Sulitjelma Line

Sulitjelma Line
The former station at Sjønstå
Overview
Native name	Sulitjelmabanen
Type	Railway
System	Norwegian railway
Status	Abandoned
Termini	Finneid Fagerli
Stations	11
Operation
Opened	1892
Closed	1972
Owner	Norwegian State Railways
Operator(s)	Norwegian State Railways
Character	Freight and passenger
Technical
Line length	35.8 km (22.2 mi)
Number of tracks	Single
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	No

The Sulitjelma Line (Norwegian: Sulitjelmabanen) was a railway line that ran between Finneid in the town of Fauske to the village of Sulitjelma near the border with Sweden. The railway line was entirely inside the municipality of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. The line was built in 1891, over time it was lengthened until 1958 when it was connected to the Nordland Line. It existed as a branch of the Nordland Line from 1958 until 1972 when the line was closed and removed. The railway line followed the path of the present-day Norwegian County Road 830.

Construction of the line started in May 1891 when the mining company in Sulitjelma decided to build a railway between Sjønstå and Fossen. Sjønstå is located on the shore of the lake Øvrevatnet, close to sea level. The track was immediately extended along the Sjønstå River to Hellarmo the following year. Hellarmo is a small village area that sits on the western edge of the lake Langvatnet higher up the valley, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from Sjønstå. It was the first railway line to be built in Northern Norway. The mining products were transported by barges on the lakes. This was not possible when ice covered the lakes, so in the winter the mining products were stored.

The mine in Sulitjelma was expanded into the mountains at Fagerli in 1912, and at the same time the gauge was increased from 750 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in) to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). The line also was extended all the way to the mine in Sulitjelma. The official opening of the renovated and extended line was on 15 July 1915.