Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 47, 2020

The Ofoten Line (Ofotbanen) is a 43 km railway line in Narvik, 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 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 from Sweden to Narvik. In addition, CargoNet operates container trains, branded as the Arctic Rail Express (ARE), and SJ operates passenger trains, including a night train to Stockholm. Construction started in 1898 along with the Ore Line from Riksgränsen to Kiruna; they were completed in 1902. The line was electrified in 1915. During World War II, ore traffic stopped because of the Battles of Narvik and the bombing of the town. 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. The line has been upgraded to 30 t axle loads, allowing the new Iore locomotives to haul 8600 t trains.