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The Iron Ore Line () is a long railway line between Riksgränsen and Boden in
Norrbotten County Norrbotten County (, Meänkieli/, ) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares borders with Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, owned by
Trafikverket The Swedish Transport Administration () is a government agency in Sweden, government agency in Sweden, controlled by the Riksdag and the Government of Sweden. It is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning for transport: road, rail, ship ...
(the Swedish Transport Administration). The line also contains two branches, from
Kiruna (; ; ; ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The c ...
to
Svappavaara Svappavaara ( Meänkieli: ''Vaskivuori'') is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 417 inhabitants in 2010. It is a mining village. Mining was started around 1650. Large scale iron mining started in 1965. The ...
and from
Gällivare Gällivare (; ; or ; or ; ) is a locality and the seat of Gällivare Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 8,449 inhabitants in 2010. The town was founded in the 17th century. Together with nearby towns Malmberget ...
to
Koskullskulle Koskullskulle is a locality situated in Gällivare Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 874 inhabitants in 2010. It was founded in 1898 when iron ore was discovered. The village got its name from Georg Adolf Koskull who was governor of N ...
. The term is often colloquially used to also include the Ofoten Line, from Riksgränsen to
Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...
in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, and the northernmost part of the Main Line Through Upper Norrland from Boden to
Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...
. The railway from Narvik to Luleå is long. The line is dominated by the ore freight trains operated by
LKAB Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) is a state-owned Swedish mining company. The company mines iron ore at Kiruna and at Malmberget in northern Sweden. The company was established in 1890, and has been 100% state-owned since the 1950s. Th ...
's subsidiary Malmtrafik from their mines to the Port of Narvik and the Port of Luleå. In addition,
Vy Tåg Vy Tåg AB is a Swedish railway company that operates franchises in different parts of Sweden. The company was founded in 1999 by three former railway employees in Statens Järnvägar and the investment company Småföretagsinvest/Fylkinvest. I ...
operates passenger trains and
CargoNet CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight rail transport, freight trains on the rail transport in Norway, Norwegian railway system. It was originally formed as NSB Gods after Vy, NSB (now Vy) was split into separate passenger and freight ...
operates container freight trains. The Iron Ore Line is single track, electrified at and has a permitted axle load of . The Swedish part of the line is the northernmost railway in Sweden and the Norwegian part outside Narvik is the northernmost railway in the whole of Western Europe at 68.452°N. The first section of the line, from Gällivare to Luleå, opened in 1888. By 1899, the line was extended to Kiruna, and from 1903, all the way to Narvik. Electrification took place between 1915 and 1923. Operations of the ore trains was taken over by Malmtrafik from SJ in 1996.
Rockfall A rockfall or rock-fallWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . is a quantity of Rock (geology), rock that has fallen freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or wa ...
s from mountains have at times hit the line.


