Introduction

I arrive in Oslo on a KLM flight at 22h30, after successfully managing to avoid having to spend more than two hours on a tight KLM Embraer 175. The problem is though, that the course I’m giving is scheduled to take place in Trondheim, not Oslo. I guess I could have spent the night at an airport hotel and then taken a flight to Trondheim the next day. But that seemed like a bit of a waste of time and money.

My research revealed that there is a daily night train from Oslo airport to Trondheim. And so, I figured I might as well give it a try.

Booking

Booking for the train can easily be done online or via the Nord app. Once you’ve purchased the ticket, it appears in the app and is automatically activated on the day of departure.

The cabins in the sleeper cars all have twin berths. However, if you’re travelling on your own, the second berth is not sold, so that you have the entire cabin to yourself.

Getting to the station & boarding

As you exit through immigration, make a sharp right turn and keep on walking until the very end of the hall. That will bring you to the railway station for Olso airport.

There’s a lot of snow lying on the ground. I’m in coach 12, which is the last carriage of the train. I pass the time stomping and fooling around with the snow like a little kid.

The cabin

The key card to access your cabin is available in the dining car from the train attendant. The dining car is located in coach 10.

The cabin is nice and cosy. Although I must admit I’m really not quite sure how, or rather where, two fully grown adults are supposed to fit in the narrow cabin. As it is, my suitcase is too big to place under the lower berth, so I just leave it standing in a corner. Which means that it takes up more or less half the space there is to stand.

I use the upper berth to place all my belongings, hand luggage and clothes.

The cabin has not toilet. Those are available at both ends of the carriage. However, there is a small sink with hot and cold water as well as soap.

The ride on the night train is rather pleasant. The rocking motion gently puts me to sleep. The only complaint is that the heating in my cabin is a bit moody. It‘s either stiflingly hot or icy cold.

Arrival in Trondheim

The train arrives in Trondheim at 06h38. Passengers then have until 07h00 to check out of their cabins with their belongings. Which is convenient, because I’d rather not have to stand outside in the cold in -8 degrees.

From the main station I catch a regional train at 07h15, which makes the journey to the airport in 37 minutes. It must be a nice journey along the coast. But it’s winter time up in the north, and sunrise is still far, far off.

Conclusion

My first love will always be aircraft. I can‘t help it, I was born that way. Everytime I hear an airplane, I have to look skywards to see if I can spot in the sky. But I must say, in my old age trains are slowly starting to grow on me. And night trains I find very exotic. They‘re cool and the journey by night train brings back a bit of the sense of adventure I used to associate with travel. As I lay in my berth, I may or may not have squinted my eyes and pretended I was lying in a first class berth on the legendary the Orient Express…