The Ofoten Line () is a railway line in Narvik Municipality, Norway. It runs from the Port of Narvik to Riksgränsen on the Norway–Sweden border, where the line continues as the Ore Line via Kiruna and Gällivare to Luleå. The Ofoten Line is single track, electrified at and has seven stations. The line only connects to the rest of the Norwegian railway network via Sweden. The main traffic is up to 12 daily freight trains operated by Malmtrafik that haul iron ore from Sweden to Narvik. In addition, CargoNet operates container trains, branded as the Arctic Rail Express (ARE), and SJ operates passenger trains, including a night train to Stockholm.
Construction of the Ofoten Line started in 1898 along with the Ore Line from Riksgränsen to Kiruna. They were completed in 1902, allowing LKAB to haul ore from their mines in Kiruna to the ice-free Port of Narvik. Operation and ownership of the line was held by the Norwegian State Railways. The line was electrified in 1915 and Norwegian State Railways (NSB) started using El 3 and El 4 locomotives. During World War II, the ore traffic stopped because of the Battles of Narvik and the bombing of the town. In the following decades, NSB introduced El 12 and El 15 locomotives. In 1996, operation of the ore trains was taken over by Malmtrafik, which was controlled by and now is a subsidiary of the mining company LKAB. The same year, ownership of the railway line was transferred to the newly created Norwegian National Rail Administration. The line has been upgraded to axle loads, allowing the new Iore locomotives to haul trains.
Operations Malmtrafik operates iron ore trains from the mines in Kiruna, Svappavaara and Malmberget to the Port of Narvik, where LKAB operates an ore port with a capacity of 25 million tonnes per year. Daily there operate 11 to 13 trains in each direction. The trains hauled by Iore have 68 cars, are long and weigh . The full ore trains operate at , while the empty return trains operate at . In 2006, the company hauled 15 million tonnes of ore, constituting the majority of train cargo in Norway, measured in tonnes, although not in tonne-kilometers.
CargoNet operates two daily container trains from Alnabru Terminal in Oslo, Norway, named the Arctic Rail Express (ARE). The trains operate via Sweden and take 27 hours. The trains haul mostly food northbound and fish southbound along a distance of . DB Schenker launched a competing freight service, between Oslo and Narvik, in January 2010. There is about 0.5 million tonnes of non-ore freight transport on the Ofoten Line each year.
As of April 2026, SJ operates a single daily train from Narvik to Luleå Central Station or Stockholm Central Station. Travel time from Narvik to Kiruna is 3 hours and 1 minute, and travel time to Luleå is 7 hours and 4 minutes.
In 2020 a local summer seasonal passenger service, called The Arctic Train started between Narvik and Bjørnfjell and back. Tickets are sold to general public but cruise ship passengers are a target group.
The railway operation (as distinct from the train operation) is handled by Bane NOR, the Norwegian railway agency. Rules and laws are like other railways in Norway, meaning that train operators must have Norwegian permission and follow Norwegian railway rules even if this railway is short and isolated from other Norwegian railways.
History
1884–1979 In 1884, LKAB's predecessor Gellivare Aktiebolag is granted concession for mining in Malmberget. Four years later, the first part of the Ore Line, from Malmberget to Luleå, was completed. In 1889, the mining company filed for bankruptcy, and the Government of Sweden bought the line for 8 million Swedish krona (SEK), half the investment cost. Construction of the Ore Line and Ofoten Line from Gällevare to Narvik started in 1898 and was completed in 1902. A bridge, Norddalsbron, was built along the Ofoten Line, extra long for military reasons, to be able to cut the line in case of war. In 1940, during the war, the bridge was blown up. However, because of lack of explosives, the demolition was not well done, and the bridge could be repaired by the Germans.
On 19 January 1915, the Ore Line between Riksgränsen and Kiruna was electrified. A plan for electrification of the Ofoten Line had been made in 1911, but not until 1920 did parliament approve the plans. Operations with electrical traction started on 15 May 1923, and was officially opened on 10 July. Until 1925, Swedish Oe locomotives were used. NSB decided to order two types of electric locomotive for the line: El 3 and El 4. El 3 was nearly identical to Oe and was a twin unit locomotive with a combined power output of . Four twin units were delivered in 1925, and a fifth in 1929. The El 4 locomotives were longer and more powerful, and operated as singles. Each single El 4 had the same power output as a twin El 3. Two units were delivered in 1926, two in 1928 and one in 1929. NSB operated the trains using their rolling stock from Narvik to Abisko, where there was a change of locomotive and operating company.
In 1940, the Port of Narvik suffered extensive war damage, and all export for the remainder of World War II went via Luleå. In 1957, the Government of Sweden bought LKAB. Two of the El 4s were damaged beyond repair during the war.
