In 1847, a concession was granted to build a railway from the mines at Gällivare to Töre in the Gulf of Bothnia. The line was never built, and in 1882 a new concession was granted to an English company, who between 1884 and 1888 built a railway from Malmberget to the port at Svartön in Luleå. However, the line was built with an inadequate standard, and the mining company lacked sufficient funds to finance the upgrades. In 1891, the line was nationalized and taken over by the Swedish State Railways.