The incident occurred on the night of Wednesday, at Katterat, on the Norwegian side near Riksgränsen. Large boulders fell down on the railway track and stopped all traffic to and from Narvik.
According to the mining company LKAB, which transports iron ore to Luleå and Narvik, Wednesday's ten planned departures had to be cancelled, and also several of Thursday's. The traffic was resumed somewhat later than the forecast, around 19.30 on Thursday evening, according to LKAB.
The passenger trains that operate on the route have been replaced with buses between Abisko and Narvik.
The block that fell on the rail was ten cubic meters in size and was blasted into pieces during Thursday. According to LKAB, around 80 meters of rail and about fifty sleepers had to be replaced.
According to the Norwegian state-owned railway company Bane Nor, there is a rockfall warning in several places along the Ofotbanan, the Norwegian branch of the Malmbanan. However, it is unusual for boulders of this size to fall down.
"We are grateful that the rockfall warning system worked as it should and that no one was injured. At the same time, it is regrettable that we are once again affected by stops that mean lost deliveries and revenue," says Caroline Wiss, CEO of LKAB Malmtrafik, in a statement.
The company states that they lose around 100 million kronor for every day that the traffic is at a standstill.
