Myrdal station
Encyclopedia
Myrdal Station is a mountain railway station and junction, located on the Bergen Line regional mainline in Aurland
Aurland
Aurland is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Aurlandsvangen. Other villages include Bakka, Flåm, Undredal, and Gudvangen....

, Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane
is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. The railway station is also the upper terminal of the Flåm Line local railway, which ascends from the valley floor of the Sognefjord
Sognefjord
The Sognefjord is the largest fjord in Norway, and the second longest in the world. Located in Sogn og Fjordane county, it stretches inland to the small village of Skjolden...

 to the mountain-top junction, providing a vital public transport link, but deriving a majority of its passengers through tourism. Most passengers using Myrdal station are changing trains between the two lines.

Location

Myrdal station is located about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of the village of Flåm
Flåm
Flåm is a village at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjord, an arm of the Sognefjord. The village is located in the municipality of Aurland in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway...

 and about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) south of Aurlandsvangen
Aurlandsvangen
Aurlandsvangen is the administrative center of the municipality of Aurland in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The village is located on the east side of the Aurlandsfjord where the Aurlandselvi river flows into the fjord. The village of Undredal and the famous Nærøyfjord are located just a few...

. There is no road connection to Myrdal although there are some cottages and hotels in the area, served by Myrdal station, and the nearby Vatnahalsen railway station, about a kilometer before Myrdal, and 50 metres lower towards mean sea level.

The station is located between two tunnels on the Bergensbanen: the Gravahals Tunnel to the west and the Vatnahals Tunnel to the east. Completion of the 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) long Gravahals Tunnel was done in 1905. The station is 867 metres (2,844.5 ft) above mean sea level.

Facilities

The station has three platforms. Platform 1 is the principal platform on the mainline, and platform 2 is the alternative mainline platform located on the passing loop
Passing loop
A passing loop is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at a station, where trains or trams in opposing directions can pass each other. Trains/trams in the same direction can also overtake, providing that the signalling arrangement allows it...

. The non-consecutively numbered platform 11 is the platform used by local trains to and from Flåm. As the mainline is single track, the passing loop allows regional trains to cross with freight services, and very occasionally with other passenger trains. A large cafeteria and gift shop provides refreshment and shelter, and there are waiting rooms and lavatories. There are freight sidings located at Myrdal.

History

The station opened in 1908. On 17 January 1923, the station restaurant was taken over by Norsk Spisevognselskap
Norsk Spisevognselskap
Norsk Spisevognselskap A/S, often abbreviated NSS or shortened to Spisevognselskapet, was a Norwegian state enterprise which operated restaurant carriages on Norwegian trains and restaurants at train stations and railway hotels. The company was established in December 1918, and started a catering...

. As the facilities were too small, the restaurant was later moved to another, larger building.
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