In 1949, pooling of the locomotives started, whereby NSB and SJ would alternate operating trains and their respective locomotives used on the whole section from Kiruna to Narvik. The following year, LKAB decided to increase annual transport from 8–10, to 12–15 million tonnes. This involved increasing the train weight to . To provide sufficient hauling power, the El 3 units were rebuilt from twins to triplets, and two of the El 4 units were made a twin unit. The upgrades were completed by 1953.
At the same time, SJ decided to order a new type of locomotive, the Dm. NSB followed suit, and took order of six locomotives, each with a power output of . They were designated El 12 and were delivered in 1954, with another two delivered three years later. The locomotives were at first used as four twin units, but later six were rebuilt to make two triplets.
During the 1960s, LKAB again decided to increase the need for transport, and NSB ordered six El 15, with a power output of . Although never permanently coupled together, the units normally operated in pairs when hauling ore trains. The El 4 was used until 1964, and El 3 until 1967. Neither the El 3, El 4 or Oe has been preserved. 1980–1997 In the 1980s, LKAB started to push for lower transport costs. At the time, NSB had a 50% profit margin on the operations, or about NOK 60 to 70 million per year. A committee was established by both countries' transport ministries to find areas of improvement. During the 1970s and 1980s, the number of employees working on the ore logistics had been halved, and NSB stated that they did not believe there was much more room for higher efficiency. El 12 were retired in 1989 and 1990, and one twin unit has been preserved by Ofoten Museum.
In December 1991, LKAB stated that they wanted to take over the operation of the ore trains from NSB and SJ. At the time, they were paying 0.15 Swedish krona (SEK) per tonne kilometer in Sweden and 0.30 Norwegian krone (NOK) per tonne kilometer in Norway, while comparable rates abroad were between SEK 0.03 and 0.10 per tonne kilometer. While SJ had several times during the 1980s agreed to reduce their rates, NSB had not offered the same, and was making a profit of NOK 60 to 70 million per year. LKAB claimed that taking over operations itself could save it SEK 200 million per year. In addition, they stated that they could save between SEK 50 to 100 million in auxiliary fields. LKAB had sent an application to Swedish authorities for permission to take over operations, and had received positive feedback from SJ. NSB, on the other hand, did not support a solution where they did not operate the trains themselves. LKAB stated that if an agreement with NSB could not be reached, they would shift all their transport to the Port of Luleå.
In February 1992, a report ordered by Kiruna Municipality recommended that LKAB, SJ and NSB create a common company to operate the ore trains. At the same time, SJ stated that the consequence of LKAB taking over operation could be that passenger trains on the lines would be terminated. In April 1992, LKAB was awarded traffic rights by the Swedish Rail Administration. The rights also did not affect the Ofoten Line.
The following day, SJ and NSB stated that they were considering establishing a joint venture that would take over the operations of the ore trains. In May, LKAB stated that Norway would, through its membership in the European Economic Area, be required to allow any train operator to run trains on a line, while this was rejected by NSB who stated that this only applied within the European Union, of which Norway was not a member. In late May, NSB stated that they were able to cut costs by 25% and that they would reduce the price to LKAB more than this. LKAB rejected the proposal, and stated that NSB had shown their ability of restructuring too late. By August, SJ and NSB had offered to reduce the price from SEK 650 million to 450 million, but LKAB stated that they believed it was possible to reduce the costs further.
In September, Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications Kjell Opseth from the Labour Party, stated that it would be "unfortunate" if LKAB should take over the operations. On 18 September, 3,000 people in Narvik held a general strike against LKAB's plans. At the time it was not possible for NSB to fire redundant employees, at that the state agency would have to continue to pay their Narvik employees who would not be hired by LKAB, should the latter take over operations.
In October the Swedish Ministry of Communications gave the final permission for LKAB to take over operations in their own right. On 26 October, SJ and NSB signed a new five-year contract with LKAB where the latter would purchase transport services from the two state railway. The annual price had then been reduced from SEK 650 to 400 million. The price reduction would mean that both NSB and SJ would have to lay off employees.
In 1993, SJ and NSB started operating the Arctic Rail Express (ARE) from Oslo to Narvik via Sweden and the Ofoten Line. Originally the service had two weekly services. The main products were fruits and vegetables northbound and fish southbound. The service moved the northernmost container train service in Norway north, from Fauske on the Nordland Line. ARE met protests from politicians in Salten, who feared less transport on the Nordland Line.
In 1993, the state railways were losing money on the ore trains. In January 1994, SJ and NSB stated that they were going to merge the operations of the Ore Line and the Ofoten Line. In May 1994, LKAB applied for traffic rights on the Ofoten Line. This was rejected in December by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, who stated that the company did not meet the criteria in the law, including that the applicant had to have rail transport as their main activity.