In early 2025, a year after Fiskarheden’s planned tripling of rail transportation, the company started voicing major issues. “The signalling system is so lousy that there are hardly any operators who can drive there”, Joakim Limberg, CEO of Fiskarheden, told Swedish news platform SVT at the time.

40% of all freight trains to Malungsfors, the site of the sawmill, were delayed by at least an hour in 2024. Around 10% of the trains were cancelled. To make matters worse, the railway was also badly maintained.

A unique signalling system

The West Dalarna Line runs on the ERTMS Regional signalling system – introduced as a trial some 15 years ago. Infrastructure manager Trafikverket decided not to continue with the system, making the railway the only one in Sweden that uses ERTMS Regional. As a result, there are very few locomotives that can operate on the route. It is not fully interoperable with the mainline rail network, which is a hard limit to capacity on the railway.

Representatives of Fiskarheden told SVT in 2025 that it costs at least 30-50% more to use rail on the West Dalarna Line than on other routes. Rail for Fiskarheden has become a “huge competitive disadvantage”.

There is good news and bad news for rail freight on the West Dalarna Line. The good news is that the signalling system will be replaced. This should improve capacity and make especially equipped locomotives no longer necessary. The bad news is that Trafikverket postponed the replacement from 2026 to 2030.

For Fiskarheden, that is not fast enough. The company recognises the importance of sustainability, but the freight-only railway has proven to be too unattractive to actual freight operations.

Sweden is expecting Trafikverket to decide on possible resources for a new signalling in spring.

The shuttle, owned by APM Terminals and operated by Dania Connect, transports containers between Helsingborg, in southern Sweden, and Gothenburg in approximately five hours.

“By launching our own shuttle, we aim to create business value for importers and exporters in the Helsingborg region. We are already seeing strong interest from both shipping lines and cargo owners in the local area”, said Mathias Weismann Poulsen, Chief Commercial Officer at APM Terminals Nordic.

In total, nearly 30 locations across Sweden are connected to the Port of Gothenburg by rail. In 2025, 529,000 TEU were transported to or from the port by rail, the highest figure in the port’s history. The new shuttle is expected to support further growth within the network.

Global markets

“An integrated rail connection to the container terminal at the Port of Gothenburg represents a boost for the Helsingborg region’s business community in reaching global markets. This is a very positive initiative by APM Terminals that also strengthens the port’s overall offering”, commented Claes Sundmark, Vice President Sales & Marketing at the Port of Gothenburg.

The service began in February with one departure per week, with plans to increase to three weekly departures in the near term. The rail distance between Helsingborg and the Port of Gothenburg is approximately 230 kilometres.

This article was originally published by our sister publication WorldCargoNews.

With its relatively strong financial position, Nurminen Logistics defies external uncertainties. “Several geopolitical uncertainties and the re-routing of international flows of goods affected negatively on the development of the Baltic business and volumes decreased clearly”, Pohjanvirta writes in his review.

“Although the economic development in the markets was weak, we were able to achieve good results in all areas and continue to invest in international growth, especially in railway logistics.”

Nurminen Logistics also acquired Essinge Rail at the end of 2024, which led to growth compounded by organic growth in the Swedish and Finnish markets.

Rail becomes key

The rail business saw significant growth: net sales grew from 57.3 million to 78.2 million euros. Profitability increased to 13.6 million euros, up from 10.1 million euros. The Essinge Rail acquisition played a substantial role in this development. Rail now accounts for 71.5% of the Nurminen Group’s net sales. In 2024, that number was 54.7%.

However, there are also some Group-wide drawbacks to be noted: operating profit declined from 19.3 million (2024) to 14.6 million euros (2025). Moreover, depreciation and amortisation nearly doubled: from 5.4 million in 2024 to 10 million euros in 2025.

Financially stable

Still, Nurminen Logistics remains in a financially stable position, as evidenced by a healthy equity ratio and gearing. The equity ratio remained at a “good level” at 43.9% (40.7% in 2024), the company says. This indicates that the company is not severely reliant on debt to finance its assets.

Gearing excluding IFRS 16 fell to 14.2% (from 35.6% in 2024). This also suggests a decrease in financial risk. Similarly, the net debt to EBITDA ratio fell to 0.87 from 1.19, meaning that EBITDA could cover the entire net debt over the course of 87% of a year.

Nurminen Logistics explains that its Gothenburg-Northern Finland service, launched in 2025, was rapidly adopted by international customers. However, demand in Finland was below the expected level. The company saw itself forced to reassess the route and discontinued operations.

Heading into the future, Nurminen Logistics focuses on growth investments in larger markets, like continental Europe and Sweden. “This demonstrates the company’s willingness to try new things, learn quickly, and make decisions that support long-term and sustainable growth in the years ahead”, the CEO comments.