Operations

LKAB operates iron ore mines in Kiruna, Svappavaara and Malmberget in
Norrbotten County Norrbotten County (, Meänkieli/, ) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares borders with Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf ...
, Sweden. Most of the output is transported by rail to the ice-free Port of Narvik, a route named the Northern Circuit. A minority of the ore is transported to Luleå on the Southern Circuit. Located on the Baltic Sea, ore is shipped to Baltic customers, or delivered to furnaces operated by
SSAB SSAB ABSSAB ASSAB B
, earlier Svenskt Stål AB (), is a Swedish company, formed in 1978, that spec ...
in Luleå and
Oxelösund Oxelösund is a locality and the seat of Oxelösund Municipality in Södermanland County, Sweden with 11,488 inhabitants in 2018. It is located less than south from the city centre of its larger neighbour, Nyköping, with the two urban areas form ...
. The Ore and Ofoten Lines are long, including the branch to Svappavaara, with the route from Kiruna to Narvik being , and from Malmberget to Luleå being . Operations are handled by LKAB's subsidiary Malmtrafik i Kiruna (MTAB) in Sweden, and Malmtrafikk (MTAS) in Norway. Daily there operate 11 to 13 trains in each direction on the Northern Circuit, and five to six trains on the Southern Circuit. The trains hauled by Iore-class locomotives are 68 cars long and weigh . From Riksgränsen on the national border to the Port of Narvik, the trains use only a fifth of the power they regenerate. The regenerated energy is sufficient to power the empty trains back up to the national border. Although the trains and hopper cars are all owned by LKAB, the line is owned by the
Swedish Transport Administration The Swedish Transport Administration () is a government agency in Sweden, controlled by the Riksdag and the Government of Sweden. It is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning for transport: road, rail, shipping and aviation. It owns, c ...
and the
Norwegian National Rail Administration Jernbaneverket () was a government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the track, stations, classification yards, traffic management and timetables. Safety oversight ...
. The Ore and Ofoten Lines are also used by passenger and container trains. Iron ore is also transported from Northland Resources' mine in Kaunisvaara to Narvik, started in small scale December 2012.
CargoNet CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight rail transport, freight trains on the rail transport in Norway, Norwegian railway system. It was originally formed as NSB Gods after Vy, NSB (now Vy) was split into separate passenger and freight ...
operates two daily container trains from
Alnabru Terminal Alnabru is a neighbourhood of north-eastern Oslo. It lies in the middle of the southern part of the Grorud valley (Groruddalen). The name – which means "Alna bridge" – comes from that of the Alna River, from which are also derived the name ...
in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, Norway, named the Arctic Rail Express (ARE). The trains operate via Sweden and take 27 hours. The trains haul mostly food northbound and fish southbound along a distance of .
DB Schenker Schenker AG (trading as DB Schenker) is a subsidiary of Danish logistics company DSV. The company was previously owned by German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, which acquired the subsidiary back in 2002. It comprises divisions for air, land, sea fr ...
launched a competing service in January 2011. There is about 0.5 million tonnes of non-ore freight transport on the Ofoten Line each year. SJ operates three daily trains from Narvik to Kiruna Central Station, of which two continue onwards, either to Luleå Central Station or
Stockholm Central Station Stockholm Central Station (), is the main Train station, railway station in Stockholm, and largest railway station in Sweden in terms of passenger numbers and train traffic. It is located in the Norrmalm district of central Stockholm on Vasagat ...
. Trains to Stockholm are night trains. Travel time from Narvik to Kiruna is 3 hours and 1 minute, travel time to Luleå is 7 hours and 4 minutes, and travel time to Stockholm is 18 hours and 25 minutes.


History

In 1847, a concession was granted to build a railway from the mines at Gällivare to
Töre Töre ( Kalix Language: ''te'or'') is a locality situated in Kalix Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,099 inhabitants as of 2010. Its harbour is the northernmost of the Bothnian Bay (and thus, of the Baltic Sea) that is accessible ...
in the
Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...
. The line was never built, and in 1882 a new concession was granted to an English company, who between 1884 and 1888 built a railway from Malmberget to the port at Svartön in Luleå. However, the line was built with an inadequate standard, and the mining company lacked sufficient funds to finance the upgrades. In 1891, the line was
nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...
and taken over by the
Swedish State Railways The Swedish State Railways () or SJ, originally the Royal Railway Board (), was the former government agency responsible for operating the state-owned railways in Sweden. History The Swedish State Railways was created on 1 June 1888 as an ...
. In 1890, Luossavaara–Kiirunavaara AB was established to start mining in
Kiruna (; ; ; ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The c ...
. By 1899, a railway had been built from Kiruna to Gällivare. In 1898, the
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
passed legislation to build a railway from Kiruna to Narvik in Norway. The line was completed in November 1902 and was officially opened on 14 July 1903 by
King Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...
. To begin with, the line used two or three conventional steam locomotives for each ore train. Later dedicated ore-hauling steam locomotives were introduced. In 1915, the section from Riksgränsen to Kiruna was electrified, with the rest of the line electrified in 1922. The first electric locomotives were Oa, and allowed trains weighing . In the 1950s, SJ introduced the Dm locomotives, which could haul a train. By the 1960s, the Dm had been rebuilt to Dm3, which consisted of a new center section. In combination of upgrades to maximum permitted axle load, this gave a maximum train weight of . In 1964, the branch from Kiruna to Svappavaara was opened, allowing LKAB to exploit mining there, although this was again closed in 1983. In 1990, a tunnel opened under Nuolja between Abisko and Björkliden. Passenger trains were essential for the region until 1984, when
European Route E10 European route E10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway, and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about in length. The Norwegian part of the road is also named Kong Ol ...
was constructed between Kiruna and Narvik.


