The Iron Ore Line (Swedish: Malmbanan), now has ERTMS installed on a part of its length. Between Gällivare and Kiruna in northern Sweden, trains have been running with the new safety system for almost a week.

“Now the new signalling system, which previously only existed on the Swedish Transport Administration’s pilot tracks, has been put into use on parts of the Malmbanan”, the Swedish agency explains. “As a result, one of Sweden’s most important freight and travel routes gets a smart signalling system, which means fewer disruptions to traffic and opportunities to increase capacity on the track.”

The works to install ERTMS went on between 29 August and 3 September, with traffic disruptions from 31 August. The implementation of ERTMS on the route will continue until the spring of 2025, and traffic disruptions can periodically occur until then, writes Swedish publication Järnvägsnyheter. From 18 September, more works on the Malmbanan will take place around Gällivare.

Problems on the Iron Ore Line

As the Swedish Transport Administration stresses that ERTMS will better prevent disruptions and enable capacity expansion on the Malmbanan, local business will likely rejoice. Three derailments have shut down rail traffic for lengthy periods during the past nine months, leading mining giant LKAB to cut production. Moreover, it said that hundreds of jobs would be put at risk in case capacity on the Iron Ore Line would not improve.