Ofoten Line
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The Ofoten Line () is a
railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...
in
Narvik Municipality () 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 ...
,
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 ...
. It runs from the Port of Narvik to Riksgränsen on the Norway–Sweden border, where the line continues as the Ore Line via
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 ...
and
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
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 Ofoten Line is single track, electrified at and has seven stations. The line only connects to the rest of the Norwegian railway network via Sweden. The main traffic is up to 12 daily freight trains operated by Malmtrafik that haul
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
from Sweden to Narvik. In addition,
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 trains, branded as the Arctic Rail Express (ARE), and SJ operates passenger trains, including a night train to
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. Construction of the Ofoten Line started in 1898 along with the Ore Line from Riksgränsen to Kiruna. They were completed in 1902, allowing
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 ...
to haul ore from their mines in Kiruna to the ice-free Port of Narvik. Operation and ownership of the line was held by the
Norwegian State Railways Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...
. The line was electrified in 1915 and
Norwegian State Railways Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...
(NSB) started using El 3 and El 4 locomotives. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the ore traffic stopped because of the
Battles of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. Th ...
and the bombing of the town. In the following decades, NSB introduced El 12 and El 15 locomotives. In 1996, operation of the ore trains was taken over by Malmtrafik, which was controlled by and now is a subsidiary of the mining company LKAB. The same year, ownership of the railway line was transferred to the newly created
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 line has been upgraded to axle loads, allowing the new Iore locomotives to haul trains.


Operations

Malmtrafik operates iron ore trains from the mines in Kiruna, Svappavaara and Malmberget to the Port of Narvik, where LKAB operates an ore port with a capacity of 25 million tonnes per year. Daily there operate 11 to 13 trains in each direction. The trains hauled by Iore have 68 cars, are long and weigh . The full ore trains operate at , while the empty return trains operate at . In 2006, the company hauled 15 million tonnes of ore, constituting the majority of train cargo in Norway, measured in tonnes, although not in tonne-kilometers.
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 freight service, between Oslo and Narvik, in January 2010. 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. In 2020 a local summer seasonal passenger service, called The Arctic Train started between Narvik and Bjørnfjell and back. Tickets are sold to general public but cruise ship passengers are a target group. The railway operation (as distinct from the train operation) is handled by
Bane NOR Bane NOR SF is the Norwegian government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the track, stations, and the majority of other infrastructure assets. It took over the operati ...
, the Norwegian railway agency. Rules and laws are like other railways in Norway, meaning that train operators must have Norwegian permission and follow Norwegian railway rules even if this railway is short and isolated from other Norwegian railways.


