Mayor of Tromsø proposes railway from Narvik
The Mayor of Tromsø believes a railway between the Paris of the north and Narvik, where there is a connection onwards to Kiruna in Sweden, may be the place to start to, finally, get trains further north in Norway.
Expanding the Northern Norway Railway from Fauske to Tromsø is estimated to cost well over NOK 100 billion. Tromsø Mayor, Kristin Røymo (Labour) says the need and the desire for trains in the north of Norway is great, but that it may be best to start with just a part of the stretch, writes VG.
“I think it would make sense to start with the northernmost part between Tromsø and Narvik,” Røymo states.
There is already a connection to Sweden via the Ofotbanen from Narvik. She explains that freight traffic from Tromsø is already heading towards Narvik, mainly ferrying salmon.
“This freight has increased tremendously. We, however, lack an environmentally friendly transport method for the salmon. We simply do not have the capacity on the roads needed for this transport,” the Mayor of Tromsø continues.
Not socio-economically profitable
She doesn’t have much good to say about the report that was presented by the Norwegian Railway Directorate recently. That report concludes that the railway will not be socio-economically profitable.
Project Manager of the Norwegian Railway Directorate, Hanne Juul, says that it is not unusual for large transport projects to end up with socio-economic losses. She also points out that the Northern Norway Railway is no more expensive per metre than other comparable stretches.
“It is the length that makes this a huge total cost,” Juul concludes.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today