Paper short abstract:

This study analyses the content and relative importance of arguments related to the environment made during the long-lasting debates over Arctic railways. It focuses on a project in northern Finland and Norway but makes comparisons with projects in different parts of the circumpolar North.

Paper long abstract:

Heated debates concerning railway projects have taken place in different parts of the Arctic during recent years. While railways are in general seen as an environmentally friendly mode of transport with low levels of carbon dioxide emissions, the direct and indirect negative environmental impacts have also received plenty of attention. Many of these projects have long histories and some arguments used today either on behalf of or against them can be identified from discussions that happened already decades ago. Yet, the arguments vis-à-vis the environment or nature and the overall attention paid to the environmental concerns seems to be much larger in contemporary debates. To understand the role of environment in the long-lasting debates over Arctic railways, this study focuses on the planned railway connecting northern Finland to the Arctic Ocean. While the possibility of constructing this kind of railway line has been debated for a century, discussions about potential cargo flow through the Northern Sea Route, international attention paid to oil and gas reserves in the Barents Sea, and expectations concerning the development of Finnish mining sector revitalized the planning at the end of the 2000s and the beginning of the 2010s. The findings made concerning this infrastructuring process that has not materialized are compared with other Arctic railway projects. Besides researching the content and relative importance of arguments related to the environment, this study analyses the actors referring to the environment and alignments that have brought for example arguments concerning environment and indigenous rights together.