On 31 August, Swedish Transport Administration, Trafikverket, submitted to the government the proposal for a transport national plan development for the period 2018-2029. The administration has launched the public consultation process for the next three months and the formal adoption of the strategy is scheduled for the first quarter of 2018.
The values of the proposed plan is SEK 622.5 billion (almost EUR 66 billion), an increase of SEK 100 billion (EUR 10.6 billion) compared to the current plan. According to Trafikverket, SEK 90 billion (EUR 9.54 billion) will be raised through road congestion tax, track acces charges and co-financing.
“The strategy is the answer of government’s goal to create a modern, efficient and sustainable transport system,” Lena Erixon, Director General of Trafikverket said.
The national plan involves all transport modes, including railways, road, aviation, maritime (including ferry) transport as well as urban transport projects including cycling.
Among Sweden’s most important rail projects involves the high speed rail network construction that is estimated to be completed in 2035. The goal is to make it possible to travel between Stockholm and Göteborg in two hours, and between Stockholm and Malmö in two and a half hours. At the same time, capacity on the existing main lines will be freed up for freight transports. Parts of these new railways are already well underway in terms of planning, such as the Göteborg-Borås route and the “Eastern Link” between Järna and Linköping. The Swedish Transport Administration is also currently investigating alternative routes between Linköping-Borås and Jönköping-Malmö. Later in the autumn, the Swedish Transport Administration will present its collective assessment of social effects and benefits, and hand this over to the National Negotiation on Housing and Infrastructure. The National Negotiation on Housing and Infrastructure has been commissioned to provide a final proposal to the Government regarding routes, stations and funding.
New projects envisage track modernisation and network expansion. Recently, Trafikverket awarded OHL-NCC joint venture a EUR 215 million contract to upgrade the line between Lund and Arlöv (Malmö), one of the busiest rail routes in Sweden. The OHL-NCC joint venture will construct the first 8 km stretch between the Swedish cities of Arlöv and Flackarp, while the tender winners can choose to contribute to the design of the 3 km stretch between Flackarp and Lund, and subsequently negotiate with the client to construct it.
Another development project involves the expansion of Southern Main Line (Södra Stambanan) for which NCC-OHL consortium was awarded a EUR 204.5 million contract. Work is expected to begin in the autumn of 2017 and be completed by 2024.
In addition, Trafikverket awarded Strukton Rail a contract to install the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) on a test track between Katrineholm and Åby in Sweden. The Swedish Transport Administration’s mission is that the system’s functionality should be tested in a real railway environment without affecting traffic. Strukton’s work includes preparing the test track technology for the new system.
Share on:
