Riksgränsen Station
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Riksgränsen Station (, ) is a
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
located at
Riksgränsen ; ) is a Swedish ski resort located at the northwest edge of Kiruna Municipality in Lappland, next to the Norwegian border. It is the most northerly ski resort in the world, being roughly north of the Arctic Circle; the skiing season is from ...
near the
Norway–Sweden border The Norway–Sweden border (, ) is a long land national border, and the longest border for both Norway and Sweden. It is an external border for the European Union, EU (Sweden). History The border has changed several times because of war. Bef ...
, into Sweden. The station opened in 1902 as part of the
Ofoten Line The Ofoten Line () is a railway line in Narvik Municipality, Norway. It runs from the Port of Narvik to Riksgränsen on the Norway–Sweden border, where the line continues as the Ore Line via Kiruna and Gällivare to Luleå. The Ofoten Lin ...
and
Iron Ore Line The Iron Ore Line () is a long railway line between Riksgränsen and Boden in Norrbotten County, Sweden, owned by Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration). The line also contains two branches, from Kiruna to Svappavaara and from Gà ...
, and was the location of the switching between Norwegian and Swedish operations. The station's official inauguration took place on July 14, 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 ...
, Crown Prince Gustaf, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg. Originally it had a
train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
and a locomotive depot and several tracks, but they have later been removed, partly in connection with electrification around 1920. Now (as of 2021) the station is only a train stop with platform and single track, not a technical railway station. It is for signalling purposes considered part of the Norwegian
Bjørnfjell Station Bjørnfjell Station () is a railway station in the village of Bjørnfjell, Nordland, Bjørnfjell in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located along the Ofotbanen railway line, between Søsterbekk Station and Riksgränsen Stati ...
(2 km away) and there is a Norwegian signal at Riksgränsen station. A part of the platform is under roof inside a snow shelter. The name means "National border". When the railway was planned, there were no settlement or buildings here or at most other station locations. Stations were often named after nature features such as rivers or lakes, usually in
Sami language Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
, for example the neighbour station Katterjåkk. This station got named Riksgränsen because of the border, which also is the border between the national train operator responsibilities. For many years, drivers were switched here due to different license needed in the respective country. At first, when steam locomotives were used, they were switched also.


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Entry
at 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 ...

Entry
at the
Norwegian Railway Club The Norwegian Railway Club () is an association which is involved in the preservation of Norwegian museum railways. NMT has its operating base at Hønefoss Station in Ringerike, Norway. The society was founded on 22 May 1969, and is based at ...
Railway stations in Norrbotten County Railway stations on the Ofoten Line Railway stations on the Iron Ore Line Norway–Sweden border crossings Railway stations in Norway opened in 1902 Railway stations in Sweden opened in 1902 Kiruna Municipality 20th-century establishments in Norrbotten County {{Sweden-railstation-stub