The Ofoten Railway from Narvik

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Narvik exists because of this railway. The town received its charter when the Ofoten Line opened in 1902, and on 15 November that year the first iron ore train came down from Kiruna. The formal opening followed on 14 July 1903. Migrant labourers known as rallare built the line by hand. It has carried electric trains since 1923, and it still has no connection to the rest of the Norwegian rail network: from Narvik the only way by rail is east, into Sweden, where the same track continues as the Malmbanan via Kiruna and Boden to Luleå.

The Norwegian part is short. From the harbour to the border at Bjørnfjell it measures about 43 kilometres, and the line climbs steadily above the Rombakfjord towards the mountains. The highest point, 521 metres above sea level, lies just over the border at Vassijaure. Ore trains make up most of the traffic. LKAB, the Swedish mining company, says around ten train sets a day arrive from Kiruna and Svappavaara, and about 20 million tonnes of iron ore products leave the port of Narvik each year.

The harbour was chosen in 1883 by a British and Swedish group and named Victoriahavn in 1887, after the Swedish crown princess. The company behind it went bankrupt, the Norwegian state took over in 1892, and the name Narvik has been used since 1898. What made the site worth the trouble was the water: the harbour stays free of ice all winter, while the Swedish ports on the Gulf of Bothnia freeze, so ore from Kiruna can be shipped in every month.

The return trip to Bjørnfjell

The Arctic Train is the visitor's version of the line. It leaves from Narvik station, which is the northernmost railway station in Norway, and runs 36.72 kilometres up to Bjørnfjell, the last stop before Sweden, with five passenger stops on the way. A short halt at Bjørnfjell is followed by the ride back. The whole trip takes two to four hours depending on the departure, and the Norwegian rail directorate counts two tourist train journeys a day on this section. The train is run by The Arctic Train AS, based at Narvik station, which lists departures and sells tickets on arctictrain.com.

The ticket covers the return journey, an audio guide and Wi-Fi. You show it on your phone to the conductor. Reviewers describe short stops of a few minutes at small stations where you can step out onto the platform. Whether drinks are free on board is unclear: the tour page lists them as something to buy, some 2026 reviews mention free coffee and hot chocolate, and one guest found nothing on board and no café at Bjørnfjell. Bring your own to be safe.

Views, tunnels and delays

On a clear day the line gives you the fjord below and snow-covered mountains ahead, and many reviewers enjoy the scenery all the way up. The criticism is consistent, too. Trees and bushes along the track and the many tunnels block parts of the view, the windows are small in some carriages, and on a day with low cloud or snowfall you may see little beyond the nearest slope. Several guests report a late departure or the train standing still between stations, and a few find the trip expensive for what it is. One guest found most of the train reserved for cruise passengers.

Above the Rombakfjord, along the ore line, lies the municipal cemetery of Narvik with its German war cemetery, where 1,474 German dead are buried. The fighting for Narvik and its ore harbour is the subject of our page on Narvik in 1940.

Riksgränsen, Björkliden and Abisko

The Arctic Train does not cross into Sweden. To reach Riksgränsen, Björkliden or Abisko, you take a regular passenger train run by SJ, which operates between Narvik and Kiruna every day of the year. The resort in Björkliden gives about an hour and a half from Narvik by train, with Riksgränsen about half an hour before it.

Tickets for these trains cannot be bought at the station or on board. Book them online at sj.se before you travel, and check the current timetable there, because times change with each new schedule. From December 2026 SJ also runs the night train between Stockholm and Narvik under a new contract with the Swedish transport authority; the train leaves Stockholm Central and reaches Narvik the next day. Kiruna Buss line 950 is the road alternative and stops at Abisko, Björkliden, Riksgränsen and Narvik.

If you continue to the end of the line, kirunatourism.com covers the mine town and its tours.

Following the line by coach

A guided coach trip leaves Narvik heading east on the road that runs alongside the railway corridor, crosses into Swedish Lapland and stops for Nordic food and coffee before returning. It is the way to see the border country without changing trains. The tour page does not name the place where the coach stops at the border, and it describes the outing both as a four-hour trip and as a full day. Read the details on the booking page before you plan anything around it.

When to ride

The Arctic Train runs all year. In midwinter light is the main limit: the sun does not rise from 6 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, and on 21 December there is twilight only from 09:16 to 14:21, so a late-morning departure is the one that shows the mountains. By March the sun is up from about seven in the morning until five in the afternoon. From 25 May to 20 July the sun does not set at all, and an evening ride stays in daylight.

The train fits easily into a day in town. Narvik station is about ten minutes on foot from the war museum in the centre, and a morning ride still leaves the evening for a northern lights tour. For trains, buses and the airport, see getting to Narvik.