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The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line ((ノルウェー語:Kirkenes–Bjørnevatnbanen)), or the Sydvaranger Line (), is a long railway line between Kirkenes and Bjørnevatn in Sør-Varanger, Norway. Owned by the private mining company Northern Iron, the single-track railway is solely used to haul 20 daily iron ore trains from Bjørnevatn Mine to the port at Kirkenes. It was the world's northern-most railway until 2010, when the Obskaya–Bovanenkovo Line in Russia went further north. The line was built by the mining company Sydvaranger, who started construction in 1907 and inaugurated the railway in 1910. From 1912, the port network received electrification, as did the mainline in 1920. Originally, free passenger trains services were also offered. During the Second World War, the line was largely destroyed, but rebuilt afterwards and re-opened in 1952. Electric traction was abandoned in 1955 when two EMD G12 diesel locomotives were bought. The line closed in 1997, but was reopened in 2009, following a change in ownership of the mine. There are proposals to connect the line to either one or both of the Finnish and Russian railway networks. ==Route== The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line is long and runs from Bjørnevatn Mine to Kirkenes Port. While the line had passenger transport, it had two stations, Kirkenes Station and Bjørnevatn Station, which were located from each other. A third station, Armeverplegungslager, was only used during the Second World War and immediately afterwards and was located from Kirkenes Station. The railway is standard gauge, non-electrified and single track. Starting at Bjørnevatn, the railway line starts underground at a silo, above mean sea level (AMSL). From Bjørnevatn, the line starts to fall with a 0.3-percent gradient. After passing the residential area, the gradient drops to 1.5 percent. On this section, the line passes through its only tunnel, which is long. The line then runs along a flatter terrain, and crosses through a long cutting towards the lowest point of the line, at AMSL. The railway then runs under European Road E6 and starts climbing at a 1.0-percent gradient until reaching AMSL. From this point to Kirkenes it runs next to the E6, and passes by the lakes Tredjevatn, Stuorrajávn and Førstevatn. While the first part of this section is flat, towards Kirkenes the landscape is more rolling. The line passes Kirkenes Station, which is AMSL. The swing towards the station is as a curve radius of , while the remaining part of the line has a minimum radius of . The line terminates at the silo in Kirknes after running over an elevated section, nicknamed the Air Bridge.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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