Ofotbanen (company)
 |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | Ofotbanen AS |
| Founded | 20 March 2001 |
| Defunct | May 2010 |
| Headquarters | Narvik, Norway |
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Area served
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Scandinavia |
|
Key people
|
Terje Østensen (CEO) Thor Ask Terkelsen (chair) |
| Owner | Mons Bolin |
| Parent | Rail Management |
| Website |
www.ofotbanen.no (out of service) |
Ofotbanen Drift AS, trading as Ofotbanen, was a Norwegian passenger and freight railway company. The company operated a fleet of six locomotives, three multiple units, 22 passenger and 48 freight cars. The sole service was the passenger train Unionsexpressen between Oslo and Stockholm; it had previously offered freight haulage on contract.
The company was founded in 2001, and took over Norges Statsbaner's (NSB) passenger operation of the Ofoten Line in 2003. The following year it entered the freight market, in particular with timber trains for Norske Skog. It further expanded into other services, such as charter trips. In 2006, the company almost went bankrupt, and was taken over by Rail Management. In 2007, the automotive distributor Autolink started purchasing the autorack operations from Ofotbanen, and at the same time bought 40% of the company. 2008 saw a dramatic decline in operations, as both the Norske Skog, Autolink and passenger train services were terminated. In April the company started service with the Unionexpressen between Oslo and . The company went bankrupt in October, but was immediately re-established as Ofotbanen Drift. In May 2010, the new company filed for bankruptcy.
The company was based in Narvik, a city that is only connected to the rest of the Norwegian railway network through Sweden. The company was led by CEO Terje Østensen and Chairman Thor Ask Terkelsen.
The Union Express is a passenger train service between the Norwegian and Swedish capitals of Oslo and Stockholm. The service was a cooperation between Ofotbanen and the Swedish company Scandinavian Railway. In competition with SJ, it operates one daily round trip, in 5 hours 45 minutes, between Oslo and Stockholm, using renovated stock from the 1960s. While more expensive than SJ, the service aims at being more luxurious. One of the four cars is a traditional dining car, and the company markets the product as a first-class only service. Each train has a capacity of 84 riders, and provides perks such as Wi-Fi and 2+1 seating. The service has not operated since 7 October 2008, due to the bankruptcy in Ofotbanen, and SJ no longer being willing to rent out locomotives to the company.
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Wikipedia