THE Swedish government has instructed infrastructure manager Trafikverket to undertake an immediate upgrade of the Ore Line between Luleå and Narvik in Norway.
Trafikverket has been given until March 31 to report back on how it will complete the work. It has been specifically instructed to examine track doubling of the Luleå - Boden section and will also propose funding options, which could include raising track access charges, according to the government.
The 500km Ore Line is mainly used to move iron ore from mines in the Kiruna region of Sweden to the ports of Narvik on the Atlantic and Luleå on the Baltic. The line has had to close for a total of three months this winter due to two ore train derailments.
This caused major disruption and financial losses for the mining industry. In February over 60 companies and other bodies, including mining and steel companies, Volvo, Scania, and the local chamber of commerce, petitioned the government for the Ore Line to be upgraded.
In addition, its strategic importance for moving iron ore and military traffic has gained in importance since Sweden joined Nato on March 7, following Finland, which joined on April 4 2023.
Nato requires member states maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack. The current condition of the single-track Ore Line, now 122 years old, has raised questions over Sweden’s ability to fulfil this obligation.
“The importance of transport from west to east will increase quite considerably,” Mr Thomas Ekström, a military logistics expert at the Swedish Defence University, told Swedish Television (SVT).
“Our transport systems and energy supply systems need to be resilient. Is it an example of a resilient system if it takes two months to get the Ore Line up and running again?”
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