Establishment of Malmtrafik

In December 1991, LKAB stated that they wanted to take over the operation of the ore trains from NSB and SJ. This became possible due to new legislation. At the time, they were paying 0.15
Swedish krona The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the currency of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it but, espec ...
(SEK) per tonne kilometer in Sweden and 0.30
Norwegian krone The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...
(NOK) per tonne kilometer in Norway, while comparable rates abroad were between SEK 0.03 and 0.10 per tonne kilometer. While SJ had several times during the 1980s agreed to reduce their rates, NSB had not offered the same, and was making a profit of NOK 60 to 70 million per year. LKAB stated that they, by taking over operations themselves, could save SEK 200 million per year. In addition, they stated that they could save between SEK 50 to 100 million in auxiliary fields. LKAB had sent an application to Swedish authorities for permission to take over operations, and had received positive feedback from SJ. NSB, on the other hand, did not support a solution where they did not operate the trains themselves. LKAB stated that if an agreement with NSB could not be reached, they would shift all their transport to the Port of Luleå. In February 1992, a report ordered by
Kiruna Municipality Kiruna Municipality (; ; ; ) is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Norrbotten County in northernmost Sweden. Its administrative centre, seat is located in Kiruna. It is the northernmost municipality in Sweden, and at is Sweden's geograph ...
recommended that LKAB, SJ and NSB create a common company to operate the ore trains. At the same time, SJ stated that the consequence of LKAB taking over operation could be that passenger trains on the lines would be terminated. In April 1992, LKAB was awarded traffic rights by the
Swedish Rail Administration The Swedish National Rail Administration () was a Swedish state administrative authority which acted as owner on behalf of the State and maintained virtually all main railway lines in Sweden; except for short sidings for freight, heritage railwa ...
. There was a disagreement as to whether the agency had the authority to do this, and SJ stated that it was only the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications who had the authority to award traffic rights on the stem lines, in particular along the Main Line in Upper Norrland. The rights also did not affect the Ofoten Line. The following day, SJ and NSB stated that they were considering establishing a joint venture that would take over the operations of the ore trains. In May 1992, LKAB stated that Norway would, through its membership in the
European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...
, be required to allow any train operator to run trains on a line, while this was rejected by NSB who stated that this only applied within the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, of which Norway was not a member. By August, SJ and NSB had offered to reduce the price from SEK 650 million to 450 million, but LKAB stated that they believed it was possible to reduce the costs further. In October 1992 the Swedish Ministry of Communications gave the final permission for LKAB to take over operations in their own right. On 26 October, SJ and NSB signed a new five-year contract with LKAB where the latter would purchase transport services from the two state railway. The annual price had then been reduced from SEK 650 to 400 million. Political commentators stated that the agreement allowed LKAB to keep all the profit in the line and introduce new cost savings, while SJ and NSB kept face by keeping the operating contract. The price reduction would mean that both NSB and SJ would have to lay off employees. In 1993, the state railways were losing money on the ore trains. In January 1994, SJ and NSB stated that they were going to merge the operations of the Iron Ore Line and the Ofoten Line. In May 1994, LKAB applied for traffic rights on the Ofoten Line. This was rejected in December 1994 by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, who stated that the company did not meet the criteria in the law, including that the applicant had to have rail transport as their main activity. On 8 June 1995, LKAB established a Swedish and a Norwegian subsidiary dedicated to rail transport. This would bypass the rationale provided by the Ministry of Transport in denying them traffic rights, and LKAB stated that there was no way the Norwegian authorities now could deny them such rights, given
EU Directive 91/440 The Single European Railway Directive 20122012/34/EU is an EU Directive that regulates railway networks in European Union law. This recast the First Railway Directive 91/440/EEC and consolidates legislation from each of the first to the fourth "P ...
. At this time Norway was part of the
European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...
(and Sweden of the EU) meaning EU directives were valid in both countries. On 27 June 1995, LKAB, SJ and NSB reached an agreement where the three would establish a joint venture owned 51% by LKAB and 24.5% each by NSB and SJ. At the time there were 350 employees in the three companies involved in the transport, and the new company would recruit its employees among these, although it would need significantly fewer employees. The plans called for the new companies taking over operations from 1 January 1996. In late January, the committee concluded that LKAB met the criteria to receive traffic rights. The report also showed that 55 jobs would be lost in Narvik and that the
Norwegian Railway Inspectorate The Norwegian Railway Authority () is a Norwegian government agency responsible for practical control and supervision of rail transport in Norway, including railways, tramways, rapid transits, heritage railways and side tracks. The agency was cr ...
had concerns regarding the safety of LKAB's operations. The
labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s protested after LKAB demanded that the employees switch union from
Swedish Union for Service and Communications Employees The Swedish Union for Service and Communications Employees (, SEKO) is a trade union in Sweden. History The union was founded on 14 May 1970, as the Swedish National Union of State Employees (SF). It resulted from the merger of eight unions: * ...
to the Swedish Metalworkers Union. This was rejected by the workers, who would both have to reduce their pay and work five more years before retirement. On 28 May, 22 train drivers, all Swedish, took out sick leave in protest towards being forced to switch labor union and receive lower wages and worse pension rights. This caused a third of the ore trains to be canceled. On 28 June , the transfer of operations was finalized following a vote in the
Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...
.


