The corridor combines Wasaline’s Vaasa–Umeå ferry service, run by the hybrid RoPax AURORA BOTNIA on biogas and batteries, with an electric rail link from the Port of Umeå to Trondheim and onward maritime transport from the Port of Trondheim. The recently electrified Meråker Line lets freight trains run between central Sweden and Trondheim with zero direct emissions. The route crosses the border via Meråker and Storlien to the Trondheim Fjord.

The partners present the corridor as a way to cut the climate impact of freight. They point out that transport accounts for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.

The partners plan a new Umeå–Trondheim rail freight service using electric locomotives. It would carry containers, semi-trailers and industrial goods. According to the partners, the corridor would also significantly shorten transport distances for exports to destinations such as the United Kingdom and Iceland. OnRail says its trains already replace tens of thousands of truck journeys a year.

OnRail will start a freight train service between Trondheim and Oslo on 1 February 2027, and this could be extended to northern Sweden and Finland. The partners say discussions with customers are ongoing and will determine the frequency and capacity of the Umeå–Trondheim service.

OnRail currently runs cargo trains to Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, Åndalsnes and Narvik. Trondheim Havn IKS is owned by 14 municipalities in Trøndelag. The Port of Umeå and the Port of Vaasa together form the Kvarken Corridor.

The partners also note that industries in northern Scandinavia are worried the Baltic Sea could be blocked in a future crisis, which has increased interest in alternative routes. The corridor has also been described in the media as a possible military corridor to Sweden and Finland.

Wasaline runs a daily year-round service between Vaasa and Umeå. The company describes it as the northernmost year-round international ferry route in the world.

© Shippax