The Ofoten Line and the Iron Ore Line are two railroad lines which were built to allow iron ore to be hauled from the LKAB's mines in Kiruna, Svappavaara and Malmberget in Sweden to Luleå on the Baltic Sea in Sweden and to Narvik on the Norwegian Sea in Norway.
Historically, these lines were operated by the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) in Norway and the Swedish State Railways (SJ) in Sweden, but in 1996 the operations, but not the infrastructure, were transferred to the new company Malmtrafik i Kiruna (MTAB), a joint venture between LKAB, NSB and SJ, and its Norwegian subsidiary Malmtrafikk (MTAS).
At the time, the line was using El 15 and Dm3 locomotives.

In 1998, LKAB estimated a steady 35% increase in iron ore production until 2005, and requested that the governments grant sufficient funding to upgrade the lines from 25-tonne (25-long-ton; 28-short-ton) to 30-tonne (30-long-ton; 33-short-ton) maximum permitted axle load.
Combined with new locomotives, this would give increased efficiency in hauling the ore from the mines.
The upgrade was estimated to cost 180 million Norwegian krone (NOK) for the Ofoten Line alone.

In March 1998, LKAB awarded the contract to build 750 new 100-tonne hopper cars to Transnet of South Africa.
In August, an agreement was reached whereby LKAB would pay NOK 100 million of the NOK 130 million needed to upgrade the Ofoten Line.
The contract to deliver 18 locomotives was signed with Adtranz Switzerland on 15 September 1998.
In 1999, LKAB bought SJ's and NSB's share in MTAB.

The first two sections were delivered by Adtranz in August 2000, and was subjected to intensive tests before the manufacture of the rest of the series.
Commissioning concluded in December 2000, the locomotive started regular service on 10 January 2001, and started operation with the new hopper cars and 30-tonne (30-long-ton; 33-short-ton) axle load on 7 March 2001.
In May 2001, Bombardier Transportation took over Adtranz.
Bombardier delivered the rest of the Iore series from 2002 to 2005.
In March 2004, LKAB decided not to purchase additional hopper cars from Transnet, and instead purchased 750 heavier cars from K-Industrier.
Since 1969, the ore trains have been using the Soviet SA3 coupler.
However, LKAB wanted to also try Janney couplers (also known as AAR coupler, used in much heavier trains in USA and South Africa), as the SA3 couplers were not much tested with the new weights.
While the first pair of locomotives had Janney couplers, the rest of the locomotives were equipped with SA3 couplers to handle the existing hopper cars, and the cars bought from K-Industrier.
The locomotives and Transnet wagons with Janney couplers were retrofitted with SA3 couplers.
In 2004, the El 15 locomotives were sold to Hector Rail.

On 23 August 2007, LKAB ordered another four twin units, with delivery in 2010 and 2011, and costing €52 million.
These will replace all remaining Dm3 locomotives by 2011, and LKAB convert all the ore trains to 68 cars.
This will increase the capacity from 28 to 33 million tonnes per year, and at the same time reduce the number of departures per day from 21 to 15.

The name Iore is a mixture between the term Iron ore, and the fictional character Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh, spelled I-or in Swedish.
The Ofoten Line and the Iron Ore Line are two railroad lines which were built to allow iron ore to be hauled from the LKAB's mines in Kiruna, Svappavaara and Malmberget in Sweden to Luleå on the Baltic Sea in Sweden and to Narvik on the Norwegian Sea in Norway. Historically, these lines were operated by the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) in Norway and the Swedish State Railways (SJ) in Sweden, but in 1996 the operations, but not the infrastructure, were transferred to the new company Malmtrafik i Kiruna (MTAB), a joint venture between LKAB, NSB and SJ, and its Norwegian subsidiary Malmtrafikk (MTAS). At the time, the line was using El 15 and Dm3 locomotives.
In 1998, LKAB estimated a steady 35% increase in iron ore production until 2005, and requested that the governments grant sufficient funding to upgrade the lines from 25-tonne (25-long-ton; 28-short-ton) to 30-tonne (30-long-ton; 33-short-ton) maximum permitted axle load. Combined with new locomotives, this would give increased efficiency in hauling the ore from the mines. The upgrade was estimated to cost 180 million Norwegian krone (NOK) for the Ofoten Line alone.
In March 1998, LKAB awarded the contract to build 750 new 100-tonne hopper cars to Transnet of South Africa. In August, an agreement was reached whereby LKAB would pay NOK 100 million of the NOK 130 million needed to upgrade the Ofoten Line. The contract to deliver 18 locomotives was signed with Adtranz Switzerland on 15 September 1998. In 1999, LKAB bought SJ's and NSB's share in MTAB.
The first two sections were delivered by Adtranz in August 2000, and was subjected to intensive tests before the manufacture of the rest of the series. Commissioning concluded in December 2000, the locomotive started regular service on 10 January 2001, and started operation with the new hopper cars and 30-tonne (30-long-ton; 33-short-ton) axle load on 7 March 2001. In May 2001, Bombardier Transportation took over Adtranz. Bombardier delivered the rest of the Iore series from 2002 to 2005. In March 2004, LKAB decided not to purchase additional hopper cars from Transnet, and instead purchased 750 heavier cars from K-Industrier. Since 1969, the ore trains have been using the Soviet SA3 coupler. However, LKAB wanted to also try Janney couplers (also known as AAR coupler, used in much heavier trains in USA and South Africa), as the SA3 couplers were not much tested with the new weights. While the first pair of locomotives had Janney couplers, the rest of the locomotives were equipped with SA3 couplers to handle the existing hopper cars, and the cars bought from K-Industrier. The locomotives and Transnet wagons with Janney couplers were retrofitted with SA3 couplers. In 2004, the El 15 locomotives were sold to Hector Rail.
On 23 August 2007, LKAB ordered another four twin units, with delivery in 2010 and 2011, and costing €52 million. These will replace all remaining Dm3 locomotives by 2011, and LKAB convert all the ore trains to 68 cars. This will increase the capacity from 28 to 33 million tonnes per year, and at the same time reduce the number of departures per day from 21 to 15.
The name Iore is a mixture between the term Iron ore, and the fictional character Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh, spelled I-or in Swedish.
Iore