Cargolink AS is a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
railway company
A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains and the track, while, particularly in the European Union, operation of the track is undertaken ...
. Owned by the automotive distribution company
Autolink An autolink is a hyperlink added automatically to a hypermedia document, after it has been authored or published. Automatic hyperlinking describes the process or the software feature that produces autolinks. Segments of the hypermedia are identifie ...
, Cargolink has operated both
autorack
An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new vehicles from factories to ...
and
container
A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping.
Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
trains since November 2008. Cargolink has a fleet of ten diesel locomotives, five
shunter
A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small Rail transport, railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as Shunt (railway operations), ''switching'' (US) or ...
s, 100
autorack
An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new vehicles from factories to ...
s and 60 container cars. Combined autorack and container trains are operated up to five times per week along the
Sørland-,
Bergen-,
Rauma-,
Røros- and
Nordland
Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...
Lines, as well as services through Sweden.
Autolink, the largest distributor of automobiles in Norway, has traditionally bought train services from
CargoNet
CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight rail transport, freight trains on the rail transport in Norway, Norwegian railway system. It was formed as NSB Gods after Vy (transport operator), NSB (now Vy) fissioned into a passenger and a frei ...
. In 2007, they signed a contract with
Ofotbanen
The Ofoten Line ( no, Ofotbanen) is a railway line in Narvik, Norway. It runs from the Port of Narvik to Riksgränsen on the Norway–Sweden border, where the line continues as the Ore Line via Kiruna and Gällivare to Luleå. The Ofoten Line ...
, and at the same time bought 40% of the company. However, Ofotbanen was in financial difficulties, causing a dispute between the two owners. The result was that Autolink formally established Cargolink in March 2008, without the knowledge of Ofotbanen, and terminated the contract with Ofotbanen in July. Cargolink received an operating licence in September and service started in November.
Operation
Cargolink has a fleet of five shunters at their port in Drammen,
in addition to three
Di 6 diesel locomotives and three
TRAXX
Alstom Traxx (sold as Bombardier TRAXX before 2021) is a modular product platform of mainline diesel-electric and electric locomotives produced originally by Bombardier Transportation and later Alstom, which was built in both freight and passen ...
electric locomotives for main haulage. While the shunters are owned by Cargolink, the diesel locomotives are leased from
Dispolok
Dispolok was a locomotive leasing company founded by Siemens in 2001 offering locomotives for hire to European rail operators. In September 2006 it was bought by Mitsui Rail Capital Europe with the brand retired in January 2008.
History
Due to t ...
of Germany
and the electric locomotives are leased from
Hector Rail
Hector Rail is a Swedish-based independent train haulage provider operating in the European rail transport market, operating 50 locomotives. The company provides locomotives and drivers to freight customers who need to have whole unit trains haule ...
. It also has more than 100 closed
autorack
An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new vehicles from factories to ...
s for automobile transport, and 60
container cars. 70 new autoracks are under delivery from Sweden.
On contract from Autolink, Cargolink operates autorack trains throughout large portions of the
Norwegian railway network, from the seaports in Drammen and Oslo. Services are provided along the
Sørland Line
Sørland is a Seaside resort, fishing village and the administrative centre of Værøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern side of the island of Værøya. The village is the main population center of the islan ...
to
Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
, along the
Bergen Line
The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Oslo, ...
to
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
, along the
Dovre Line
The Dovre Line ( no, Dovrebanen) is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim.
Definition
*Dovre Line is the current name of the 548 km main line of the Norwegian railway s ...
to
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
, along the
Rauma Line
The Rauma Line ( no, Raumabanen) is a long railway between the town of Åndalsnes (in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county), and the village of Dombås (in Dovre Municipality in Oppland county), in Norway. Running down the Romsdalen vall ...
to
Åndalsnes
is a town in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is in the administrative center of Rauma Municipality. It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valley. ...
, and along the
Nordland Line
The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trønd ...
to
Mosjøen
Mosjøen (; sma, Mussere) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Vefsn Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Mosjøen is the oldest town in the Helgeland region, with only the Bodø (town), town of Bodø being older within Nordland c ...
,
Mo i Rana
Mo i Rana () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of the Municipalities of Norway, municipality of Rana, Norway, Rana, in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...
and
Bodø
Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
. It also operates through
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
to reach
Narvik
( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
and
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
Each route has up to five weekly departures in both directions with combined autorack and container trains. The company transports 55,000 cars annually on 600 trains, giving a revenue of . Autolink is responsible for about three-quarters of all new-car distribution in the country. On the weekly return trips from Northern Norway, Cargolink uses the empty cars to transport aluminum from
Elkem Mosjøen.
History
Autolink and Ofotbanen
Autolink has traditionally owned a large pool of autoracks. These have been operated by the
Norwegian State Railways
Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach se ...
