Haparandabanan
Encyclopedia
Boden, Sweden
Boden is a locality and the seat of Boden Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 18,680 inhabitants in 2005.- History :The town of Boden started as a railway junction where the Northern Line met with the Ore Line from the rich iron ore fields in northern Sweden.The town experienced...
and Haparanda
Haparanda
Haparanda is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 4,778 inhabitants in 2005. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. A 45 kilometres (28 mi) long branch from Morjärv
Morjärv
Morjärv is a locality situated in Kalix Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 297 inhabitants in 2005....
to Kalix
Kalix
Kalix is a locality and the seat of the Kalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The name Kalix is believed to have come from nomadic tribes, possibly of Sapmí origin, and is derived from the word "Kalasätno", meaning "The cold river"...
is also considered part of the line, as is the 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long section from Haparanda to Torneå
Torneå
Torneå is the Swedish name of Tornio, a city in northern Finland.*Ylitornio - a municipality in Finland*Övertorneå - a municipality in Sweden, Matarenki in Finnish....
, which is on the Finnish side of the Finland–Sweden border. The line is the only Swedish railway to the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
border. The single track
Single track (rail)
A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....
line is used exclusively by freight train
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
s. Passengers must use buses from Luleå to the Haparanda bus station, where there are bus connections to Kemi
Kemi
Kemi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio. It was founded in 1869 by royal decree, because of its proximity to a deep water harbour....
. Interrail tickets are valid on these buses.
Since 2007, the Swedish Transport Administration, which owns the line, is upgrading the line from Buddbyn to Morjärv and Kalix, and building an alternate route from Kalix to Haparanda, to be finished in 2012. The upgrade will involve electrification; Boden-Kalix is expected to be electrified by November 2011, and electrification will reach Haparanda by February 2012. The line connects with the Main Line Through Upper Norrland at Boden Central Station.
Route
The line from Boden to Haparanda/Karlsborgsbruk is single track and not electrified, and there is no automatic train controlAutomatic Train Control
Automatic Train Control is a train protection system for railways, ensuring the safe and smooth operation of trains on ATC-enabled lines. Its main advantages include making possible the use of cab signalling instead of track-side signals and the use of smooth deceleration patterns in lieu of the...
system installed. Apart from Boden Central Station including Buddbyn Station, the only station equipped with centralized traffic control
Centralized traffic control
Centralized traffic control is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America and centralizes train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system consists of a centralized train dispatcher's office that...
is the Avafors Station, which is controlled remotely from Luleå Central Station
Luleå Central Station
Luleå Central Station or Luleå C is a railway station located on the Main Line Through Upper Norrland in Luleå, Sweden. The station is owned by Jernhusen and is the terminal of the line....
. Stations at Morjärv and Haparanda are manned locally when traffic so requires.
History
The railway from Boden to Haparanda was built in several sections over the course of 17 years. The first segment to be completed was Buddbyn to Niemisel in 1900, followed by the segment Niemisel to Morjärv in 1902. The railway did not reach Lappträsk until in 1910, and the SwedishSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
–Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n border at Karungi on the west bank of Torne River
Torne River
The Torne River , is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. Approximately half of the river's length is a part of the border between these two countries. It rises at Lake Torne near the border with Norway and flows generally southeast for a distance of into the Gulf of Bothnia...
was not reached until 1913.
Karungi was to become a junction, and the railway reaching northward to Övertorneå
Övertorneå
Övertorneå is a locality and the seat of Övertorneå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,965 inhabitants in 2005.It is located at the shore of the Torne River, opposite to Ylitornio...
was built in 1914, followed by the southern Karungi to Haparanda line in 1915. The only open railway connection between Germany and Russia during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
went here. Lenin traveled here in 1917 to organise the Russian Revolution. The bridge over the Torne River
Torne River
The Torne River , is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. Approximately half of the river's length is a part of the border between these two countries. It rises at Lake Torne near the border with Norway and flows generally southeast for a distance of into the Gulf of Bothnia...
between Haparanda and Tornio
Tornio
Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...
was placed in service in 1919. Before that passengers had to walk or use horse carriages the short distance between the cities.
The station building was finished in 1918, and was dimensioned based on the traffic during the war. All international travelers had to change trains here because of the break-of-gauge
Break-of-gauge
With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...
, and had to go through passport check. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the traffic was dense again since the Baltic Sea was not safe. It is one of Sweden's largest station buildings, but not used at the moment.
The branch line from Morjärv towards Kalix was built in 1961. Traffic between Karungi and Övertorneå was discontinued in 1984, and the line was torn up soon thereafter. In 1986 a more direct route was built between Övermorjärv and Östra Flakaträsk, bypassing the Räktjärv station. The old line along with one bridge was demolished soon after the new shortcut was built; however, the old line is still visible on many Swedish maps.
Passenger traffic ended in 1992. The connection to the Finnish trains was already broken in 1988 when the Haparanda–Tornio–Kemi trains were discontinued. There was a test with tourist traffic between Boden–Haparanda in the summer 2000, but it has not been repeated since.