# ICELAND | Railways



## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

This thread is about railways in Iceland


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Rail Journal:



> http://www.railjournal.com/index.ph...rail-link-plans-move-forward.html?channel=537
> 
> *Reykjavik airport rail link plans move forward*
> Tuesday, April 05, 2016
> ...


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## NordikNerd (Feb 5, 2011)

*The New airport-train between Keflavik and Reykjavik*










The new airport-train between Keflavik and Reykjavik could shorten the travel time to 20 minutes and increase the use of domestic flights. The cost of such implementation lies in the range from 95 to 105 billion ISK. The trains will be travelling by 200 km/h. 

This idea was presented by the company KADECO. The length of the railway will be 46 kilometers, of which 12.3 km will be in tunnels. In the near future, the concept is presented to investors. Behind the project is Promote engineering, Kadeco, Landsbanki, Isavia, Ístak, Reykjavik real estate companies and a local contact in the Southwest.









The type of train that could be running on Iceland's first railway line. (Here in Copenhagen, Denmark)


According to the presentation it is expected that the number of passengers through Keflavik Airport will continue to grow and by 2023, the number of arrivals and departures will be over 4.5 million. Today the number is 2.3 million. It is expected that a large proportion of passengers will use this future rail-transport and considering that half of the foreign visitors will use the train the revenue should be about 77.8 million EUR a year. 

It was noted that much has changed since this option was last examined. Among other things, the technology has become better and cheaper, there is less operating costs and visitors coming to Iceland has increased significantly.










The price of the ticket one way will be 31 EUR, which is quite expensive. One has to presume that many passengers will take the bus or share a taxi instead. Also there is a discussion about how many stations there will be on this route. Besides Keflavik and central Reykjavik I would say that Hafnarfjordur could be a good stop, because it's a dense part of the city with excellent public transport links.


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## Sunfuns (Mar 26, 2012)

Am I right that micro states aside Iceland is the only country in Europe without railways?


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## NordikNerd (Feb 5, 2011)

Sunfuns said:


> Am I right that micro states aside Iceland is the only country in Europe without railways?


Cyprus and Malta have no railways. I dont know if Malta is counted as a microstate though.


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## zaphod (Dec 8, 2005)

It is strange to think of there being trains in Iceland. Sounds exciting. I hope demand actually exists and its not just a vanity project by politicans


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## hans280 (Jun 13, 2008)

Sunfuns said:


> Am I right that micro states aside Iceland is the only country in Europe without railways?


Probably. Some of the small countries of the Balkan have so little railway left, and in such poor condition, that it's almost nothing. But Iceland is probably the only decently-sized country that never had rails.


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## Sunfuns (Mar 26, 2012)

NordikNerd said:


> Cyprus and Malta have no railways. I dont know if Malta is counted as a microstate though.


Malta while not a true microstate is too small for railways (a tram maybe?). Had forgotten about Cyprus... They used to have it, but it was closed down long time ago.


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## NordikNerd (Feb 5, 2011)

hans280 said:


> Probably. Some of the small countries of the Balkan have so little railway left, and in such poor condition, that it's almost nothing. But Iceland is probably the only decently-sized country that never had rails.











Map of the first railway in Iceland

















There was a 900mm narrow gauge railway in Reykjavik from 1913 until 1928.


*Also a there have been an industrial railway *








*The Kárahnjúka railway in 2004-2006*


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## Mr. Creosote88 (Apr 12, 2013)

NordikNerd said:


> Map of the first railway in Iceland
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Excellent map and photos, but that railway in Reykjavík was of course used to ship building material for the construction of Reykjavík harbour. So we've never had a proper passenger trains since the demand has never been sufficient to justify the cost, until possibly now.


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## NordikNerd (Feb 5, 2011)

*The Reykjavik Airport-Express*



Mr. Creosote88 said:


> Excellent map and photos, but that railway in Reykjavík was of course used to ship building material for the construction of Reykjavík harbour. So we've never had a proper passenger trains since the demand has never been sufficient to justify the cost, until possibly now.




The Reykjavik Airport-Express railway is a possible project due to the ever increasing number of tourists arriving in Iceland. Actually without the tourists this railway would not be planned.

The reason for the increasing number of tourists in Iceland is the unsecure situation elsewhere in the western world. Terror attacks, criminal refugees, war and polital instability make tourists rethink about their holiday destination. Iceland is safe and clean, also slightly cheaper than before due to the recent bank-crisis.










The first passengers may board the Reykjavik Airport-Express in January 2023 according to the project management. The high-speed railproject is a result of a joint venture between 9 companies and the icelandic state.


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## suasion (Sep 7, 2015)

> criminal refugees


As I have told you before, a refugee is a legal status under international law. This is a forum about railways in Iceland not a soapbox for prejudices born of your limited gene pool.


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## chornedsnorkack (Mar 13, 2009)

Sunfuns said:


> Malta while not a true microstate is too small for railways (a tram maybe?).


A railway has been built on Malta.


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## suasion (Sep 7, 2015)

link to Malta railway here. Incidentally, there are parrallel ruts carved into some limestone outcrops which some claim are evidence of a neolithic railway.

Was there also a railway on an golf course near Thingvellier?


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## Gordion (Oct 26, 2005)

Hope to visit Iceland one day. Airport is quite far from Reykjavik, this new train will be good but i wish it was cheaper...


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## NordikNerd (Feb 5, 2011)

suasion said:


> Was there also a railway on an golf course near Thingvellier?


Yes, there was a 600mm railway there, but the coaches were pulled by people or horses. There were no locos on that railway.


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## Nikolaj (Oct 8, 2009)

NordikNerd said:


> The type of train that could be running on Iceland's first railway line. (Here in Copenhagen, Denmark)


I am sure that this notorious train has nothing to do with Keflavik-Reykjavik project. The train on the picture shows the infamous diesel-engined IC 4 produced by Ansaldo-Breda. 83 units ordered by DSB - Danish State Railways - around 2000, as the future InterCity train in Denmark. Delayed for years, poor performance, poor quality and has never served its purpose as the backbone of the IC system in Denmark. The IC2 short version of the IC4 has been scrapped and it has been decided to commence scrapping the IC4's as well.


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## NordikNerd (Feb 5, 2011)

Nikolaj said:


> I am sure that this notorious train has nothing to do with Keflavik-Reykjavik project. The train on the picture shows the infamous diesel-engined IC 4 produced by Ansaldo-Breda. 83 units ordered by DSB - Danish State Railways - around 2000, as the future InterCity train in Denmark.



Yes. If the Reykjavik Airport express railway is opened in the year of 2023 that train would be too old. Maybe the Alstom Coradia X3 would be a better option.










In the year of 2000 members of the French train company Alstom met with the Reykjavik city authorities and introduced them to the cost estimate of the future railway between Reykjavik and Keflavik.

This was 16 years ago, so the planning of the project seems to have taken a lot of time. It's a risk for the investors to rely solely on the tourists in order to make the railway profitable. 
The popularity of tourists destinations can change quickly.

Maybe a tram with additional stops in the suburbs of Reykjavik would be a better option.


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## zaphod (Dec 8, 2005)

Any status updates for this?

I keep reading news articles about tourism straining local infrastructure in Iceland, and a train would help.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

The demise of WOW has put a dent on these plans?


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