LKAB Malmtrafik

LKAB Malmtrafik, earlier Malmtrafik i Kiruna AB (MTAB), is a Swedish railway company which operates the iron ore freight trains on the Iron Ore Line and the Ofoten Line. MTAB is a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-owned mining company Luossavaara–Kiirunavaara (LKAB). In Norway, operations are handled by the subsidiary Malmtrafikk AS (MTAS). Malmtrafik hauls ore from LKAB's mines in Kiruna, Malmberget and Svappavaara to the ports of Luleå and Narvik, the latter located in Norway. The company owns 28 Iore locomotives and 750 hopper cars. Each train is 68 cars long and weighs 8,600 tonnes (8,500 long tons; 9,500 short tons), allowing the company to transport 33 million tonnes per year. Traditionally the ore hauling had been done by the Swedish State Railways (SJ) and Norwegian State Railways (NSB). In the late 1980s, LKAB started a process to take over operations and increase efficiency by using heavier and longer trains. Because of the profitability in the operations, especially NSB was reluctant to lose the operations. In 1993, LKAB received permission to operate their own trains in Sweden, and from 1996 in Norway. MTAB and MTAS were created in 1996 when they took over the hauling formerly operated by NSB and SJ. It inherited Dm3 and El 15 locomotives. Originally established as a joint venture between LKAB, NSB and SJ, with the mining company as a majority owner, LKAB bought the whole company in 1999. By 2011, the renewal process will be finished, and only trains pulled by Iore will be in operation.