| Arctic Railway | |
|---|---|
 Proposed rail routes into Lapland. Existing or disused routes are shown as grey dotted lines. | |
| Overview | |
| Locale | Lapland,Finland Finnmark,Norway |
| Termini | |
| Service | |
| Services | Rovaniemi - Vuojärvi - Sodankylä - Petkula - Vuotso - Saariselkä - Nellim - Rayakoski - Nikel - Kirkenes |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 526 km (327 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Double track |
| Track gauge | 1,524 mm (5 ft) |
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead lines |
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TheArctic Railway (alsoArctic Ocean Railway) is a planned railway line linking theNorwegian Arctic port ofKirkenes with theFinnish railway network.
Proposals for a rail link betweenLapland and northernNorway began serious consideration in 2017,[1] with the aim of linking the Finnish railway network to Arctic shipping routes.[2] In light ofglobal warming making an ice-freeNortheast Passage a possibility within the 21st century. Russia has also been re-investing into its fleet ofnuclear icebreakers, replacing older ships which had plied the Arctic sea routes since Soviet times with newer models. There are widespread expectations that the Arctic ports ofMurmansk,Kirkenes andNarvik will grow in importance in the coming decades, thus necessitating betterhinterland infrastructure. Railroads are widely regarded as the most efficient way to transport goods to and from ports, and railroad access is often seen as an advantage in the competition between ports.[3] Furthermore, improving links between Russia and Norway would allow goods travelling by land along theEurasian Land Bridge to get from China to Norway via only one transit country, Russia, and with – depending on thegauge chosen for the Arctic Railway and the final destination in Norway – only one or twobreaks of gauge. Thus problems with additional transit countries such as Iran (southern route) or Belarus/Ukraine (Central route) could be avoided.
Route options under consideration included starting atRovaniemi orKemijärvi in Finland to eitherKirkenes in Norway orMurmansk in Russia, or fromKolari orTornio inFinland toNarvik (viaSweden) orTromsø in Norway.[4] The Rovaniemi to Kirkenes route has been determined to be the most feasible,[5] with an estimated cost of €2.9 billion.[6] €2 billion would be covered by the Finnish government, with the remaining €900 million covered by theNorwegian government.[7]
In early 2019, a Finnish-Norwegianworking group assembled byFinland's Ministry of Transport and Communications stated that the volume of cargo was too small to justify the project's costs.[8] After plans for the railway stalled, entrepreneurPeter Vesterbacka announced an alternative plan for the project in May 2019, claiming the railway could be built through private investments fromChina and theEuropean Union, and with an underground route. As of March 2020, Vesterbacka and Chinese investors are aiming to build anundersea railway tunnel witha route betweenHelsinki andTallinn.[9][8]
In november 2024, Transport and Communications MinisterLulu Ranne says that a giant project is being launched in Lapland due to the threat from Russia. The purpose is to build a train connection from the ports ofOulu andKemi toTornio and across the border river toHaparanda on the Swedish side and from there to the mining town ofKiruna and to the port ofNarvik in Norway.
Environmental and cultural sensitivities exist which affect these plans, with concerns from the indigenousSámi people that the proposed line would pass throughreindeer grazing lands.[10] Indigenous reindeer herders have criticized the plans, arguing that a railway would cut off reindeer migration paths and cause accidents, killing herds.[11][8]Tiina Sanila-Aikio, the former president of theSámi Parliament of Finland, has stated that section 17 of theFinnish constitution legally prohibits the approval of the railway, since it "assures the Sami's right to maintain and develop their own culture", which she states includes "reindeer herding, fishing and hunting in the area".[8] In 2018,Greenpeace, Sámi youth organizationSuoma Sámi Nuorat [se], and Sámi activist and arts groupSuohpanterror staged protests to block the railway's path.[12]
