VIDEO: All aboard this virtual train ride through beautiful Norway

From the country that pioneered the ‘Slow TV’ movement, it’s now possible to take a 360-degree ride along the Flåm Railway, one of the world’s steepest rail lines and one of Norway’s top tourist attractions. 

 

The 20km train ride runs through from the Myrdal mountain station through the Flåmsdalen valley to Sognefjord, Norway’s biggest and most popular fjord. 

 

While the line that has been dubbed “the world’s most incredible train journey” by Lonely Planet certainly deserves to be seen in person, tourist organization Visit Flåm and Expedia Norway recently teamed up for the next best thing: a 45-minute, 360-degree video that allows viewers to simply drag the screen to see the nature from every angle. It can even be viewed in virtual reality mode on a smart phone and a set of VR glasses. 

 

The virtual train journey along the Flåm Railway marks the line’s 75th anniversary. It was the 100th anniversary of the Bergen railway line that spurred national broadcaster NRK’s ‘Slow TV’ phenomenon back in 2009. 

 

The broadcast of the entire seven-hour trip from Oslo to Bergen was a roaring success, with 1.2 million viewers, nearly a quarter of the population of Norway, tuning in for at least part of the trip.

 

Since then, the network has broadcast a cruise journey, a fire being slowly built and burned, and even the knitting of a jumper, starting with the original sheep. 

 

With the new Flåm Railway virtual journey, perhaps a Norwegian-led ‘Slow Internet’ movement will be the next big thing. 

 

The virtual journey can be taken below. Note that its creators recommend using Google Chrome or Internet Explorer to get the proper 360-degree experience.