History

;1884–1979 In 1884, LKAB's predecessor Gellivare Aktiebolag is granted concession for mining in Malmberget. Four years later, the first part of the Ore Line, from Malmberget to Luleå, was completed. In 1889, the mining company filed for bankruptcy, and the Government of Sweden bought the line for 8 million
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), half the investment cost. Construction of the Ore Line and Ofoten Line from Gällevare to Narvik started in 1898 and was completed in 1902. A bridge, Norddalsbron, was built along the Ofoten Line, extra long for military reasons, to be able to cut the line in case of war. In 1940, during the war, the bridge was blown up. However, because of lack of explosives, the demolition was not well done, and the bridge could be repaired by the Germans. On 19 January 1915, the Ore Line between Riksgränsen and Kiruna was electrified. A plan for electrification of the Ofoten Line had been made in 1911, but not until 1920 did parliament approve the plans. Operations with electrical traction started on 15 May 1923, and was officially opened on 10 July. Until 1925, Swedish Oe locomotives were used. NSB decided to order two types of electric locomotive for the line: El 3 and El 4. El 3 was nearly identical to Oe and was a
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 with a combined power output of . Four twin units were delivered in 1925, and a fifth in 1929. The El 4 locomotives were longer and more powerful, and operated as singles. Each single El 4 had the same power output as a twin El 3. Two units were delivered in 1926, two in 1928 and one in 1929. NSB operated the trains using their rolling stock from Narvik to
Abisko Abisko (; ) is a village in Sápmi (Lapland (Sweden), Lapland), in northern Sweden, roughly 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, and near Abisko National Park, located 4 km west of the village. It had 85 inhabitants as of 2005. Permafr ...
, where there was a change of locomotive and operating company. In 1940, the Port of Narvik suffered extensive war damage, and all export for the remainder of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
went via Luleå. In 1957, the Government of Sweden bought LKAB. Two of the El 4s were damaged beyond repair during the war. In 1949, pooling of the locomotives started, whereby NSB and SJ would alternate operating trains and their respective locomotives used on the whole section from Kiruna to Narvik. The following year, LKAB decided to increase annual transport from 8–10, to 12–15 million tonnes. This involved increasing the train weight to . To provide sufficient hauling power, the El 3 units were rebuilt from twins to triplets, and two of the El 4 units were made a twin unit. The upgrades were completed by 1953. At the same time, SJ decided to order a new type of locomotive, the Dm. NSB followed suit, and took order of six locomotives, each with a power output of . They were designated El 12 and were delivered in 1954, with another two delivered three years later. The locomotives were at first used as four twin units, but later six were rebuilt to make two triplets. During the 1960s, LKAB again decided to increase the need for transport, and NSB ordered six El 15, with a power output of . Although never permanently coupled together, the units normally operated in pairs when hauling ore trains. The El 4 was used until 1964, and El 3 until 1967. Neither the El 3, El 4 or Oe has been preserved. ;1980–1997 In the 1980s, LKAB started to push for lower transport costs. At the time, NSB had a 50%
profit margin Profit margin is a financial ratio that measures the percentage of profit earned by a company in relation to its revenue. Expressed as a percentage, it indicates how much profit the company makes for every dollar of revenue generated. Profit margi ...
on the operations, or about NOK 60 to 70 million per year. A committee was established by both countries' transport ministries to find areas of improvement. During the 1970s and 1980s, the number of employees working on the ore logistics had been halved, and NSB stated that they did not believe there was much more room for higher efficiency. El 12 were retired in 1989 and 1990, and one twin unit has been preserved by Ofoten Museum. In December 1991, LKAB stated that they wanted to take over the operation of the ore trains from NSB and SJ. 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 claimed that taking over operations itself could save it 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 ...
. 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, 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. In late May, NSB stated that they were able to cut costs by 25% and that they would reduce the price to LKAB more than this. LKAB rejected the proposal, and stated that NSB had shown their ability of restructuring too late. 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 September, Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications Kjell Opseth from the Labour Party, stated that it would be "unfortunate" if LKAB should take over the operations. On 18 September, 3,000 people in Narvik held a
general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
against LKAB's plans. At the time it was not possible for NSB to fire redundant employees, at that the state agency would have to continue to pay their Narvik employees who would not be hired by LKAB, should the latter take over operations. In October 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. The price reduction would mean that both NSB and SJ would have to lay off employees. In 1993, SJ and NSB started operating the Arctic Rail Express (ARE) from
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 ...
to Narvik via Sweden and the Ofoten Line. Originally the service had two weekly services. The main products were fruits and vegetables northbound and fish southbound. The service moved the northernmost container train service in Norway north, from Fauske on the
Nordland Line The Nordland Line (, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through Trøndelag and Nordland counties, carrying a combination of commuter, long-haul passenge ...
. ARE met protests from politicians in
Salten Salten is a traditional district in Nordland county, Norway. It includes the municipalities of Gildeskål, Bodø, Beiarn, Saltdal, Fauske, Sørfold, Steigen, and Hamarøy. Salten covers an area of about and has a population (2016) of about ...
