Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line

Iron ore was discovered at Bjørnevatn in 1866.[2] The ore was of poor quality, but lay close to the surface—allowing for open-pit mining, had large deposits and was located close to a port. The mining company Sydvaranger was established by German and Swedish investors in 1906. A separation plant was built in Kirkenes and the company decided to transport all ore from the mine to the port by rail. Inge T. Wiull, former manager of the Valdres Line, was hired as divisional leader for the construction of the railway, the port and the residential areas.[2]

Construction of the railway was given high priority to as early as possible aid in transport of workers to the mining sites. Both stations were completed in 1908, the same year as the laying of tracks started. The line originally had a rail profile of 30 kilograms per meter (60 lb/yd). The first steam locomotive, built at Hamar Jernstøperi, was delivered during the fall of 1908. For the tacks in the mine, a shunter needed and the company bought a fireless locomotive. At the time of the opening, the line was 7.5 kilometers (4.7 mi) long, in addition to tracks at both Kirkenes and Bjørnevatn. Both stations received a turntable, while Kirkenes also received water tower, motive power depot and a workshop. Bjørnevatn Station received a depot for the fireless locomotive. Tracks were laid through the open-pit mine, with the length varying. For instance, in 1910 there were 5 kilometers (3 mi) of tracks in the mine.[2]

Mining started on 7 July 1910, with the first ore train being run on 13 July.[2] The first shipload left Kirkenes on 11 October, but SS Bengal sank with the first shipment. In 1911, the system exported 330,000 tonnes of ore.[2] The railway was also used for transporting workers, with trains running from the towns to the plants in the morning and returning after the working day was over. Prior to private cars becoming common, the railway operated a passenger carriage on the trains between Kirkenes and Bjørnevatn—allowing free travel. The railway has never had any scheduled or public transport of passengers, but the company's concession specifies that the authorities could at a later date require the company to operate public passenger services under specified conditions.[2]

Bjørnevatn Mine

In 1910, construction started of an electric power supply for tracks at the port. Originally it had 500 volts direct current, but this was later reduced to 400 volts.[3] Because an overhead wire could interfere with the cranes, third-rail conduction was chosen. However, because of the possibility of iron slimes spilling onto the tracks, the railway chose to use two third rail conductors, one on each side of the track, and avoid the return current running through the tracks.[2] The electric components were delivered by Siemens-Schukert and were taken into use in 1912. The company took delivery of two electric locomotives, both with a Bo wheel arrangement, in 1910 and 1911.[3] Sydvaranger operated one port train every 45 minutes, consisting of one locomotive and four hopper cars, with a combined 25 tonnes (25 long tons; 28 short tons) of ore.[2]

The original system was designed for an export capacity of 650,000 tonnes (640,000 long tons; 720,000 short tons), and in 1913, the company exported 427,000 tonnes (420,000 long tons; 471,000 short tons) and had 1,150 employees.[3] The company initiated plans to start electrification of the mainline, but the plans were placed on hold during the First World War. Sales plummeted during the war. At first, the mining company stored the overproduction, but later production was reduced significantly. In 1918, the tracks at the mine were electrified at 750 volts direct current.[2] Two 50-tonne (49-long-ton; 55-short-ton) Bo'Bo' locomotives were delivered by Siemens-Schukert and Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk in 1917. The following year, another Bo-locomotive was built for the port.[3] Power was secured with the construction of Jarfjord Power Station. However, lack of materials after the war delayed the electrification of the mainline railway until 1920. Also the port received overhead wires, as the third rail caused problems for snow removal. The new electric system was taken into use on 23 December 1920.[2]

In the 1920s, the economy fell into a low conjuncture, forcing Sydvaranger to file for bankruptcy in 1925. However, the facilities were quickly reopened.[2] Two new Bo-locomotives, which could operate both on the mainline and at the port, were delivered in 1930. Built by Siemens-Schukert, they were christened Lisa and Sonja. Two mainline Bo'Bo' locomotives were delivered by Siemens-Schukert in 1935, which were named Oscar and Ivar. They were followed by the Bo Laila and Gerd two years later—which could operate both on the mainline and at the port.[3] During the late 1930s, the railway company started replacing the rails with heavier 35 kilograms per meter (70 lb/yd) rails, although this work was not completed.[2] The final electric locomotive was a Siemens-Schukert-built Bo unit delivered for the port in 1940.[3] In 1938, the last year before production was reduced because of the Second World War, the mine exported 900,000 tonnes (890,000 long tons; 990,000 short tons).[2]

After the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, mining continued under German administration until January 1942. Kirkenes and the areas along the railway and at the mine were being used to store material for Wehrmacht. To allow better capacity to ship out the materials, in 1942, a 2.5-kilometer (1.6 mi) branch line was built to Haganes. Known as the Port Line (Norwegian: Havnebanen, German: Hafenbahn), the line was completed in 1943 and demolished after the war.[2] Wehrmacht also established the "Armeeverpflegungslager" (army rations storage) Station, which was used during and slightly after the war.[1] From the spring of 1944, German authorities ordered that mining was to resume, and allocated two steam locomotives and thirty hooper cars to the line. There was also built a new depot for the German rolling stock.[2]