Heavier trains

Malmtrafik took over operations from 1 July 1996. The company bought the Dm3-locomotives from SJ, NSB's six El 15 locomotives, and a number of workshops, depots and shunters. Post-nationalization, it became the first private railway company in Europe to haul international freight trains. from 26 September to 27 October 200 employees in Narvik were on strike regarding the transition rules for employees. While the strike lasted, there was increased shipments to Luleå. In November, the new ore port in Luleå opened, having cost LKAB more than half a billion Swedish kronor and a capacity of six million tonnes of ore per year. In 1998, LKAB estimated a gradual 35% increase in production until 2005, and demanded that the track owners grant sufficient funding to upgrade the lines from to maximum permitted axle load. Combined with new locomotives, this would give increased efficiency in hauling the ore. The upgrade for the Ofoten Line would cost 180 million
Norwegian krone The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...
, and would allow LKAB to increase the train weight from . In addition, heavier trains would have to be longer, so sufficient
passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...
s would have to be upgraded to . In March, LKAB awarded the contract to build 750 new 100-tonne
hopper car A hopper car () or hopper wagon () is a type of railroad freight car that has opening doors or gates on the underside or on the sides to discharge its cargo. They are used to transport loose solid bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, a ...
s to
Transnet Transnet SOC Ltd is a large South African rail, port and pipeline company, headquartered in the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. It was formed as a limited company on 1 April 1990. A majority of the company's stock is owned by the Department ...
of South Africa, after among others Norsk Verkstedindustri had been considered. In August, an agreement was reached whereby LKAB would pay for NOK 100 million of the NOK 130 million needed to upgrade the Ofoten Line. The contract to deliver 18 Iore locomotives was signed with Bombardier on 15 September 1998. LKAB bought SJ and NSB's share of MTAB in 1999, making MTAB a subsidiary. The first
twin unit A twin unit, twinset, or double unit is a set of two railroad Railway car, cars or locomotives which are permanently coupled and treated as if they were a single unit. A twinset of cars or coaches can also be called a twin car. In US passenger ...
locomotive was delivered in 2000, and serial delivery was made from 2002 to 2004. In March 2004, LKAB decided to not purchase the option for additional hopper cars from Transnet, and instead purchase 750 heavier cars from K-Industrier. Since 1969 the ore trains have been using the Soviet
SA3 coupler SA3 couplers (also known as СА3 or СА-3 couplers per the typical foundry stamp on top of these couplers, meaning "Советская Автосцепка, 3" in Russian or "Soviet Auto-latch 3" in English) or Willison coupler and Russia ...
. However, LKAB wanted to try
Janney coupler Knuckle couplers are a semi-automatic form of railway coupling that allow rail cars and locomotives to be securely linked together without rail workers having to get between the vehicles. Originally known as Janney couplers (the original patent n ...
s (also known as AAR coupler, used in much heavier trains in USA and South Africa), as the SA3 couplers were not much tested with the new weights. Later LKAB went back to SA3 couplers which now are used on all ore trains. In 2003, the Iron Ore Line from Kiruna to Riksgränsen and the Ofoten Line were finished upgraded to 30 tonne axle load, allowing half the trains to operate with maximum capacity. The
Northern East West Freight Corridor The Northern East West Freight Corridor, usually referred to as the N.E.W. Corridor, is a project organized by the International Union of Railways UIC and Transportutvikling AS to connect the East Coast of the United States to East Asia by rai ...
is an initiative by the
International Union of Railways The International Union of Railways (, UIC) is an international rail transport industry body based in Paris. History The railways of Europe had originated during the nineteenth century as many separate concerns across numerous nations; this le ...
aiming to establish a freight corridor from the Far East to North America. The route would use the Ofoten Line and transship from rail to ship at Narvik. The main report for the project was made in 2004, but since there had been limited funding for the project. On 23 August 2007, LKAB ordered another four twin units, with delivery in 2010 and 2011, and costing €52 million. This will replace all remaining Dm3. After delivery, six locomotives are used from Kiruna to Luleå, and twenty are used from Kiruna to Narvik. By 2009, sufficient passing loops had been built along the whole line from Narvik to Luleå to allow all trains to operate with full capacity. By 2011, LKAB's will be able to replace all the Dm3, and convert all the ore trains to 68 cars. This will increase the capacity from 28 to 33 million tonnes per year, and at the same time reduce the number of departures per day from 21 to 15. A well managed ore train going downhill may have an electricity consumption of around zero due to
regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerativ ...
.


