 As both the other alternatives were discarded , consensus gradually grew for the Flåm alternative , and the Railway Committee for Nordre Bergenhus County recommended this proposal . New plans from NSB criticized the mix of rack and adhesion railway , and instead proposed a conventional adhesion line all the way . Engineer Ferdinand Bjerke traveled to Continental Europe to study several combined railways . He published a preliminary report in 1911 , which recommended an adhesion railway , although he also felt the need for a detailed study of a rack railway . His final report was finished in 1913 , and although it recommended adhesion , it pointed out that the line 's capacity would be smaller than predicted and that costs would be three times as high — NOK 5 @.@ 5 million . The plans were approved by the Ministry of Labour and NSB 's main board in 1915 . 
