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This year’s TravelXpo will be an eldorado for train enthusiasts


If you like trains, you can look forward to TravelXpo. There you can meet other train enthusiasts, get holiday tips on rails and find out more about what you can see in the train’s own museum.

The train gets its very own area during this year’s TravelXpo, and if you are curious about how you can holiday by train or just want to know more about trains in general, this is an area you cannot miss.

Group travel by train
Togreiser.no is Norway’s only tour operator that specializes in group travel by train, and now they look forward to telling visitors about their offer during TravelXpo.
– We put together an exciting program with pleasant hotels, exciting excursions and good tour guides. With us, you get to experience carefully selected highlights from the finest train journeys in Europe and elsewhere in the world, says general manager at Togreiser.no, Erik Baadstø.
He says that Togreiser.no has an agency at Deutsche Bahn in Norway and sells all interrail and train tickets to the whole of Europe. They also offer train charters for business – now you can actually hire your own train!
– Train journeys are pure balm for the soul. Relax your shoulders, enjoy a meal or a pleasant chat on board, enjoy the view or read a good book. In our busy everyday life, it’s nice to be able to take time back, he says.

The train museum
At another of the stands in the area you will find the Norwegian Railway Museum – a museum that can be highly recommended.
– It is unknown to many in the Oslo region that the Norwegian Railway Museum is located in Hamar – only an hour and a half away. Our museum is an eldorado for families with children, and we want to show this to the public during TravelXpo, says marketing and events manager at the Norwegian Railway Museum, Mette Larsen.
She says that it has been ten years since the museum last participated in a tourism fair, and she is excited to see who the audience is and how the Norwegian Railway Museum is received on the south side of Oslo.
– There are probably also many who do not know that in addition to being a museum, we are a train operator on a par with Vy and Sj in Norway. The only difference is that we run vintage trains, she says.

Photo: togbloggen.no

Train on Facebook
Someone who greatly appreciates the train as a means of getting around is Kristian Skjellum Aas, who is an administrator in the Togferie Facebook group. Together with several other participants from the group, he will be present during the fair and contribute with, among other things, good travel stories, tips for destinations, booking and ordering.
– Train travel is suitable for everyone, but not all types of train travel are suitable for everyone. There is great flexibility in planning a trip that is just right for you, says Aas.
He says that you find all types of people in their group.
– The age range is enormous, and the group is open to everyone. It is not the case that you have to be either a climate activist, a slow travel enthusiast or affected by a fear of flying to take part. We aim to be the nicest place on Facebook and share news about train offers, travelogues, tips for booking and other things, he says.

Kristian Skjellum Aas Photo: Private

Recommends a train holiday
Also Sigrid Elsrud, author of the book “Holidays with trains – joy of traveling along the rails” and blogger at Togbloggen.no, is a real train enthusiast. During TravelXpo, she will be on stand with her book and hopes for many pleasant conversations with others interested in trains.
– For me, the train adventure started in the south of Europe. When our sons were small, we traveled to the Mediterranean countries every year – always by plane out and back home, but preferably with a few train trips in the countries we visited, she says.
It suddenly struck Elsrud how much joy these train journeys gave, and how well everyone in the family remembered them even after a long time. Eventually, she changed her own travel habits and today takes the train all the way from home, whether she’s going to Spain, Italy or Slovenia. Great Britain or Finland.
– Train holidays can be highly recommended. It is a good and human-friendly way to travel. We don’t have to fasten our seat belts, we have great freedom on board and en route, and we see cities, countries and landscapes that we would otherwise only fly over, she says.

Sigrid Elsrud Photo: Togbloggen.no

Text: Katrine Andreassen
Photo top picture: Mette Larsen for Norsk jernbanemuseum