Traffic on the Iron Ore Line will grow, and capacity accordingly needs to be expanded. Both Sweden and Norway, which both have parts of the line on their territory, agree on that. However, the countries present different findings on how much capacity should grow exactly.
Both Sweden and Norway commissioned investigations into the need for extra capacity on the Iron Ore Line. The studies took place against the background of three derailments in relatively short succession, which put the line in the spotlight as a crucial artery for goods and military mobility.
Bane NOR, Norway’s infrastructure manager, found that 66 trains will need to pass the line by 2040. “We are in the process of planning to achieve such a capacity”, says Thor Brækkan, a representative of Norway’s Railway Directorate, which commissioned the study.
Sweden has different findings
However, Brækkan points to diverging results in a study conducted by Sweden’s transport administration. “The problem is that the transport administration in Sweden operates with completely different figures”, says Brækkan.
“The Swedes believe the need will not be greater than 45 trains a day in 2040 on the Kiruna – border section. They have, therefore, not initiated corresponding planning for increased capacity,” he explains. “It does not particularly help the overall traffic on the Iron Ore Line if the capacity cannot be increased on both sides of the border at the same time.”
Nevertheless, both sides agree on the need to increase the axle load to 32,5 tonnes, and they are increasingly engaged in cooperation forums, according to the Railway Directorate. An “Iron Ore Line Group” has been established for market participants, and the Sweden’s transport administration launched “Platform North” for those who are in need of rail and road transportation in the north of Scandinavia and Finland.