, and subsequently their subsidiary
CargoNet
CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight rail transport, freight trains on the rail transport in Norway, Norwegian railway system. It was formed as NSB Gods after Vy (transport operator), NSB (now Vy) fissioned into a passenger and a frei ...
.
On 31 January 2007, Autolink bought 40% of the private railway company
Ofotbanen
The Ofoten Line ( no, Ofotbanen) is a railway line in Narvik, Norway. It runs from the Port of Narvik to Riksgränsen on the Norway–Sweden border, where the line continues as the Ore Line via Kiruna and Gällivare to Luleå. The Ofoten Line ...
, and at the same time signed a haulage contract with them. This made Autolink Ofotbanen's largest customer, and second largest owner. In March, Autolink ordered additional 70 new autoracks for NOK 175 million.
![Cargolink MaK 6 at Dombås](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Cargolink_MaK_6_at_Domb%C3%A5s.jpg)
Ofotbanen have since their establishment had financial difficulties. The contract with Autolink had helped, but in July 2008, Autolink canceled their contract with Ofotbanen. Two weeks later, Autolink announced that they would establish their own railway company, which they had been working with since March. They stated that the deal with Ofotbanen was discontinued because the majority owner—Rail Management, in turn owned by Mons Bolin—would not allow additional private placements of capital, nor sell their shares to Autolink. From 29 July, all automotive trains stopped running, and no cars were transported for ten days. The same day, all board members in Ofotbanen representing Autolink withdrew from their positions.
The matter ended in court, with a case to determine whether Autolink should be allowed to take control of four train radios that were located in locomotives owned by Autolink, but operated by Ofotbanen. In a shareholder agreement between Autolink and Rail Management, the ownership of the train radios had been transferred to Autolink, but the agreement has clauses that specified that Autolink could not start a competing railway company. Stating that Autolink had been disloyal in regard to the contract,
Ofoten District Court
Ofoten District Court ( no, Ofoten tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county (and a small part of Troms) in Norway. The court was based in the town of Narvik. The court existed until 2021. The court served the northeastern part of the N ...
ruled on 17 July 2008 against Autolink's demand for an interim order to transfer the ownership of the radios to Autolink.
The court ruled that an interim decision could not be made due to the complexity of the contracts, and that a normal lawsuit would have to be carried out to determine the matter. There was agreement that Autolink, on 13 February 2008, had bought five
shunter
A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small Rail transport, railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as Shunt (railway operations), ''switching'' (US) or ...
s from Ofotbanen for NOK 12 million, of which NOK 9.5 million was paid by Autolink deleting debt.
![Cargolink MaK 6 at Dombås 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Cargolink_MaK_6_at_Domb%C3%A5s_3.jpg)
Ofotbanen lost their license from the
Norwegian Railway Inspectorate
The Norwegian Railway Authority ( no, Statens jernbanetilsyn) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for practical control and supervision of rail transport in Norway, including railways, tramways, rapid transits, heritage railways and si ...
on 7 October 2008. This was because Ofotbanen had not documented necessary accounts for 2007, nor provided evidence of necessary liquidity. On 24 October, the company was declared bankrupt. Rail Management subsequently established the new company Ofotbanen Drift, and stated that the cause of the bankruptcy was that Autolink had not let them make a private placement of NOK 10 million.
Establishment
Work on establishing the new company was initiated by Autolink in March 2008, with the company formally established on 27 March.
It received an operating license from the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate on 18 September 2008.
Five shunters that were operated by Ofotbanen, but owned by Autolink, were transferred to Cargolink. In addition, ten
Di 6 diesel locomotives have been leased from
Vossloh
Vossloh AG is a rail technology company based in Werdohl in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The SDAX-listed group has achieved sales of around €930 million in 2016 with more than 4,000 employees (as of 2017).
Vossloh is a global ...
, with options for later purchase.
Operations started on 2 November, with 22 engineers based in Drammen.
Since the company has an all-diesel fleet, management is working to reroute trains to
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
and
Northern Norway
Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...
along the
Røros Line
The Røros Line ( no, Rørosbanen) is a railway line which runs through the districts of Hedmarken, Østerdalen and Gauldalen in Innlandet and Trøndelag, Norway. The line branches off from the Dovre Line at Hamar Station and runs a more easterl ...
instead of the
Dovre Line
The Dovre Line ( no, Dovrebanen) is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim.
Definition
*Dovre Line is the current name of the 548 km main line of the Norwegian railway s ...
. CargoNet and Ofotbanen had been using the Dovre Line because it is electrified, giving lower operating costs despite its elevation, higher than the Røros Line. After initial trial runs with only three locomotives, full service was introduced later in November.
References
{{Portal bar, Companies, Norway, Trains
Railway companies of Norway
Railway companies established in 2008
Companies based in Drammen