“Lanzi Trasporti is a key partner in making this route possible by managing the local operations. Their expertise and commitment to quality made them the ideal partner for this route between Italy and Sweden, delivering efficient, reliable and sustainable logistics that the market demands”, commented Marjut Linnajärvi, VP, International Rail Operations and Sales at Nurminen Logistics.

The enthusiasm seems to be no less among the Italians. “This development”, says CEO Leonardo Lanzi, “is something we have worked on for a long time. For us, it is not just a new and strategic service, but a real step up in the quality of our offering. It marks the transition from established conventional intermodality to the full handling of load units via complete, dedicated trains.”

A more complete service offering

Lanzi’s container management services have taken place on mixed trains up until now. With the Parma-Örebro service, the company is introducing full dedicated trains. That allows Lanzi to offer greater loading capacity and greater punctuality.

However, as the Italian company points out, the real challenge lies in the so-called last-mile operations. “Many Italian companies do not have loading bays for direct container unloading; for this reason, we go beyond rail transport, taking care of every aspect of the supply chain and aiming for high performance at every stage”, the company writes. The service offers complementary unloading and storage services and distribution in both Italy and Sweden.

From containers to semi-trailers

For the time being, Nurminen and Lanzi offer their service to containers only. However, they are planning to extend the service offering to semi-trailers already in 2026. That will allow them to capture more freight from the road sector. “More on this very soon”, says Lanzi.

“This connection is not only a new achievement for Lanzi Trasporti, but also a real opportunity for many companies in Northern Italy. We encourage them to get in touch with us to explore the advantages of this rail bridge bringing Italy closer to Northern Europe”, Lanzi Trasporti adds.

The Italy-Sweden service was preceded by a long period of preparations. It is made possible by Lanzi Trasporti investments over the past two years, which saw the construction of new tracks to expand manoeuvering capacity. It also added a container storage and management area.

The first train consisted of 25 GATX wagons for a train length of 545 metres. The more than 700 kilometres separating Volvo’s factory in Olofström and Beddingen station is covered in one and a half days, the steel company underlined. From there, the scrap steel is taken to the Salzgitter Flachstahl plant where it can be transferred directly into the production processes.

First, there were significant “efforts in the inland region to move more volumes by train to get them efficiently to Husum, without having to transport everything by truck all the way”. In Husum, the timber is destined to the Metsä Board mill, one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The second reason is the terminal opened in Östavall, which made it easier to consolidate volumes and load them onto trains for Husum. “That is perhaps the single largest factor behind the growth we’ve seen compared to last year”, Jakobsson added.

Track access charges remain a problem

Though more and more timber is finding its way onto freight trains, the situation is still far from perfect. The largest obstacle continues to be track access charges (TAC), which are increasing all across Europe, but especially in Sweden with a +40% between 2024 and 2025. These increases have a stronger impact on heavy freight trains, such as the ones loaded with timber, as they are usually charged higher fees.

“If track charges were lowered, the economic conditions of the railways would improve, which could release the potential to move even more goods from road to rail”, Patrik Jonsson, Head of Forest & Timber at Norra Skog stated. Last Fall, the Swedish government proposed a special fund to compensate companies for the high TAC with a budget of 80 million euros.

Regarding total TEUs, the port handled 934,000 compared to the 902,000 of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 4% and also the highest value in the history of the port. Ro-Ro operations remained stable, with 525,000 units moved in 2025 and 524,000 in 2024. The only decreases recorded at the port of Gothenburg concerned the number of new cars moved (251,000 vs 257,000) and the production of energy (20.7 million tonnes in 2025 vs 21.8 in 2024).

“Higher speeds are being introduced for more freight trains on more routes”, they added. Moreover, there are also new provisions for road freight as well, such as a wider deployment of trucks up to 34.5 metres. The plan also aim at strengthening “total defence”, highlighting a focus on facilitating military mobility in combined transport.

In other words, the line is located in sparsely populated territory, not usually associated with great economic or political importance. But the Iron Ore Line is different, the name reveals why: it is a key artery for mining products from the area.

LKAB, the largest mining company in the region, calls the railway “a critical link in the green transition” and cites its “crucial importance for Europe’s future economic development and access to critically important raw materials”.

The share of Iron Ore Line freight in Sweden

Its large role in Swedish rail freight is reflected in the country’s annual statistics reports. It has separate datasheets with and without ore transportation on the Iron Ore Line. Due to their sheer volume, including the ores might paint a skewed picture of rail freight elsewhere in the country.

