Oslo layover (4h - possible?) - current info wanted

I noticed there's been another thread like this before, but my details are a bit different, so, sorry.

OK I'm looking to buy flights home to Finland for xmas. With Blue1 I coud have a 4-hour-15-minute-layover in Oslo, which could be cool.

Travelling from Heathrow, EU citizen, so there shouldn't be much hassle with customs or anything... right? My luggage is going straight through, so I could just leave the airport with my handbag, take the train (is it true it's 20 minutes and runs every 10 mins?), wonder about for 1-2 hours, take train back, and still have an hour at the airport. I would go straight to security check since I wouldn't have luggage and I'd already be checked-in. Then find gate. Like so:

2pm arrive - exit airport, take train
3pm latest arrive to Oslo centre - walk around, take pictures
4.30pm take train back
5pm back at the airport, go to security check and find gate
6pm flight leaves

I've never been to Gardermoen airport before, though, but how much hassle could it be? Basically arrive at 2pm, leave at 6pm. So my question is to all those familiar with the airport, do you think it's possible?

Also, how much exactly is the train ticket - return? And more importantly, can I buy it with a card at the station? Can't be bothered to exchange money. I'm not looking to go shopping in Oslo.. but if I decide to have a cup of coffee, I assume card is fine yeah?

Thanks to anyone who can offer me advice.

Yes the FlyToGet is every 10 minutes and takes 19 minutes to get to Oslo S (unless it stop in Lillestrom - 22 minutes) It's 170 NOK (23 Euro) each way.

The centre of Oslo is small, if you plan well and walk fast you get a quick idea of it 2 hours.

Ahahaha that's so expencive :D
No student discounts...? :D

Thanks. Do you know if I can buy the train ticket with a card when I get to the station or do I need cash?

Are there ticket booths or can I just board the train and buy it form the conductor?

All the info is on the FlyToGet website. Half price with a valid student card. tickets bought at the counter have a service charge.

Are you a Finnish (i.e. Schengen country) citizen or from the UK?
Under all circumstances you are entering Schengen arriving in Oslo from UK, so there will be SOME immigration check! So if you end up in a line with ppl. with "problems" in front you MAY have soem 8probably a few minutes delays there.

Yeah I'm a Finno... Wow, I totally forgot Norway's not in the EU. I only studied EU extensively for my undergrad...
Obviously if it takes ages to exit the airport I will think twice, but getting back, there'll just be the security check so I'm hopeful.

" I totally forgot Norway's not in the EU"
That's not what causes the passport check, but the fact that UK is not in Schengen - while Finland and Norway is.

When it says on the train website: "Students between the age of 21 and 31 travel at half price, as long as a valid ID card is presented", does that mean I need a student ID card ('valid ID card' implies a passport...)? From anywhere? As in, will I get the discount with my student card from my university in the UK? I find that hard to believe. In Finland, for example, students need to get a separate student train card with proof of nationality or studentship in Finland. Does any Norwegian know this?

Oh Björn, you make me look like a right dick. That's right, UK is not in the Shengen.

The flights from UK (non-Schengen) park right at the end of the walkway at Gardermoen so yes there's a queue for Immigration and then a fair walk to baggage collection and the flytoget end of the airport - still should be doable though.

Hehe, it's not "Fly to get". :-) Fly = airplane, to fly. Tog = train. et = "the".

If this is just before Xmas there may be a line at security but if you're back at the airport 1h before departure you should be OK.

If you decide not to go but stay at the airport, make sure not to blindly follow the crowd after passport control. If you do you'll end up at baggage collection and have to go out through customs, up to the departure level and through security again. There should be a side passage somewhere for "international transit" which will bring you straight into the international departures.

The safest bet would be to use an international student card, but I have many times managed to get student discounts with my Norwegian student card around Europe (and in Prague even with a student card that wasn't valid anymore). It depends a lot on the person checking you, but as long your student card is valid, and doesn't look like something that could have been made at home, I think you'll be fine.

Chances are you wont even need to show your student card to anyone, as you can (and should, as it costs more to buy them at a counter) buy the tickets at a ticket booth, and there's an automatic ticket controller at Gardermoen.

Absolutely everything can be bought with a card in Norway, people rarely walk around with cash, so that's something you needn't worry about. The prices on the other hand...

The security at Gardermoen is extremely efficient by the way.