There is a complete standstill on the Malmbanan between Kiruna and Narvik after Sunday evening’s train derailment, which not only makes it difficult for ore transports on the route but also for passenger traffic just in time for Christmas.
Tor Kangas, operations manager at Vy, which operates the route with passenger trains, tells P4 Norrbotten that there are “a few hundred travelers who are affected”, especially those who will travel further than Kiruna.
– They will be bused on the Kiruna-Narvik route, he says.
Even travelers traveling from Boden and northwards can in some cases be affected by having to travel in a different comfort class than planned.
It was at around 5.30pm on Sunday that one of the mining group LKAB’s ore trains derailed at Vassijaure, near the border with Norway. No one was injured in the derailment, but it caused extensive damage to the infrastructure.
The Swedish Transport Administration has handed over the case to the Norwegian Accident Commission, which is to investigate the accident, and a very preliminary forecast is that traffic on the route can be resumed at the beginning of January at the earliest.