The Main Line Through Upper Norrland ( sv, Stambanan genom övre Norrland) is a long railway line between

Bräcke Bräcke is a locality and the seat of Bräcke Municipality in Jämtland County, Sweden with 1,651 inhabitants in 2010. The community is located next to Lake Revsundssjön, 70 km south-east of Östersund. The railway has been an importan ...

, Jämtland County and Boden,

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County ( sv, Norrbottens län; se, Norrbottena leatna, fi, Norrbottenin lääni) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares border ...

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 ...

. For military and regional policy reasons, it was built in very sparsely populated areas, far away from the more densely populated coast. The line has several branches to settlements on the coast, the ones to Umeå and Luleå being considered part of the line itself. Today the three largest settlements along the line are Boden (population 18,800), Älvsbyn (population 5,500) and

Vännäs Vännäs () is a locality in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Vännäs is the seat of Vännäs Municipality and had 4,466 inhabitants in 2018. The name of the village is known since 1535 (''Wendenäs'', ‘The place where a person walkin ...

(population 4,100). In 2010, the

Bothnia Line The Bothnia Line ( sv, Botniabanan) is a high-speed railway line in northern Sweden. The long route, from Höga Kusten Airport, where it connects to the Ådalen Line, via Örnsköldsvik to Umeå, was opened in 2010 and trains are allowed to t ...

opened, which parallels the Main Line Through Upper Norrland along the coast from

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. History Th ...

to Umeå. From 2013 all passenger traffic moved from the Main Line to the Bothnia Line, ending service between along the section between Bräcke and

. The

North Bothnia Line The North Bothnia Line ( sv, Norrbotniabanan) is a planned high-speed railway line between Umeå Central Station and Luleå Central Station in Sweden. The line would be long and be a northern extension of the Bothnia Line, which opened in 2010. Th ...

is under planning, and will in a future allow high-speed trains to run to

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...

Services

The line is dominated by freight traffic, mostly hauled by electric locomotives. Two passenger night trains to and from Stockholm Central Station, operated by Vy Tåg to Swedish Transport Administration specification, travel along part of the railway between Umeå and Boden. One train continues to

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 ...

in Norway and one continues to Luleå.

Norrtåg Norrtåg (English: Northern Trains) is a publicly owned company which is owned by Norrbotten County, Västerbotten County, Västernorrland County and Jämtland County in Sweden. The company owns passenger trains and organises passenger train ope ...

provide up to three daily trains per direction between Umeå, Boden and Luleå, with one continuing to/from

Haparanda Haparanda (; fi, Haaparanta, , aspen shore or bank) is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda had a population of 4,856 in 2010, out of a municipal total of 10,2 ...

from April 2021. An additional train makes two daily roundtrips between Umeå,

Vindeln Vindeln () is a locality and the seat of Vindeln Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden with 2,333 inhabitants in 2010. Climate Vindeln has a subarctic climate that is mildened for its latitude by its proximity to the Gulf Stream airflow ...

, and

Hällnäs Hällnäs () is a locality situated in Vindeln Municipality, Västerbotten County Västerbotten County ( sv, Västerbottens län) is a county or ''län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtl ...

, where it leaves the Main Line and continues inland to Lycksele. Although most trains are powered by the 15 kV overheard supply, the line between Hällnäs and Lycksele is not electrified, so Norrtåg use a single Bombardier Itino

Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

for these services.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite encyclopedia , title=Stambanan genom övre Norrland , encyclopedia= Nationalencyklopedin , url=http://www.ne.se/stambanan-genom-övre-norrland , language=Swedish , accessdate=6 September 2010 {{Subscription required Railway lines opened in 1894 1894 establishments in Sweden