First salmon train to China soon ready for departure from Narvik

The first cargo train loaded with salmon is expected to depart Narvik early next year, Jernbanemagasinet reports.

Narvik is the northernmost cargo railway station on the coast to the Norwegian Sea, with a line originally built for iron-ore transport from Kiruna in northernmost Sweden.

In Haparanda, on Sweden’s border to Finland, the containers will be transferred over to Finnish wagons. The two countries have different track width. From Finland the salmon cargo will cross into Russia from Kouvola and then follow the already establish rail cargo route via St. Petersburg and Moscow into Kazakhstan and eastbound to China, the portal iLaks informs.

It is the San Francisco based company BluWrap that has developed new transport means to keep the salmon fresh for longer periods that under normal transport where the fish is stored on ice.

The company uses fuel cells to reduce and monitor oxygen during transport. “It’s made from cardboard and use no ice or Styrofoam,” said Ola Strand, CEO of BluWrap interviewed by SalmonBusiness.

BlueWrap says it is by controlling oxygen and temperature salmon are kept fresh over longer periods.

Norway has a strong focus on developing the so-called blue economy, including giving a boost to aquaculture. By 2030, the goal is to increase seafood export to five times the amount today. The new salmon cargo train from Narvik to China opens a new export corridor to reach that goal.  

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