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Ofotbanen (company)

Railway and Rail Transit Operators

Ofotbanen Drift AS was a Norwegian railway operator based in Narvik, founded on 20 March 2001 to take over regional passenger services on the Ofoten Line, the far-northern railway connecting Narvik to the Swedish border. The company later expanded into freight haulage, carrying timber, containers and autorack traffic, and it operated the Unionsexpressen passenger service between Oslo and Stockholm. Ofotbanen Drift ran a modest fleet of about six locomotives and three electric multiple units at its peak. The company filed for bankruptcy in October 2008 after struggling with economic viability, was briefly re-established, and finally ceased operating in May 2010 when the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate withdrew its operating certificate, ending its nine years as an independent rail operator.

Facts
Founded Year
2001 1
Significance
A short-lived independent operator on Norway's far-northern Ofoten Line whose 2008 bankruptcy and 2010 closure illustrate the financial difficulty small open-access rail operators faced after European rail liberalisation. 1
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Sources
1. Ofotbanen (Wikipedia)
  • Infobox, founded
    Founded: 20 March 2001
  • Infobox, fate
    Bankruptcy; operations ceased after Norwegian Railway Inspectorate withdrew operating certificate citing lack of economic viability
  • Part Of: Rail Transport, Article lead
    was a Norwegian passenger and freight railway company
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