Inland Line

The Inland Line (Swedish: Inlandsbanan) is a 1,288-kilometre (800 mi) railway line between Kristinehamn and Gällivare in Sweden. It runs through the central parts of northern Sweden, and was built between 1908 and 1937.

History

There were several reasons for constructing the railway. The original main line to the north of Sweden ran relatively near the east coast, but inland communications were poor to non-existent; the inland regions, rich in natural resources (mainly timber) needed opening up. However, there was a more sinister aspect to be considered; should Sweden be invaded from the east (which at the time was a serious possibility) the belligerents would certainly try to cut the main line to the north as quickly as possible; thus a second reserve route further inland was deemed highly important. In 1907 the Riksdag decided that the first link between Östersund and Ulriksfors was to be built. The next stage Ulriksfors–Volgsjö (today Vilhelmina) was conceived in 1911; the year after that the Sveg-Brunflo stage was given the go ahead. The northernmost stage Vilhelmina–Gällivare was given the go-ahead in 1917. Finally, by purchasing the private railway lines between Sveg and Kristinehamn the entire 1288 km stretch stood clear.