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Ofoten Line

Length:	Starts:	Ends:	Status:
42 km	Riksgrensen Station	Narvik Station	In service

The Ofoten Line is the 42-kilometre long railway line between the Norway-Sweden border and Narvik. Measured in tonnes, it is transported more freight on the Ofoten Line alone compared to all the other lines in Norway together.

Riksgrensen Station. Photo: Anders B. Wilse/Norsk Folkemuseum

The strong presence of iron at Kiirunavaara and Luossavaara in Kiruna was already found between the years of 1640 and 1650, but there was no mining activity until the 1800s. It started with small-scale mining with reindeer transport. In 1878 the mining technique was modernised. The British company The Northern of Europe Railway Company Ltd wanted to construct a railway line from Luleå to Viktoriahavn, Narvik's former name. The Government received their application in spring 1882, which concerned the Ministry of Defence. They were afraid that a railway line would make it easier for the Russians to occupy Northern Norway and to create a connection to the Atlantic Ocean. As a requirement, the line had to be constructed with a different gauge than the Russian/Finnish and easy to destruct. The line was approved in Parliament on 16 June 1883 on one condition: A long bridge was required, which could be destroyed easily. This bridge is today known as the Nordal Bridge.

Bankruptcy
In 1889 the British company, which was now named The Swedish and Norwegian Railway Company Ltd, was out of money. 23 kilometres of path and eight kilometres of track had been constructed when the work terminated. In winter 1891 the Swedish state bought the part on their side of the border, and the Norwegian Government on the other in May 1892. On 31 July 1896 a new application was sent by a company, led by the engineer Ole W. Lund, to Parliament for the Norwegian part. The Swedish mining company Luossavarra-Kiirunavarra Aktiebolag (LKAB) sent a similar application to the Swedish Parliament on 17 August same year. The complete line was planned to open in the end of 1903. On 15 June 1898 the line between Viktoriahavn and the Norway-Sweden border was approved by the Norwegian Parliament.

Rombaksbotn
Rombaksbotn is an abandoned city in the inner part of the fjord Rombaken. The navvies lived here while they was working under extreme conditions in the mountains to complete the railway line. Up to 700 people lived in Rombaksbotn, and it was the only city in Norway without a church. Instead they had a brothel, for the navvies were wealthy people. A prison was soon required due to increased criminal activities. After the Ofoten Line opened, many of the houses and shops were moved to Viktoriahavn. There is a model of the city at Visit Narvik, near the railway station.

The opening
The ore trains started to operate on the Ofoten Line in autumn 1902, but the line was not officially opened before 14 July next year by King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway. The authority persons did not wanted to travel to Northern Norway during the dark wintertime, and that was the reason for the late opening. When the Ofoten Line was electrified in 1923, it became the northernmost electrified railway line until til Kirov Railway to Murmansk was modernised in 2005. Bjørnfjell Station opened in 1925 and became a tourist destination for cross-country skiers shortly after.

The ore traffic
The ore trains are dominating on the Ofoten Line today, but the Swedish train operator SJ has two daily passenger trains between Narvik and Kiruna. During the summer season, the Arctic Train are operating between Narvik and Bjørnfjell as well 15.9 millions of freight are transported annually on the Ofoten Line, more than all other freight transport together on Norwegian rails. The ore trains are operated by LKAB's subsidiary LKAB Malmtrafik AB. The world's most powerful electric locomotives are being used to pull the ore wagons. With up to ten ore trains a day, comprehensive maintenance work of the line is required. In 2013 the Norwegian National Rail Administration started to construct crossing loops and replaced sleepers to more robust ones to handle the heavy load of braking trains.