A railway line crossing the Arctic?

As Aurélie and I were preparing our trip to the Arctic capital, we were very surprised by the impossibility of getting there by train. Although numerous, the only alternatives today remain the bus, the car or the boat. Tromsø is nowadays one of the three largest European cities without a rail service!

However, the debate resurfaced last year as the new National Transport Plan (NTP) was to be voted in the parliament. The project was examined from different angles, with particular attention to the socio-economic and environmental impacts that such facilites could entail. After intense debates, the Arctic Railway is now one of the objectives mentioned in the 2018-2029 NTP.

What was the initial project about?

The initial plan rejected by the Norwegian government in the early 1990s concerned the extension, from Fauske (Bodø) to Tromsø, of an existing railway line (Oslo-Bodø). However, the ambition to combine passenger and freight transport was the main cause of its failure. In a study carried out by the NSB (Norwegian railway company), the Troms County was deemed too sparsely populated and economically unattractive. The company stated at the time that the investment required to build the line would never be amortized by its use.

Norwegian Railway Directorate (https://www.jernbanedirektoratet.no/)

The debate has been set aside over the past twenty years, and when it resurfaced last year, the city of Tromsø, the fifth largest city in the country with nearly 70,000 inhabitants, no longer seemed to be the obvious option to host the new railway line.

However, the city was strongly defended by the local population as well as the county's Liberal candidate in the last legislative elections, Morten Skandfer. He considers this project as an eco-friendly alternative but above all as a real opportunity to open up and revitalize the city economically. He strongly contests the arguments and studies that led the project to be forgotten at the beginning of the century. In an interview for the Barent's Observer, he assured that « the fishing and aquaculture production in Tromsø should increase fivefold by 2050. These commodities must be transported outside the region. The train is the best solution to this! »

Recent studies highlighted the commercial advantage of building a new railway line through the Arctic region. So far, northern Norway is only connected to Sweden via the Ofotbanen, which extends from Narvik to the Swedish border (Riksgränsen). Rather than a link with the southern and eastern parts of the country, a connection to Finland, Sweden and Russia is now preferred. The governments of Nordic countries are indeed keen to exploit the economic potential of the fishery resources in the Barent Sea.

Which road to choose?

Norconsult Report (cf. references)

Last January, Norconsult, a Norwegian consultancy firm, published a report examining the profitability of an Arctic line that would connect the north of the country to Finland. The latter was jointly commissioned by the Norwegian and Finnish Ministers of Transport and two state agencies (Jernbanedirektoratet and Liikennevirasto). Different alternatives were studied: Tornio - Haparanda - Kiruna - Narvik ; Kolari - Kiruna - Narvik ; Kolari - Skibotn Tromsø ; Rovaniemi (Kemijärvi) - Kirkenes and Rovaniemi - Kemijärvi - Murmansk.

As part of Norconsult's investigations, the Norwegian Railway Directorate (Jernbanedirektoratet) organised two meetings in Tromsø last year. On January 16th, several interest groups were invited (municipalities, local organizations, companies) to discuss the project's terms and conditions. Although all local actors were in favour of its implementation, disagreements appeared over the line's layout, as each actor sought to defend the geographical area it represented. These disagreements show how the chosen city to host this new service will benefit from significant economic spinoffs. A second meeting was held at the end of the month with the Sami Parliament (indigenous people in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia) who expressed serious reservations about the project. Its representatives fear that the construction and speed of the trains will have disastrous consequences on their pastures, the region's natural heritage and their traditional economic activities (reindeer husbandry, agriculture and fishing).

Finally, the railway line will only be fully useful if it is combined with the region's fluvial infrastructure. Until now, most freight has been carried by road. But in the future, we can consider that containers in transit beyond the Arctic Circle could be transported by boat and then distributed by train to the rest of Europe. This would relieve congestion on the single communication route to the northern part of the country but also ensure a more environmentally friendly freight transport.

To store these containers, Tromsø would have to modernise its harbour, which represents a substantial amount of more than NOK 30,000 million (including harbor’s modernisation and line construction) compared to only NOK 10,000 million if the connection were to start from Narvik, a city that already has the necessary facilites thanks to the Ofotbanen. Although Narvik is three times less populated than Tromsø (nearly 20,000 inhabitants), it is the least expensive alternative! As the project remains very expensive, the Finnish Minister of Transport considers that a financial support from the EU is possible, as all its member states could take advantage of the line. Torius Kleiven Kandal, the Northern Norway's representative in Brussels, confirmed the project's eligibility for a EU funding, arguing that Europe wants to get more involved in the Arctic region, seen as a promising trade hub.

The project is now in stand-by, and considering recent studies, the city of Tromsø is likely to be excluded from it. If this line is created, it will lead to a decisive recomposition of the region's economic forces. The city of Narvik, still haunted by the memories of the Second World War, may well establish itself in the near future as the region's emerging new economic heart.

References:

• https://www.newsinenglish.no/2017/03/02/transport-projects-get-historic-boost/

• https://www.newsinenglish.no/2016/03/23/roadblocks-ahead-for-transport-plan/

• https://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Publikasjoner/Innstillinger/Stortinget/1993-1994/inns-199394-133/3/

• https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/industry-and-energy/2017/03/government-initiates-tromso-railway-study

• https://julkaisut.liikennevirasto.fi/pdf8/norconsult_arcticrailway_web.pdf

• https://www.lifeinnorway.net/arctic-railway/

• https://www.railwaypro.com/wp/norway-study-new-rail-link/

• https://standbynordic.com/new-railway-in-nordic-arctic-discussed/

• https://naturvernforbundet.no/samferdsel/en-gledens-dag-for-nord-norge-article36608-139.html