The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line is 8,484 meters (27,835 ft) long and runs from Bjørnevatn Mine to Kirkenes Port.

[2] The railway then runs under European Road E6 and starts climbing at a 1.0-percent gradient until reaching 56.2 meters (184 ft) AMSL.

The line terminates at the silo in Kirkenes after running over an elevated section, nicknamed the Air Bridge.

A separation plant was built in Kirkenes and the company decided to transport all ore from the mine to the port by rail.

Inge T. Wiull, former manager of the Valdres Line, was hired as divisional leader for the construction of the railway, the port and the residential areas.

[2] Construction of the railway was given high priority to as early as possible aid in transport of workers to the mining sites.

At the time of the opening, the line was 7.5 kilometers (4.7 mi) long, in addition to tracks at both Kirkenes and Bjørnevatn.

In 1911, the system exported 330,000 tonnes of ore.[2] The railway was also used for transporting workers, with trains running from the towns to the plants in the morning and returning after the working day was over.

Prior to private cars becoming common, the railway operated a passenger carriage on the trains between Kirkenes and Bjørnevatn—allowing free travel.

Also the port received overhead wires, as the third rail caused problems for snow removal.

To allow better capacity to ship out the materials, in 1942, a 2.5-kilometer (1.6 mi) branch line was built to Haganes.

[2] Wehrmacht also established the "Armeeverpflegungslager" (army rations storage) Station, which was used during and for a short period after the war.

[1] From the spring of 1944, German authorities ordered that mining was to resume, and allocated two steam locomotives and thirty hopper cars to the line.

[2] As part of Operation Nordlicht, Kirkenes was scorched, causing extensive damage to the mining company's infrastructure.

During the reconstruction, Sydvaranger needed to transport large machinery to Bjørnevatn, so the loading gauge was increased to 6 meters (20 ft).

New storage silos were built in Bjørnevatn, but from operations started, transport within the mine was performed using trackless machinery.

A new port facility was built in Kirkenes, with the line terminating at the Air Bridge, an elevated railway which led to the plant.

The rail profiles were upgraded to 49 kilograms per meter (78 lb/yd), were continuously welded and the gravel ballast was replaced with crushed stone.

[2] In 1984, to improve the workplace environment, a used Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA)-built T45 locomotive was bought from Sweden.

[6] In 1988, the first part of the Kirkenes plant was closed, and the mining company drastically reduced production because its owner, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, would no longer subsidize operations.

[2] Arctic Bulk Minerals bought the mining rights, and operated a train once to twice a year to keep the track and rolling stock maintained.

[11] The unit deviates from standard production by having its maximum speed reduced by software from 100 to 45 kilometers per hour (62 to 28 mph); it is further equipped with snowploughs, air supply to open the hopper car doors, radio remote control and janney couplers.

[13] In the Railway Plan of 1923, Parliament decided to extend the Nordland Line from Fauske to Vadsø with a branch to Kirkenes.

However, detailed plans were made for the line, including surveying geological conditions and choice of the route.

Major transshipment products include metals from MMC Norilsk Nickel, steel from Arkhangelsk and crude oil.

The Murmansk–Nikel Line was built in 1936, is 206 kilometers (128 mi) long, is not electrified and is operated by the Russian Railways.

[17] In 2007, Murmansk Oblast's governor, Yury Yevdokimov, rejected the plans for a connection to Russia, stating that his opinion was supported by President Vladimir Putin.

Possible routes include from either Rovaniemi, Kolari, Kemijärvi or multiple of these, via Sodankylä, Saariselkä and Ivalo, then either east or west of Lake Inari or via Nikel to Kirkenes.

The background is the boom of mining in Finnish Lapland and the need for access to a deep, ice-free port.

Railway lines exist to the Baltic Sea, but the bay is both shallow and ice-covered during winter.