Iron Ore Line - History

History

In 1847, a concession was granted to build a railway from the mines at Gällivare to Töre in the Gulf of Bothnia. The line was never built, and in 1882 a new concession was granted to an English company, who between 1884 and 1888 built a railway from Malmberget to the port at Svartön in Luleå. However, the line was built with an inadequate standard, and the mining company lacked sufficient funds to finance the upgrades. In 1891, the line was nationalized and taken over by the Swedish State Railways.

In 1890, Luossavaara–Kiirunavaara AB was established to start mining in Kiruna. By 1899, a railway had been built from Kiruna to Gällivare. In 1898, the Parliament of Sweden passed legislation to build a railway from Kiruna to Narvik in Norway. The line was completed in November 1902 and was officially opened on 14 July 1903 by King Oscar II. To begin with, the line used two or three conventional steam locomotives for each ore train. Later dedicated ore-hauling steam locomotives were introduced.

In 1915, the section from Riksgränsen to Kiruna was finished electrified, with the rest of the line electrified in 1922. The first electric locomotives were Oa, and allowed trains weighing 1,900 tonnes (1,900 long tons; 2,100 short tons). In the 1950s, SJ introduced the Dm locomotives, which could haul a 3,000 tonnes (3,000 long tons; 3,300 short tons) train. By the 1960s, the Dm had been rebuilt two Dm3, which consisted of a new center section. In combination of upgrades to 25 tonnes (25 long tons; 28 short tons) maximum permitted axle load, this gave a maximum train weight of 5,000 tonnes (4,900 long tons; 5,500 short tons).

In 1964, the branch from Kiruna to Svappavaara was opened, allowing LKAB to exploit mining there, although this was again closed in 1983. In 1990, a tunnel opened under Nuolja between Abisko and Björkliden. Passenger trains were essential for the region until 1984, when European Route E10 was constructed between Kiruna and Narvik.