New Derailment on Iron Ore Line Causes Traffic Stop

Two derailed ore wagons have halted traffic north of Kiruna on the Iron Ore Line, reports the Swedish Transport Administration. 

The incident occurred on Sunday night at the Kaisepakte operations site, involving a railroad switch. The train was operating on low speed. 

No wagons are reported to have overturned, and nothing indicates that the derailment was due to the condition of the track system, writes the Transport Administration. 

Minor damages

"We quickly got personnel on site to inspect the track," says Simon Sunna, Acting Head of the Northern Railway Unit in the Swedish Transport Administration in a press release.

According to Sunna, the incident involves approximately 40 damaged sleepers [substrate for railway tracks, ed. note], as well as a passing loop, and a rail break.

"We have ordered materials to start restoring the facility as quickly as possible. We are now clearing away all the snow to document the damages," says Simon Sunna.

The Transport Administration believes traffic can be resumed on Thursday.

A vulnerable railway section

The Iron Ore Line, or the Ofoten Line as it is called on the Norwegian side, is a railway line that stretches between Norway and Sweden in the North. 

The line has seen several derailments in recent years. In 2023-2024, two major derailments occurred, resulting in long-term traffic disruptions. 

The stops affect the flow of goods on the key railway line and have particularly impacted the Swedish mining company LKAB. 

The company transports large quantities of ore products via the Iron Ore Line, and 10-12 of LKAB's ore trains typically run in each direction daily between Kiruna and Narvik in Northern Norway.

"It affects us when the trains are at a standstill. When the trains are running, revenue is 100 million a day. But if it's a shorter stop, we have opportunities to make up for the loss,"  says Anders Lindberg in LKAB's press department to SVT.