 Laying of tracks started in 1936 , and was assisted by two steam locomotives . The work started at Myrdal and reached Reinunga the first year , Kjosfossen Tunnel the second year and the Blomheller Tunnel in 1939 . The first train to operate on a regular schedule was in October 1939 , when a freight train between Myrdal and Berekvam ran three times a week . However , this service was stopped by the end of the month . With the German occupation of Norway in 1940 , work started later in the season , but the German authorities wanted to speed up the work to make the line usable for steam trains that same year . They scheduled the line for completion in 1942 . Track laying work was accelerated by increasing the number of workers from 58 to 195 . Regular freight operation on the Flåm Line started on 1 August 1940 , albeit limited to an axle load of 12 tonnes ( 12 long tons ; 13 short tons ) . At the time there were four trains each day , two in each direction . 
