In 1872, Ole Tobias Olsen proposed in "Morgenbladet" that a railway be built between Mo i Rana via Haparanda, Sweden, to Saint Petersburg, Russia. He was inspired by Scottish railways and hoped to use the line to export fresh fish. The engineer succeeded the following year at gaining a public grant to investigate a route to Gulf of Bothnia. Om 1875, Olsen proposed that a railway be built from Trondheim via Steinkjer and Namsos to Vestfjorden. That year, Nord-Trøndelag County Council established a committee to plan a railway from Stjørdal to Namsos, while Nordland County Council established a committee for a continuation of the line to Nordland.