The Iron Ore Line (Swedish: Malmbanan) is a 398-kilometre (247 mi) long railway line between Riksgränsen and Boden in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The line contains two branches, from Kiruna to Svappavaara and from Gällivare to Koskullskulle. The term is often colloquially used to also include the Ofoten Line, from Riksgränsen to Narvik in Norway, and the northernmost part of the Main Line Through Upper Norrland from Boden to Luleå. The railway from Narvik to Luleå is 473 kilometres (294 mi) long.
The line is dominated by the 8,600-tonne (8,500-long-ton; 9,500-short-ton) ore freight trains operated by LKAB's subsidiary Malmtrafik from their mines to the Port of Narvik and the Port of Luleå. In addition, SJ operates passenger trains and CargoNet operates container freight trains. The Iron Ore Line is single track, electrified at 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC and has a permitted axle load of 30 tonnes (30 long tons; 33 short tons). The Swedish part of the line is the northernmost railway in Sweden and in the whole of the European Union.
The first section of the line, from Gällivare to Luleå, opened in 1888. By 1899, the line was extended to Kiruna, and from 1903, all the way to Narvik. Electrification took place between 1915 and 1923. Operations of the ore trains was taken over by Malmtrafik from SJ in 1996.
Read more about Iron Ore Line: Operations, History, Locomotives
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