Northern Norway Line
The Northern Norway Line (Norwegian: Nord-Norgebanen) is a proposed railway which would be built through Northern Norway. Several proposals have been launched; one is to connect from the Nordland Line at Fauske and continue onwards to Narvik, Tromsø and Harstad. The Troms Line (Norwegian: Tromsbanen) is a more limited proposal, which calls for a line between Narvik and Tromsø, but which would not connect to the rest of the railway network in Norway and instead the Swedish railway network via the Ofoten Line.[1] During the Second World War, the German occupation forces started building the Polar Line between Fauske and Narvik, but that was abandoned after the war.
2019 study[edit]
In 2019 the Norwegian Railway Directorate signed an agreement with Asplan Viak to study the development of a line from Fauske via Narvik to Tromsø.[2] The Fauske – Tromsø Line would be around 375km long, while the Bjerkvik – Harstad line would be just over 80km long. The study has two suggested routes, one with a lot of tunnels, and one with fewer tunnels. The former has a 53 kilometres (33 mi) tunnel and the latter 9 bridges over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) length. Both have suspension bridges of over 1000 m span, near world record for railway bridges. The analyses found the full scheme development would cost NKr 113bn, while the line to Harstad would cost around NKr 20bn. The analysis showed that it would cost more than NKr 100bn ($US 11.6bn). However, the Norwegian Railway Directorate says the line will not be economically viable, as calculations show a net loss for the state of between NKr 46bn and NKr 109bn.[3]
Proposed routes and details[edit]
There are both 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) and 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) lines being proposed.
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1520mm gauge routes[edit]
- Proposed routes: Kirkenes - Lakselv - Skibotn - Bjørnfjell - Fauske - Mo-i-Rana - Mosjøen - Levanger - Trondheim - Kongsvinger - Gothenburg, and Kolari - Skibotn - Tromsø
- Number of tracks: 1-2
- Electrification: 25kV 50Hz AC overhead lines
- Minimum overhead wiring height: 6.7m above top of rails
- Minimum track center spacing: 4.7m
- Minimum passing loop length: 1500m
- Platform height: 200mm above top of rails
1435mm gauge routes[edit]
- Proposed routes: Fauske - Bjørnfjell - Harstad
- Number of tracks: 1
- Electrification: 15kV 162⁄3Hz AC overhead lines
- Minimum overhead wiring height: 5.3m above top of rails
References[edit]
- ^ "Tromsbanen på sporet" (in Norwegian). 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ Burroughs, David (21 January 2019). "Norway appoints consultants for Fauske – Tromsø study". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ Burroughs, David (1 July 2019). "Fauske – Tromsø railway not economically viable, study finds". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 30 July 2019.