often hugging the sides of fjords until Mo i Rana Station (). From Mo the line runs up the Dunderland Valley at a 1.2% gradient. From Dunderland Station () the line climbs at a 1.8% gradient for onto the Saltfjellet mountain plateau. It reaches its highest elevation just south of Stødi Station (), at above mean sea level, about after passing the Arctic Circle. The line then descends for the next at a 1.8% gradient until reaching almost sea level at Rognan Station (), by which time it has reached the district of Salten. The section onward to Finneid Station () has steep terrain and the line hugs the mountainside, frequently entering tunnels. From Fauske the line heads west to Bodø Station. History Trondheim–Hell A committee to look into building a railway northwards from Trondheim was established in 1870. The goal was to build a railway which connected to Jämtland, Sweden. Similar investigations were carried out on the Swedish side of the border. An early alternative to build via Verdal was discarded. The line was at first estimated to cost 4.7 million Norwegian krone and the line built with a narrow gauge. Shares in the railway company were offered for sale in 1871, of which NOK 1.2 million was bought by Trondheim Municipality. The Parliament of Norway rejected the line the same year, although it resulted in a local railway committee being established. Legislation to build the line was passed by Parliament on 2 May 1872. The state would receive shares in the company equal to their monetary contribution. In 1873, the Parliament of Sweden voted to build a narrow gauge railway from Torpshammar to the Norwegian border, where it would connect to the Sundsvall–Torpshammar Line. By 1874, Swedish authorities had decided that all railways should be built in standard gauge, and the Parliament of Norway chose to change their configuration to the same gauge in 1874, increasing estimated costs from NOK 4.7 to 8.9 million. In Trondheim, the existing Trondhjem–Støren Line terminated at a station at Kalvskinnet. This was a cul-de-sac station, and to allow the two lines to interconnect, a new station was built at Brattøra, costing NOK 1.4 million. The river of Stjørdalselva created a barrier just north of Hell, and it would be cheaper to make the line go on the south shore of the river down to Hegra. However, the major population center was located