Northern Norway Line

The Northern Norway Line () is a proposed railway which would be built through Northern Norway. Several proposals have been launched: one is to connect from the Nordland Line at Fauske (town), Fauske and continue onwards to Narvik (town), Narvik, Tromsø (city), Tromsø, and Harstad (town), Harstad. The Troms Line () is a more limited proposal that calls for a line between Narvik and Tromsø, but would not connect to the rest of the rail transport in Norway, railway network in Norway and instead connect with the rail transport in Sweden, Swedish railway network via the Ofoten Line. During the Second World War, the German occupation forces started building the Polar Line between Fauske and Narvik, but the project was abandoned after the war.

2019 study

In 2019 the Norwegian Railway Directorate signed an agreement with Asplan Viak to study the development of a line from Fauske via Narvik to Tromsø. The Fauske – Tromsø Line would be around long, while the Bjerkvik – Harstad line would be just over long. The study has two suggested routes, one with a lot of tunnels, and one with fewer tunnels. The former has a long tunnel and the latter 9 bridges over length. Both have suspension bridges with over span, near world record for railway bridges. The analyses found the full scheme development would cost , while the line to Harstad would cost around . The analysis showed that it would cost more than ($US 11.6 billion). However, the Norwegian Railway Directorate says the line will not be economically viable, as calculations show a net loss for the state of between and .

Proposed routes and details

There are both and lines being proposed.

1520mm gauge routes

*Proposed routes: Kirkenes - Lakselv - Skibotn - Bjørnfjell - Fauske - Mo-i-Rana - Mosjøen - Levanger - Trondheim - Kongsvinger - Gothenburg, and Kolari - Skibotn - Tromsø
*Number of tracks: 1-2
*Electrification: 25kV 50Hz AC overhead lines
*Minimum overhead wiring height: 6.7m above top of rails
*Minimum track center spacing: 4.7m
*Minimum passing loop length: 1500m
*Platform height: 200mm above top of rails

1435mm gauge routes

*Proposed routes: Fauske - Bjørnfjell - Harstad
*Number of tracks: 1
*Electrification: 15kV 16Hz AC overhead lines
*Minimum overhead wiring height: 5.3m above top of rails

References

{{Railways in Norway

Proposed railway lines in Norway
Rail transport in Nordland
Transport in Troms