photo: RAILTARGET/TRAVELOGUE: Mail Train with Steam Locomotive in Maihaugen
RAILTARGET brings the third volume of the popular railway travelogue about travel on the Nordic railway. We stopped in Lillehammer, the site of the 1994 Winter Olympics, on our way through Norway for a one-day stopover. We got off at its small station on Saturday evening to leave again on Sunday afternoon by regional train towards Oslo.
Since we arrived in Lillehammer only in the evening, we decided to take a short walk around the area. On the second day, the plan was to visit the Maihaugen open-air museum, which I would definitely recommend to train enthusiasts. You can see there, among other things, a postal train with a steam locomotive.
In Lillehammer, they have a relatively large station building with only three tracks. On the other hand, there are several additional services at the station. You can use the toilets, luggage lockers, groceries, or a restaurant offering the famous meatballs. Again, tickets can be bought from the English-speaking machines at the station belonging to the state-owned company Entur, which sells train tickets throughout Norway regardless of the carrier.
Time seems to pass faster in Norway than elsewhere because before we knew it, it was time to hit the road again. At 6:12 p.m., a regional express train operated by a state-owned company set off. The unit, Type 74, was made by Stadler. The unit consists of a total of 5 cars, while it was only possible to buy a seat in car number 1, and in the last car, there was a quiet section. There were sockets, a Wi-Fi connection, spacious overhead shelves, and vending machines for snacks and hot and cold drinks. Payment could only be made by card. Instead of traditional bins, there were plastic garbage bags. The large glass windows offered views of the extraordinarily beautiful Norwegian countryside. Less than an hour before Oslo, the train sped up to 200 km/h, and at this speed, we raced relentlessly towards Oslo. At 8:16 p.m., we stopped at Oslo Sentralstasjon station, and all we had to do was get off. The train then continued to Akser, and on part of the route after Oslo, was replaced by buses.
Travel tip: You can't go wrong with a visit to the self-service restaurant at Lillehammer station.
