LKAB, the largest iron ore producer in Europe, said that some of its facilities might close unless capacity along the Iron Ore Line, or Malmbanan, doesn’t improve significantly. “LKAB is reviewing closure in either Kiruna or Svappavaara based on what would mean the least damage to the company”, they said. Because of capacity issues, LKAB…
Category: Norway
North-South Europe fresh produce train may start trial in late 2024
A new rail freight route carrying fresh produce will start a pilot in late 2024. On a weekly basis, a train will make a return trip between Oslo and Valencia. The train will save time and emissions, but faces bureaucratic hurdles. Frederik Zevenbergen, a representative of the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland, presented the plan at…
Railway to Bergen reopens, freight traffic restarts
As of last night, freight trains are running again along the railway connecting Oslo and Bergen, as Henning Aandal, the CEO of OnRail, told RailFreight.com. Rail access to Bergen was impeded after a derailment in Arna on Friday 22 March 2024. The derailment was a significant thorn in the side for operators active in the…
Last-minute call avoided tragedy in Norwegian train derailment
The dynamic of the recent train derailment in Norway is still unclear. What is currently known is that the train driver and an employee who helped to prepare the train are under investigation. Moreover, a last-minute emergency call saved the day, allowing a passenger train transiting in the same tunnel to stop and avoid a…
Accident in Norway: ‘Some cargo will have to wait for the reopening of the line’
There currently is no rail freight traffic between Oslo and Bergen due to the recent derailment in Arna. “Some of the containers will just have to wait for the reopening of the line”, said a spokesperson from CargoNet, the rail freight operator most active on the route. The company usually runs six trains per direction…
Derailment in Norway blocks rail access to Bergen indefinitely
A freight train derailed in Arna, near Bergen (Norway) on the evening of Friday 22 March 2024. No serious injuries were reported, but the railway section connecting Bergen to Vaksdal, part of the Bergen-Oslo line, will be closed with no forecast for a reopening date. The Norwegian Accident Investigation Board said that the derailment occurred…
Sweden to upgrade Iron Ore Line after derailments and NATO accession
Sweden has decided to upgrade the Iron Ore Line, or Malmbanan in Swedish. The upgrades are necessary due to two recent derailments. Moreover, the country’s NATO accession requires the rail line to function properly at all times. The railway line in Sweden’s north is crucial for mining and military purposes. The Iron Ore Line stretches…
Iron Ore Line to fully reopen this week after derailment
Traffic along the Iron Ore Line should fully restart on Thursday, 7 March, after a train derailed near Vassijaure, not far from the Sweden-Norway border, on 24 February. The particularity of this derailment is that it took place only four days after an adjacent section of the Line was reopened following another derailment in the […]
Another derailment along the Iron Ore Line, this time it may be sabotage
The Iron Ore Line, Europe’s northernmost rail border crossing connecting Sweden and Norway, is again closed due to a freight train derailment near Vassijaure. The line had just been reopened last week after another derailment took place near the same area in December. According to the Swedish police, the latest derailment is being treated as […]