Resignalling

In March 2021 it was announced that
Hitachi Rail Hitachi, Ltd. Railway Systems Business Unit, Trade name, trading as Hitachi Rail, is the rolling stock and railway signalling manufacturing division of Hitachi outside Japan. History Hitachi's rail division before global expansion After the ...
had been awarded a contract by
Trafikverket The Swedish Transport Administration () is a government agency in Sweden, government agency in Sweden, controlled by the Riksdag and the Government of Sweden. It is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning for transport: road, rail, ship ...
to roll out
ERTMS The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is the system of standards for management and interoperation of signalling for railways by the European Union (EU). It is conducted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and is the o ...
level 2 signalling system on the line between Gällivare and Boden.


Incidents

In December 2023 a fully laden train derailed near Vassijaure. The line was subsequently repaired and reopened in February 2024, however another derailment took place a week after it reopened near the same location. A preliminary investigation was opened to consider the possibility of sabotage.


Equipment


Locomotives

To cope with the heavy ore transports this line was first equipped with the most powerful
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
s in Sweden and later powerful electric locomotives, the most famous being the Dm+Dm3+Dm that today are being replaced with modern Iore locomotives after serving on the line for over 40 years.


Other equipment

Apart from special locomotives, the iron ore trains have some special equipment to allow the high train weights, higher than anywhere else in Scandinavia, and probably anywhere in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. They use special
brake A brake is a machine, mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for Acceleration, slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of ...
s and
SA3 coupler SA3 couplers (also known as СА3 or СА-3 couplers per the typical foundry stamp on top of these couplers, meaning "Советская Автосцепка, 3" in Russian or "Soviet Auto-latch 3" in English) or Willison coupler and Russia ...
s instead of the screw couplings otherwise standard in Sweden. After extension of
passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...
s to 750 m in 2008 and 2009, the trains will have 68 cars, weighing 8600 tonnes including the locomotive, with 6800 tonnes of iron ore. The railway also carries passenger services.
Vy Tåg Vy Tåg AB is a Swedish railway company that operates franchises in different parts of Sweden. The company was founded in 1999 by three former railway employees in Statens Järnvägar and the investment company Småföretagsinvest/Fylkinvest. I ...
operates a daily overnight service from Narvik to Stockholm. This route is operated as a public service obligation and used to be operated by SJ but was transferred to Vy at the 2021 timetable. There are further regional services between Kiruna and Luleå under the Norrtåg concession, which have also been operated by Vy since 2016, at which time they used the name (Svenska) Tågkompaniet as a sub-brand for their Swedish operations. Driver Advisory System are installed on board to improve eco-friendliness of driving. A new
snow blower A snow blower or snowblower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is problematic, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, ice rink, or runway. The commonly used term "snow blower" is a misnomer, a ...
entered service in 2016.


See also

*
Swedish iron ore during World War II Swedish iron ore was an important economic and military factor in the European theatre of World War II, as Sweden was the main contributor of iron ore to Nazi Germany. The average percentages by source of Nazi Germany’s iron ore procurement t ...
*
Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line (), or the Sydvaranger Line (), is a long railway line between Kirkenes and Bjørnevatn in Sør-Varanger Municipality, Norway. Owned by the private mining company Northern Iron, the single track (rail), single-tr ...


References


External links

*, illustrated description of the Iron Ore line {{Commons category-inline, Malmbanan Cross-border railway lines in Norway Cross-border railway lines in Sweden Railway lines in Sweden Iron ore railways Mining in Sweden Transport in the Arctic Railway lines opened in 1888 1888 establishments in Sweden Rail transport in Norrbotten County 19th-century establishments in Norrbotten County