, who feared less transport on the Nordland Line. 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 Ore Line and the Ofoten Line. In May 1994, LKAB applied for traffic rights on the Ofoten Line. This was rejected in December 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. In January 1995, it was proposed that a joint venture would be created between LKAB, SJ and NSB. The Norwegian Union of Railway Workers protested the proposal, and the Norwegian Centre Party stated that their feared this was the first step into converting NSB to a
limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...
. By February the negotiations were in a deadlock, and SJ and NSB stated that they were issuing an invitation to tender for a new class of locomotives. In March, LKAB again applied for permit to operate their own trains in Norway and stated that they would only join a joint venture if they were the majority owner. On 8 June, 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 ...
. 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. The organization was protested by local labor unions in Narvik. In December, Kjell Opseth created a committee under the ministry, led by State Secretary Torstein Rudihagen of the Labour Party, which would look at the reorganization, thus postponing the date of the start of operations. 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. In May 1996, Opseth stated that the Norwegian Government would give the necessary rights to the joint venture. At the same time, the state would give Narvik Municipality economic support and lots for commercial development. With Malmtrafik's take-over, 50 employees, equally distributed between the two countries, became redundant. On 28 June, the transfer of operations was finalized when the Labour Party, the Conservative Party and the Progress Party voted 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 ...
, with 67 against 45 votes, to grant Malmtrafik the necessary rights. The Centre Party, the
Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
, the Socialist Left Party, the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
and the
Red Electoral Alliance Red Electoral Alliance (, , RV) was an alliance of far-left groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary socialism ideals into the Norwegian parliament. The party dissolved itself on 10 March 2007, when it participated ...
voted against. NSB's workshop and depot were to be transferred to a new company, Norsk Verkstedindustri, which was intended to create new jobs in Narvik. 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. ;1998– 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 NOK 180 million, 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 decided that these were not sufficiently strong for the new trains and decided that the Iore locomotives and the new hopper cars were to be delivered with
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). While the first pair of locomotives had a Janney couplers, the rest of the first batch were equipped with SA3 couplers to handle the existing hopper cars, and later retrofitted with Janney couplers. In 2003, the Ore Line from Kiruna to Riskgränsen and the Ofoten Line were finished upgraded to 30 tonne axle load, allowing half the trains to operate with maximum capacity. Ofotbanen AS was founded on 20 March 2001. In November, it bought five used Di 3 for NOK 250,000 each, well under market price, from NSB. In 2003, NSB announced that they wanted to discontinue their operations in Narvik, hoping they could leave operation of passenger trains on the Ofoten Line to Ofotbanen. In May, NSB signed an agreement with Ofotbanen, where the latter would take over NSB's responsibilities to operate trains from Narvik Station to Riksgränsen Station. The initial contract would last until 2006, and NSB paid NOK 13 million for the service. From 15 June, Ofotbanen took over all passenger transport on the line, including employing all former NSB employees in Narvik. On the same day, Connex Tåg (later Veolia) took over the operations on the Swedish side of the border after winning a
public service obligation In the context of European Union law, a public service obligation or PSO is an obligation imposed on an organisation by legislation or contract to provide a service of general interest within EU territories. PSOs may operate in any field of publi ...
contract with the Swedish Government, and dismissing SJ of the right to offer the service. In 2003, Narvik Municipality and the Port of Narvik both became minority shareholders in Ofotbanen. In April, Ofotbanen received a permit to operate in Sweden, and started offering charter trains between Narvik and
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 ...
in Sweden, primarily for cruise ship passengers. 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 ...
was 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. In 2005, Ofotbanen entered the container freight market, with a train running from Narvik via Sweden to Oslo, both via the
Meråker Line The Meråker Line ( meːroːkərˌbɑːnən 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 No ...
and via the
Kongsvinger Line The Kongsvinger Line () is a railway line between the towns of Lillestrøm and Kongsvinger in Norway and onwards to Charlottenberg in Sweden. The railway was opened on 3 October 1862 and is Norway's second standard gauge line (after the Hoved ...
. The trains would continue to Drammen when necessary. In 2008, the public service obligation contract on the Ofoten Line was won by SJ. This included a subsidy of NOK 3.0 million from the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications for the section on the Norwegian side of the border. Therefore, SJ started operating trains all the way to Narvik, and Ofotbanen lost the contract of operating the trains on the Norwegian side of the border. Ofotbanen had been receiving NOK 4.5 million in subsidies from NSB for the operation from 15 June. Ofotbanen ceased operations on 29 July 2008, and filed for bankruptcy on 24 October. 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.


References

;Bibliography *


External links


Article on the Ofot Line's history
{{Coord, 68.4, 17.5, display=title Railway lines in Norway Cross-border railway lines in Norway Cross-border railway lines in Sweden Narvik Railway lines in Nordland Railway lines opened in 1902 1902 establishments in Norway Electric railways in Norway Iron ore railways Tourist attractions in Nordland Transport in the Arctic