The Central Line ( sv, Mittbanan) is a long

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

line between Sundsvall and

Storlien Storlien is a village and ski resort located in Åre municipality in Jämtland, Sweden, two kilometres from the Swedish-Norwegian border. The primary bases of the settlement are tourism and outdoor life – alpine skiing, snowmobiling, cros ...

in central Sweden (

Västernorrland County Västernorrland County ( sv, Västernorrlands län) is a county ('' län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western ...

and

Jämtland County Jämtland County ( sv, Jämtlands län, ) is a county or '' län'' in the middle of Sweden consisting of the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, along with minor parts of Hälsingland and Ångermanland, plus two small uninhabited strips ...

). It continues as the long

Meråker Line The Meråker Line ( no, Meråkerbanen) is a railway line which runs through the district and valley of Stjørdalen in Trøndelag county, Norway. The line branches off from the Nordland Line at Hell Station and runs eastwards to the Norway–S ...

through

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

to Hell Station and onwards to

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

. The railway shares line with Inland Line between Brunflo and

Östersund Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön ...

while the line between

Ånge Ånge is a locality and the seat of Ånge Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 2,872 inhabitants in 2010. Ånge is a railway junction where the northern main line railway ('' Norra Stambanan'') connects with the central main line ...

and

Bräcke Bräcke is a locality and the seat of Bräcke Municipality in Jämtland County, Sweden with 1,651 inhabitants in 2010. The community is located next to Lake Revsundssjön, 70 km south-east of Östersund. The railway has been an importa ...

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

. The entire line is

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

at , but the Norwegian section is not. This requires all trains to Norway to be diesel trains.

SJ AB SJ (formally ''SJ AB'') is a government-owned passenger train operator in Sweden. SJ was created in 2001, out of the public transport division of ''Statens Järnvägar'', when the former government agency was divided into six separate government ...

operates night trains with sleeping cars from

or Duved to either Stockholm, Gothenburg or

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popula ...

. The section between Sundsvall and Trondheim is operated by Tågkompaniet under

Norrtåg Norrtåg (English: Northern Trains) is a publicly owned company which is owned by Norrbotten County, Västerbotten County, Västernorrland County and Jämtland County in Sweden. The company owns passenger trains and organises passenger train op ...

ownership with Class 92

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are als ...

s between Östersund and Trondheim, and Regina trains between Sundsvall and Östersund.

Snälltåget Snälltåget is an open access railway company in Sweden with long-distance trains along the Southern Main Line in Sweden from Malmö to Stockholm as well as sleeper trains between Stockholm and Berlin and Malmö to the ski and hiking resorts in ...

also operates ''Utmanartåget'' with a biweekly connection between Storlien and Malmö via Stockholm.

History

The first part of the line was the Sundsvall–Torpshammar Railway, a private,

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struc ...

and long line opened fully in 1878, and its first part in 1872. From 1875 the

Swedish State Railways The Swedish State Railways ( sv, Statens Järnvägar) or SJ, originally the Royal Railway Board ( sv, Kungl. Järnvägsstyrelsen), was the former government agency responsible for operating the state-owned railways in Sweden. It was created ...

were building Norrland Crossline, which opened 1879 between

Torpshammar Torpshammar () is a locality situated in Ånge Municipality, Västernorrland County, Sweden with 444 inhabitants in 2010. It was founded in 1797 as an iron milling community. It is known for being home to the first location of Boda Borg. Climat ...

and Östersund. Before 1881 it had no connection to the rest of Sweden (only steamboat from Sundsvall), until the railway between Stockholm and Ånge was finished. At the same time the governments were building a railway east from Trondheim, with the Government of Sweden building the Swedish part, finished 1882. The

Government of Norway The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power ...

(Norway was in a union with Sweden at the time) built the Norwegian section, Meråker Line, which was opened in 1886. In 1885 the Sundsvall-Torpshammar Railway was bought by the state and

rebuilt ''Rebuilt'' is the second and final studio album by the American girl group Girlicious. The album was released on November 22, 2010, by Universal Music Canada. The album draws from the dance-pop genre while infusing hints of R&B. Production ini ...

to standard gauge the following year. The railway was then known as the Norrland Crossline () until it got the present name in the early 1990s. In November 2013 the railway had to be closed near the border because of high risk of landslide, opened again February 2015. The place is from the border and named "Stora Helvetet" ("Big Hell", named after the troubles of building the railway here in 1877).

References

External links

Trafikverket page on Mittbanan

Järnväg.net page on Mittbanan
{{in lang, sv Railway lines in Sweden Railway lines opened in 1878 1878 establishments in Sweden Standard gauge railways in Sweden