Possibility of a railway between Finnish Lapland and Norway explored
Lehtikuva/Pekka Sakki The Sami Bridge in Nuorgam, on the border between Finland and Norway, can be crossed by car. The dream for establishing a railway connection between the neighbors has now come to life.Finns and Norwegians have begun to investigate the possibility of establishing a railway line between Rovaniemi in Finland and Kirkenes in Norway. The purpose of the railway would be to benefit the mining and forestry industries, and tourism. The preliminary report, which will be finalized by July, examines the alternatives for the situation of the railway line and the tentative appraisal for its construction.
There is already an existing railway line of about 30 kilometers running from Rovaniemi towards Vikajärvi. The remaining distance to Kirkenes is about 500 kilometers.
The Development Manager of the Northern Lapland Municipal Federation for Regional Co-operation Timo Lohi informs the local newspaper Kaleva that the railway issue has already been discussed by different bodies for a year.
- We want to look closer into the prerequisites, but are not willing to invest too heavily on the investigation at this point, he says.
According to Lohi the entire railway line doesn't need to be built at once. The major mining investments in central Lapland would benefit even from partial railway connections.
The investigations cost 20,000 Euros, which is covered by Northern Lapland Municipal Federation for Regional Co-operation, Ministry for Employment and the Economy and the Secretariat of the Barents Region at Kirkenes, reports Kaleva.
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