The Haparanda Line ( sv, Haparandabanan) is a long

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line between Boden and Haparanda in Sweden. There is a long section from Haparanda to Torneå, which is on the Finnish side of the

Finland–Sweden border The Finland–Sweden border (or Finnish–Swedish border) is the border between the countries of Finland and Sweden. Almost the entire border runs through water: along the Tornio River and its tributaries, and in the Gulf of Bothnia. Only a few ...

. The line is the only Swedish railway to the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

border.

The

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

line was used exclusively by

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

s between 1992 and 2021, during which time it was necessary to use buses from Luleå to the Haparanda bus station, with onward connections to Kemi in Finland. Passenger service began again on the 1st of April, 2021, operated by Vy Norrtåg.

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

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

–

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

border at Karungi on the west bank of

Torne River The Torne, also known as the Tornio ( fi, Tornionjoki, sv, Torne älv, , se, Duortneseatnu, fit, Tornionväylä), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countr ...

was not reached until 1913. Karungi was to become a junction, and the railway reaching northward to

Övertorneå Övertorneå ( fit, Matarengi; fi, Matarenki) is a locality and the seat of Övertorneå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,917 inhabitants in 2010. It is located at the shore of the Torne River, opposite to their Finnish twin ...

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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

went here.

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

traveled here in 1917See the

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

article for more details. to organise the Russian Revolution. The bridge over the

between Haparanda and

Tornio Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a city and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is ...

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 travellers had to change trains here because of the

break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

, and had to go through passport check. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the traffic was dense again since the Baltic Sea was not safe. It is one of Sweden's largest station buildings, but only used to some extent for rail purposes (since 2021). 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 ceased 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 of 2000. During the period 2007 to 2012, the line from Buddbyn (near Boden Central Station) to Morjärv and Kalix was upgraded, and an alternate route from Kalix to Haparanda was built. The line was electrified in the same time. The old line from Morjärv over Karungi to Haparanda was abandoned in 2012. In 2013, the

European Train Control System The European Train Control System (ETCS) is the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). It is a replacement for legacy train protection systems and designed to replace the many incompatible ...

(level 2) signalling system was introduced on the line. In 2020, Norrtåg applied to start passenger services from Luleå and Boden to Haparanda. Passenger services restarted on the 1st of April 2021, including one weekday round trip to/from Umeå. A new railway station was built in Kalix.New start for passenger trains in northern Sweden '' International Railway Journal'' 24 November 2020

Notes

References

External links

{{Commonscat-inline, Haparandabanan Railway lines in Sweden Railway lines opened in 1900 Rail transport in Norrbotten County 1900 establishments in Sweden