The Finnish Government has approved a plan to lead the railway to Sweden, which will connect the country to Norway. According to the Finnish authorities, the railway connection to the Norwegian port in Narvik will facilitate military cooperation between NATO countries in the north of Europe, including the transport of military equipment and guarantee safety of supply – said Yle radio.
– The European Commission, NATO and the Finnish Armed Forces have assessed that this is the most precedence European major military mobility project said Minister of Transport Lulu Ranne.
For the first phase of planning on track width, which will start this year, the Petteri Orpo government, which is at the half-term of its word of office, reserved EUR 20 million during the budget negotiations completed this week.
The aim of the task is to lead a railway line over the Bay of Bothnia, connecting Finnish Oulu, Rovaniemi and the port of Kemi with Swedish Haparanda over the border river Torne, and from there to the mining centre in Kiruna and then to the Norwegian port in Narvik. The investment is considered crucial for the Finnish armed forces and NATO. In Lapland, there is simply a military base and a camp in the Rovaniemi area.
According to the Ministry of Transport estimates, the cost of the works related only to the reconstruction of the tracks to Oulu is over EUR 1.5 billion, and the full railway investment will consume even more, for which EU backing will be needed. According to officials, the draft railway line that yet connects Finland with Narvik is spread over years and construction can inactive be implemented after 2030.
At present, cross-border rail traffic is not possible due to the fact that on the side of the Finnish railway station (1524 mm) is almost 89 mm wider than European and close to Russian (1520 mm).
In Finland, it was besides considered to lead a second railway line connecting the country to Narvik, i.e. from Kolari (about 200 km north of Kemi) to Swedish Kiruna.
Source: PAP / Przemysław Molik, Helsinki
Electoral debate: presidential candidates against sending Polish soldiers to Ukraine
