OUR AGENDA

Strategic agenda: Prioritizing the Complete Connection from Tornio to Narvik 

The Northern Calotte region plays a vital role in the national and international transport of goods, passengers, and defense materials. Strengthening the railway connection along the Tornio–Haparanda–Luleå–Narvik corridor, part of the TEN-T network, is essential for developing a resilient and competitive European transport system. This corridor should be the primary focus of investment to ensure optimized operations and seamless connectivity for the entire region. 

To achieve this, we actively work with and closely follow the development of the following prioritized actions:

• Develop the entire Tornio–Luleå–Narvik connection
• Increase the number of passing tracks between Narvik and Luleå, and in the long term, work towards establishing a double-track railway along the entire route
• Enhance efficiency at the Tornio–Haparanda border crossing 
• Strengthen cross-border co-planning between authorities and industry 
• Optimize traffic planning across Norway, Sweden, and Finland 
• Increase predictive maintenance in all three countries

By focusing on the Tornio–Narvik connection, these investments will ensure the Northern Calotte becomes a cornerstone of European transport, supporting economic growth, industrial competitiveness, and regional security. 

Why this agenda?

• Reliability on arctic rail is a key factor to succeed with the green transition in the Nordic region and Europe, for critical material flows and passenger transport to enable increased competence attraction 
• Reliability on arctic rail is needed to ensure transport across national borders in an increasingly unstable security-politically environment 

Why is a coalition needed?

• Before Arctic Rail, there was no cross-border collaborative organization focused on the railway between Tornio, Luleå, and Narvik.
• Actors have worked for a long time individually and to some extent in collaboration, but lacked a common thread and goal which is a prerequisite for the desired success
• There is a lack of an organization within railway collaboration that has a North Calotte perspective (all three countries)
• There is a lack of an organization that can effectively receive funding and order targeted efforts