Reconstruction after the war

As part of Operation Nordlicht, Kirkenes was scorched, causing extensive damage to the mining company's infrastructure. During the reconstruction, Sydvaranger needed to transport large machinery to Bjørnevatn, so the loading gauge was increased to 6 meters (20 ft). All heavy transport during the reconstruction was done using railway, and tracks were laid throughout the mining facility. From 1945, passenger trains ran between the two settlements, at first with steam locomotives, and from 1950 with electric locomotives. New storage silos were built in Bjørnevatn, but from operations started, transport within the mine was performed using trackless machinery. A new port facility was built in Kirkenes, with the line terminating at the Air Bridge, an elevated railway which led to the plant. Mining operations and revenue service on the railway did not start until 1952.[2]

The Directorate for Enemy Property took over the German portion of the ownership of Sydvaranger after the war. In 1948, ownership of the company was transferred to the state.[4] The initial post-war plans were to use the existing rolling stock. The only remaining locomotive which could haul an ore train from the mine to the port was Oskar, which could haul up to 14 hooper cars and a train weight of 800 tonnes (790 long tons; 880 short tons). However, the locomotive proved unreliable, so Sydvaranger decided to order new locomotives.[2] The electric traction was taken out of use in 1955, but the overhead wires remained until 1963.[3] Two G12 diesel-electric locomotives were delivered from General Motors Electro-Motive Division in 1954 and 1956. The Bo'Bo' units had a power output of 977 kilowatts (1,310 hp).[5] In addition, new hooper cars were built by Skabo.[2]

To allow for larger trains, the permanent way was upgraded. The rail profiles were upgraded to 49 kilograms per meter (78 lb/yd), were continuously welded and the gravel ballast was replaced with crushed stone. The distance of the line was after the upgrades 8,484 meters (5.272 mi). The upgrades allowed the maximum axle load to be increased to 22 tonnes (22 long tons; 24 short tons) and the train weight to increased to 1,800 tonnes (1,800 long tons; 2,000 short tons). A nominal train consisted of 20 hooper cars with air brakes. In 1960, work started on demolishing the tracks at the port, followed by all tracks at the workshop at Kirkenes the following year. From then, all non-ore transport in the company was taken over using road transport. The three remaining electric shunters and the steam locomotive were chopped up. Two diesel shunters were sold to Norsk Jernverk in Mo i Rana. Up until this point, the railway had operated 33 steam locomotives, 14 electric locomotives and 4 diesel locomotives.[2]

In 1980, the mine's production peaked with an export of 2.4 million tonnes and 1,000 employees.[2] In 1984, to improve the workplace environment, a used Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA)-built T45 locomotive was bought from Sweden. However, it suffered several breakdowns and was retired in 1989.[2] As a replacement, a new G 1203 BB was bought from Maschinenbau Kiel and was delivered to Kirkenes on 8 February 1991.[6] In 1988, the first part of the Kirkenes plant was closed, and the mining company drastically reduced production because its owner, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, would no longer subsidize operations. All mining ceased in the spring of 1996, and the last load of ore was hauled in April 1997. After operations closed, the oldest G12 was transferred to Sør-Varanger Museum.[2]

Arctic Bulk Minerals bought the mining rights, and operated a train once to twice a year to keep the track and rolling stock maintained. This company filed for bankruptcy in 2002.[2] The mining company was then bought by the local power company Varanger Kraft and Sør-Varanger Municipality.[4] In 2006, they sold the mining company to Tschudi Group for 102 million Norwegian krone (NOK).[7] The Tschudi Group established Northern Iron, registered in Perth, Australia, as a holding company to own the mining company. Operations in the mine and on the line resumed in 2009, after the price of iron had risen dramatically since the closing of the mine.[4] With the opening of the mine, production is estimated at 3 million tonnes of export per year.[8] The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line was the northernmost railway in the world until 2010, when Russia's Obskaya–Bovanenkovo Line was opened.[9][10]

To haul the trains, the mining company took delivery of a Vossloh G1000 BB. Built new in 2009, it was delivered to Kirkenes on 12 February 2010.[11] The unit deviates from standard production by having its maximum speed reduced by software from 100 to 45 kilometers per hour (62 to 28 mph); it is further equipped with snowploughs, air supply to open the hopper car doors, radio remote control and janney couplers. As a back-up, the company will retain the MaK G 1203. The old hooper cars were renovated and put into service, while the track received new concrete ties. The train runs up to 20 trips per day.[12]

On 18 November 2015 the mining company went into bankruptcy.[13]