Freight transport started in 2004, when an agreement with Norske Skog was made to transport timber along the Røros, Meråker and Nordland lines to the paper mill at Skogn. The activity was further increased in 2006, when a contract worth NOK 30 million was signed to transport of timber, including some to the other paper mill in Halden. The following year, Ofotbanen also entered the container freight market, with a train running from Narvik via Sweden to Oslo, both via the Meråker Line and via the Kongsvinger Line. The trains would continue to Drammen when necessary. Ofotbanen was also in negotiations about transporting 700 annual trains of ore for Rana Gruber, but the contract was instead awarded to CargoNet. By 2005, Ofotbanen only had a 50% utilization of their stock, but in March a contract for the rest of the year was signed securing full use of the equipment to transport timber in Southern Sweden, with two trains in continual traffic. The extraordinary traffic was needed to clean up after the Gudrun storm, and the contract gave a revenue of NOK 20 million.