Electric trains now carry all ore from Kiruna to the coast, after the last diesel locomotives were retired this month.

The switch cuts transport emissions on the line by 40% and runs on power from our own hydro and wind.

Longer, heavier trains

The new locomotives haul 75 wagons and 8,200 tonnes per train, up from 68 wagons with the old fleet. That means three fewer trains a day for the same amount of ore, and less wear on the track.

On the way down from the mountains to Narvik and Luleå, the locomotives brake by running their motors as generators. The power they recover covers around half of what they need to climb back up empty.

A line that never stops

The ore line runs day and night, all year, in temperatures down to minus 40. Each locomotive was tested for a full winter before it entered service, and the depot in Kiruna was extended so they can be serviced indoors.

What it took

The programme replaced 14 locomotives over four years, at a cost of SEK 2.1 billion. We worked with the Swedish Transport Administration to upgrade the overhead power line on the steepest sections near the Norwegian border.