Legende auf Schienen - Skandinaviens Kirunabahn (360° - GEO Reportage)

It's a seemingly endless train that carries Scandinavia's iron ore from Kiruna, Sweden, to the Norwegian port of Narvik: Since 1903, the legendary Kiruna Railway has been pulling wagons weighing up to 8,500 tons, initially with steam locomotives and now with electric locomotives. It runs past high mountains, along steep slopes that drop down to the fjords, and through narrow tunnels. This spectacular railway line has shaped the lives of entire generations. 360° Geo Reportage traveled the 180-kilometer route in both directions. A film by Ralf Kaiser © 2010, Licensed by MedienKontor / ARTE Season 12 - Episode 9 Subscribe to wocomoTRAVEL: https://goo.gl/tIk2Qc Follow us on Facebook:   / wocomo   Press Release: The lives of Norwegian Steingrimm Snäve and Swedish Hjördis Matti are closely linked to the Ore Railway: Both have turned their passion into a career – Hjördis as a stationmaster, Steingrimm as an engineer. Now Steingrimm wants to fulfill a long-held dream: He is traveling to Sweden to ride one of the legendary steam locomotives on the Kiruna Railway. Hjördis is traveling to meet him – she was one of the first women to work at one of the small stations on the line and has known Steingrimm for many years. The two railway enthusiasts plan to meet in the middle, on the border between Norway and Sweden. The Ore Railway has a rich history. Around 1900, hundreds of migrant workers began building the line. Rocks had to be blasted to lay the tracks, and barrels of cement were hauled across the fjords high into the mountains. Today, up to 68 wagons, fully loaded with iron ore, are pulled by a double locomotive – with a total load of 8,500 tons. A pioneering achievement back then, and still groundbreaking for international freight transport today. Specialists from all over the world were interested in the construction and maintenance of the tracks. Women have long since conquered the world of railways – train driver Catrin Lönnström, for example, has been driving the colossus through Sweden for 18 years and loves her solitary but special job. After all, as she says, "I drive the most powerful locomotive in the world."