, with a 5-minute stop at the Kjosfossen waterfall.

Flåmsbana AS recommends the first Flåm train that connects with your Bergen Line arrival. Buy Oslo to Flåm as one ticket on vy.no or entur.no. The last published fare sheet, valid 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, listed an adult one-way at 570 NOK, a return at 850 NOK and bike transport at 280 NOK. Check the current fare before you budget. Descend from Myrdal rather than climb from Flåm; our Flåm Railway review covers the seat side and the Kjosfossen stop.

The seasonal caveat

Winter changes two things. Light: Vy's guidance is that daylight on the Hardangervidda runs from about 09:00 to 15:00, so take a morning departure. Closures: on 7 January 2025 an avalanche between Hallingskeid and Myrdal shut the line, and Vy ran no replacement buses because, in its communications manager's words, the weather over the mountains was too demanding to drive a bus. Finse and Myrdal have no road, so when the line closes up there nothing moves until the track is cleared.

The rule I give every winter client: never put a flight out of Bergen on the same calendar day as a Bergen Line crossing. Build one night of buffer. The fallbacks are the night train once the line reopens, or a flight.

Train, flight, or Norway in a Nutshell

My rule: train if you have the day and the daylight, Nutshell if you want the fjord as well and have only one day, flight only when the calendar leaves nothing else. The wider transport budget is in our Norway cost guide.

The slow alternative

Break the journey at Finse. No road, six permanent residents in 2021, a waiting room open 09:30 to 20:30, and Finse 1222, the hotel that began as the shelter station when the line opened and took its current name in 1980. In summer the Rallarvegen construction road starts here or at Haugastøl, and glacier walks leave for the Hardangerjøkulen, whose ice reaches 1,861 metres.

Or get off at Myrdal, sleep in Flåm, cruise the Nærøyfjord in the morning and continue to Bergen via Voss: two days in the fjords instead of one transit day, and the version I recommend to anyone with a week. Month-by-month timing is in our best time to visit Norway guide.

The reward

After Arna the train goes dark for the 7,670 metres of Ulriken, and when it comes out you are in Bergen at sea level, with the smell of wet pavement and harbour on the platform. The wooden warehouses of Bryggen in the photo above stand on the harbour front in the city centre; walk there before you unpack and let the damp settle on your jacket. Our Bergen guide covers where to eat and sleep; the Oslo guide covers the other end of the line.

Questions travellers ask

How long does the train from Oslo to Bergen take?

6.5 to 7.5 hours for 471.25 km, according to Vy, depending on the departure. The fastest day trains sit near 6.5 hours; the night train takes the longer end.

How much does the Oslo to Bergen train cost?

Vy prices by demand and date, so there is no fixed fare. Lowfare is the cheapest and limited per train; Flex and Flex Refundable cost more and add seat choice, changes and, on the refundable version, a full refund before departure. The Nutshell package starts at 2,698 NOK (Fjord Tours, 11 October 2026) and includes the Flåm Railway and the fjord cruise.

Which side of the train should I sit on from Oslo to Bergen?

Left for the Hardangervidda, right between Voss and Bergen. Book Flex to choose the seat; otherwise switch sides after Voss if one is free.

Can I add the Flåm Railway to the Oslo to Bergen train?

Yes. Change at Myrdal for the 20.2 km, 55-minute descent to Flåm. Buy Oslo to Flåm as one ticket on vy.no or entur.no and take the first connecting train; return to Myrdal for a later Bergen train, or continue by cruise and bus as Norway in a Nutshell does.

Ingrid Solheim is the Fjord Logistics Editor at NorgeTravel. She spent eleven years putting tourists into rental cars in Bergen and watching them drive off with itineraries that were never going to work. Her guides are written so that does not happen to you. She can be reached at hei@norgetravel.com.

Sources: Vy (The Bergen Line route page, Flex ticket page, conditions of carriage, bicycle FAQ); Bane NOR station pages for Finse, Myrdal and Flåm; Store norske leksikon entries for Bergensbanen, Finse and Hardangervidda; Flåmsbana AS FAQ and the Flåmsbana timetable and fares sheet valid 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026; Fjord Tours Norway in a Nutshell and luggage transfer pages; Visit Bergen Bergensbanen and airport transfer pages; Visit Norway Bergen Railway page; Flytoget; The Local Norway, 7 January 2025. Checked 11 October 2026.