Railways in Norrland
From Storvik, west of Gävle, which was reached in 1875, and further northward, railway construction steadily progressed across the country. One of the many benefits of the northern expansion of the railway in the 1880s and onwards was tourism. The opening of train stations in Östersund and Storlien in 1882 enabled more people to explore the mountainous region of Jämtland.
When the line finally reached Boden/Luleå in 1894 and Riksgränsen in 1903, a railway network had been created from Malmö in the south to Riksgränsen in the north.
The limited express train was short-lived
SJ could not pass up this opportunity. A limited express train between Stockholm and Narvik was put into service on a trial basis during the summer of 1903 and was named the Lappland Express. The trains made the journey in 48 hours. The result was “quite promising”, and departures continued during the summers of 1904 and 1905. However, by 1906, the limited express train had been replaced by a different form of express train with more stops and two departures a week during the summer period.