Out of the total rail freight volume of 68,3 million tonnes in 2023, 25,7 million tonnes was ore on just the Iron Ore Line (37,6%). The impact of the derailments in early 2024 also immediately became clear. In contrast to other rail freight transportation in Sweden, which grew by 2,2%, ore traffic on the Iron Ore Line shrank by 12%.

Rail disruptions = fewer mining products

The numbers show that the Iron Ore Line is economically crucial to Sweden, despite being a single-track railway in a remote area on the periphery of the country and the continent as a whole. Without it, the mines would not be able to export their products in the same way, leading to reductions in output.

That is exactly what happened after the derailments in 2024: “In view of the limited capacity on the Iron Ore Line, during the quarter LKAB decided to cut back production of finished products by around a million tonnes on an annual basis. As part of optimising mine production in the operating locations it was also announced that production in Konsuln, which is adjacent to the Kiruna mine, is being mothballed”, the company explained.

That wraps it up regarding the situation as it is today. Yet, the Iron Ore Line will -most likely- grow even further in importance. That has everything to do with Europe’s ambition for “strategic autonomy” and a shift away from China. Beijing has control over the world’s largest rare earth mineral reserves, and as of 2024, China produced around 70% of all rare earth oxides.

New rare earth mineral deposit

Europe wants to be more independent, and that includes raw material independence. It just so happens to be that Sweden discovered large rare earth mineral deposits close to the existing mines in the north. A blessing for Sweden, but also a blessing for Europe, which expects a 500% increase in the rare earth mineral demand by 2050. By 2030, Sweden has the potential to meet approximately 18% of that demand.

This would make Sweden a key supplier for the continent, while also contributing to Europe’s goal of reducing its reliance on China. However, mining operations in the new deposit are expected to start only 10 to 15 years from now. And for comparison: Sweden has found one million tonnes worth of rare earth minerals, whereas China has a reserve of 44 million tonnes.

The rare earth factor, even if it is something for the long term, comes on top of the already existing mining output in the area: Sweden is Europe’s leading iron ore producer and fourth largest copper producer. It also mines zinc and lead in other parts of the country.

LKAB too highlights the mines’ role in the green transition and the growing role of the Iron Ore Line: “As the mining industry and steel companies shift towards fossil-free iron and steel, the Ore Railway becomes even more important. The iron from the mines is planned to soon be joined by new important products, critical minerals and metals vital for food production and for European industry.”

The company sees the Iron Ore Line as a critical link for the green transition and for development in the Nordics and Europe. “A vital artery where the pressure from larger volumes of goods and new residents will increase dramatically in the coming years.”

NATO and the military

That was it for the economic part. Besides ore transportation, the railway has recently gained a new significance elsewhere. With Sweden’s accession into NATO, the country will need to have its infrastructure in order to facilitate military transports. The key railway line for the country in this context is indeed the Iron Ore Line.

It links up to the Norwegian port of Narvik, which was a major battle theatre in WWII. The central prize was access to Swedish ore all-year round due to freezing in the Bothnia Gulf. In contemporary times, Narvik is also a gateway into the far north areas of Europe. That makes it a prime target for NATO adversaries, which also explains why there were so many suspicions of sabotage after derailments in early 2024. From both an economic and military point of view, the Iron Ore Line is being propelled forward into continental significance.

Future-proofing and higher TACs?

In order to future-proof the railway, Sweden is investing. LKAB’s dream of a double track railway across the entire length of the line is out of reach for the time being. Instead, Sweden is betting on station extensions and passing loops to improve capacity. The upgrade plan also involves an axle load improvement to 32.5 tonnes on large sections of the railway.

Sweden’s upgrade plans for the Iron Ore Line are relatively big, in the sense that they don’t fit in the budget. For that reason, Stockholm has tasked the Swedish Transport Administration and infrastructure manager Trafikverket with exploring public-private partnership (PPP) funding, an unusual step to take for Sweden.

It refers to the potential additional funding and more efficient implementation of projects as a justification. In order to generate private interest, however, it is also floating higher track access charges to create revenue streams.

“The rollout of the ERTMS signaling system for the railway continues and will be introduced gradually until 2042”, the Transport Administration adds. “In addition, several capacity-increasing measures are proposed for rail and road.”

Security

The Swedish agency highlights the “deteriorating security situation” as an underlying reason for the investments. “The transport sector needs to strengthen its ability to maintain essential societal functions, both in peacetime crises and at high alert and, ultimately, in war”, it says.

“The proposed plan contains important elements that contribute to a more robust transportation system that also strengthens total defense”, said Roberto Maiorana, Director General of the Swedish Transport Administration. Despite the announcement, approval of the plan is still pending. A government decision is expected in spring of 2026.