Mittbanan

Infobox rail line
name = Mittbanan


caption =
type = Railway
system = Swedish railways
status =
start = Sundsvall
end = Storlien
stations =
open = 1878
close =
owner = Banverket
operator = Norges Statsbaner
SJ
Veolia Transportation
character = Passenger and freight
stock = X2
Regina
NSB BM92
linelength = 358 km
tracklength =
notrack = Single
gauge = RailGauge|sg
el = 15 kV AC
speed =
elevation = |

Mittbanan is a 358 km long railway between Sundsvall and Storlien in Sweden that continues as 106 km long Meråkerbanen through Norway to Trondheim. The railway shares line with Inlandsbanan between Brunflo and Östersund while the line between Ånge and Bräcke is double track. The entire line is electrified at 15 kV AC, but the Norwegian section is not. This requires all trains to Norway to be diesel trains.

There are X2000, Inter city and night trains from Storlien/Åre to Stockholm. Mittnabotåget between Sundsvall and Trondheim is operated by Veolia Transportation with BM 92 diesel multiple units between Östersund and Trondheim, and Regina train between Sundsvall and Östersund.

History

The first part of the line was Sundsvall-Torpshammars Railway, a private, narrow gauge and 60 km long line opened in 1878. At the same time the state railways were building Norrländska Tvärbanan (The Norrland crossline) that opened the following year between Torpshammar and Östersund. Between 1879-1881 it had no connection to the rest of Sweden (only steamboat to Sundsvall), until the railway Stockholm-Ånge was finished. At the same time the governments were building a railway east from Trondheim, with the Government of Sweden building on the Swedish part and the Government of Norway (that was in a union with Sweden at the time) in Norway. The Norwegian section, Meråkerbanen, was opened in 1886. In 1885 the Sundsvall-Torpshammer Railway was bought by the state and rebuilt to standard gauge the following year. The railway was then know as Norrländska Tvärbanan until it got the present name in the early 1990's.

External links

* [http://www.banverket.se/templates/StandardTtH.asp?id=2527 Banverket page on Mittbanan] sv icon
* [http://www.jarnvag.net/banguide/Sundsvall-Storlien.asp Järnväg.net page on Mittbanan] sv icon