Transport in Svalbard
Svalbard,Norway,is a vast, very sparsely inhabitedArcticarchipelago.With fewer than 3,000 inhabitants in three main communities, plus some smaller meteorological and scientific outposts, there are no communities connected by road.[1]Off-roadmotorized transport is prohibited on bare ground, butsnowmobilesare used extensively during winter, both for commercial and recreational activities. Transport from Longyearbyen to Barentsburg (45 km or 28 mi) and Pyramiden (100 km or 62 mi) is possible by snowmobile at winter, or by ship all year round. Road systems exist within the communities ofLongyearbyen,Barentsburg,Ny-Ålesundand the now-closedSveagruva.All settlements have ports and Longyearbyen has a bus system.[2]
Aviation[edit]
There are three airports in the Svalbard area,Svalbard Airport,Ny-Ålesund AirportandSvea Airport.
Svalbard Airport, Longyearis the main airport serving the archipelago. Located 3 kilometres (2 mi) northwest of Longyearbyen, it is the northernmost airport in the world with public scheduled flights. The firstairport(or more accuratelyairstrip) near Longyearbyen (inAdventdalen) was constructed during World War II by theLuftwaffe,it was the first airstrip on Svalbard.[3]It was first put into use for occasional flights in 1959, but could only be operated a few months a year. Construction of the new airport at Hotellneset started in 1973, and the airport was opened on 2 September 1975.[4]It is owned and operated by state-ownedAvinor.In 2009, the airport had 138,934 passengers.[5]Scandinavian Airlines Systemoperates daily flights toTromsøandOsloon mainland Norway.[6]Lufttransportprovides services toNy-Ålesund AirportandSvea Airport,usingDornier 228turboprop aircraft. There are also regular charter flights.[7]On 29 August 1996,Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801crashed intoOperafjelletmountain about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the airport. All 141 people on board theTupolev Tu-154Mwere killed. It is the worst air crash in Norwegian history.[8]
Arktikugol,the owner of thecompany townof Barentsburg, operates aMil Mi-8helicopter from theheliportat Heerodden, 2 kilometres (1 mi) outside of town, as well as a heliport at their former town ofPyramiden.During theCold War,Aeroflotretained a large helicopter base at Heerodden, operating five Mi-8 which could quickly be retrofitted with arms, plus regular staff both at Svalbard Airport (for occasional charter flights) and Heerodden. In 2006, one helicopter was lost in theHeerodden helicopter accident.[9]
Railways[edit]
Narrow-gauge mining railways used to operate at a number of locations, in particular atNy-ÅlesundandGrumant(built by the Norwegians and Soviets respectively).[10]Most of these railways have been abandoned, but the one atBarentsburgwas reported as still functional in 2008.[11]
References[edit]
- ^Umbriet (1997): 64
- ^Umbriet (1997): 63–67
- ^Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1996: 154
- ^Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1996: 155–158
- ^Avinor(2010)."Årsrapport Passasjerer"(in Norwegian). Archived fromthe originalon 28 December 2010.Retrieved10 March2010.
- ^Avinor."Direkteruter"(in Norwegian). Archived fromthe originalon 2 March 2009.Retrieved9 September2009.
- ^Lufttransport."Kystvakt"(in Norwegian). Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2011.Retrieved9 September2009.
- ^Flight Safety Foundation."29 AUG 1996".Retrieved9 September2009.
- ^Eisenträger, Stian & Per Øyvind Fange (30 March 2008)."- Kraftig vindkast trolig årsaken".Verdens Gang.Retrieved24 March2010.
- ^Williams, Glyn."Railways in Svalbard".www.sinfin.net.Retrieved17 January2023.
- ^The Railways of Spitsbergen
Bibliography[edit]
- Tjomsland, Audun & Wilsberg, Kjell (1995).Braathens SAFE 50 år: Mot alle odds.Oslo.ISBN82-990400-1-9.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Umbreit, Andreas (1997).Guide to Spitsbergen.Bucks: Bradt.ISBN1-84162-092-0.