Goods train carrying iron ore partly derails in northern Sweden

Dozens of wagons of a goods train loaded with iron ore derailed in the far north of Sweden.

Thirty-eight wagons went off the tracks near Gallivare, about 1,000 kilometres north of Stockholm, the state-owned mining company LKAB announced on Sunday.

No one was injured in the incident, including the train driver. The cause of the derailment is now being investigated.

LKAB spokesman Anders Lindberg told Swedish radio station SVT that the train had a total of 68 wagons and a total weight of 8,000 tons.

The incident is likely to have far-reaching consequences for train traffic in the area: According to SVT, damage was caused to the tracks and also to several contact lines.

Congested railway

For passenger traffic, a replacement bus service should be set up in the coming days.

The 500-kilometre stretch of track on which the goods train was travelling connects LKAB mines with the ports in Lulea in northern Sweden and Narvik in northern Norway.

The company demanded that there finally be a second track on the line. It is the most congested railway line in the whole of Sweden.