In March, the Swedish Government issued a directive for action planning. This was the start of the work on developing a proposal for a new national transport system plan for the years 2018-2029.
Later, in August, Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration) sent the Government in Stockholm, for approval, the deployment proposal of a National Transport Plan for the 2018-2029 timeframe. The Plan will cover all four significant modes of transport: rail, road, naval and aviation (which Trafikverket, since 2010, organises, manages and finances without favoring one of them at the expense of the others).
According to the proposal submitted by Trafikverket, the amount to be invested for the 2018-2019 period amounts to SEK 622.5 billion (EUR 65.6 billion), more than SEK 100 billion (EUR 10.5 billion) compared to the plan currently in force, until 2018.
Trafikverket also specifies that SEK 90 billion (EUR 9.5 billion) will be cashed in through road congestion tolls, track access charges and co-financing.
In the next period, measures will be enforced for the modernisation and the extension of the railway network, considered as a competitive business environment in Sweden. It will be extended to facilitate access to urban and rural areas.
Trafikverket announces that the government could approve the submitted Plan in the spring of 2018.
The western part of Sweden, with the regions of Halland, Värmland and Västra Götaland, is the most important area in terms of transport and logistics. In the most important regions, economically developped, urban development and planning is also needed, so that local transport systems are connected with long-distance freight and passenger rail services.
„In western Sweden, we are massively focussing on establishing measures that will create a more reliable rail transport. We are considering the development of the West Coast Line with doubling the track towards Varberg and with extensive investments in the West Pole. Major efforts will also be made for the development of regional rail transport. Currently, we have some major ongoing investments in the Gothenburg region, such as the West Line (Västlänken), the Gothenburg Port Line and the Marieholm Tunnel, which are built under the Göta River,” Håkan Wennerström, director of the Western Division of Trafikverket said.
Moreover, the efficient flow of goods is a significant condition for maintaining and managing the Western Pole as a hub for freight traffic.
In turn, Lena Erixon, General Manager of Trafikverket, says that this National Plan “is the method to help strengthen a modern, efficient and sustainable transport system.”
“A slight increase of maintenance costs means we can restore the functionality of the rail transport system, which will be a positive fact for commuter and rail freight traffic,” Lena Erixon adds.
In Västra Götaland County, Trafikverket will continue the extension of the railway network, during the 2018-2029 timeframe. In this region, the rail track has reached a maximum capacity and at the same time there are requirements to deploy more trains than possible.
Another rail line that will be upgraded is E20 rail line, with all the stages completed in 2025, except for the stage through Alingsås. In Sävenäs, the rail line will be upgraded to offer better accesibility for rail freight transport business and their clients.
The Gothenburg-Borås rail line is still in the planning phase and Trafikverket announced the allocation of more funds for the planning and designing of this line.
In Halland County, as above mentioned, the West Coast Line will have a double track rail towrds Varberg. Works for this projects are due to start during 2018-2020 timeframe. The are also plans to double track the rail line in the Varberg Tunnel. These two projects are part of the West Coast Line extension for the Gothenburg-Lund route.
For Västkustbanan, in Halmstad, works are due to start in the 2024-2029 timeframe. On this line, capacity, safety and accesibility for both trains and passengers need improvement.
In Värmland County, on the Trollhättet Canal, Vänersjöfarten, works for upgrading trackside equipment are due to being deployed also during 2024 and 2029.
Regarding the E45 Gothenburg – Karlstad rail line, Trafikverket has prioritised the extension of the line with two routes as the Säffle – Valnäs stretch, in Värmland County. For this section works are due to be deployed during 2024-2029 timeframe. On the other section to be extended, works will start early in the planning period, in 2018. The investments in the Värmland Line continues, including works on the Laxå-Kil section, which are due to start in 2019. Moreover, for the Fryksdalsbanan rail line works for capacity improvements are to be deployed late in the planning period.
Ostlänken, Sweden’s first high speed rail line
An important project announced by Sweden is the first high-speed line, of which the East Line (Ostlänken) is the most important section. The start of its construction is planned for 2018 and Trafikverket proposes a running speed of 250 km/h.
The first high speed rail line in Sweden will link Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö and will have a length of 320 kilometers. The actual Ostlänken line stretches from Järna in the Municipality of Södertälje to Linköping. The line will make it possible to travel from Stockholm to Linköping in an hour on a high-speed train or to Nyköping in three quarters of an hour on a regional train. Ostlänken connects up with the existing main lines in Järna, Norrköping and Linköping, so that it will be possible to operate the same train the whole way from, for example, Stockholm to Copenhagen.
The first contract provides for the construction of the 154 kilometers, from Stockholm to Linköping. On this section, 25 km of railway tunnels will be built and a number of 155 bridges will also be built. Tafikverket estimates that this section will be completed in 2028.
The second contract concerns the West Line (Västlänken), a project according to which eight kilometers of double railway track will be deployed in Gothenburg and six kilometers of this line will be built underground to dismantle the crowded traffic in Gothenburg Central Station.
Moreover The Swedish Transport Administration also proposes that more than SEK 1 billion (EUR 105.5 million) to be invested on the new E22 rail line towards Söderköping, with estimated construction starting in 2021 and three years construction time.
The government’s directive states that the planning framework is to be distributed as follows:
• SEK 333.5 billion (EUR 35 billion) will be used for the development of the transport system, of which SEK 36.6 billion (EUR 3.86 billion) refers to funds for regional rail transport plans;
• SEK 125 billion (EUR 13.2 billion) will be allocated to operation, maintenance and reinvestment in State railways network;
Enhancement projects include four-tracking the Uppsala – Stockholm line, the first stretch of the Norrbotniabanan north of Umeå, the final section of the West Coast main line remodelling at Helsingborg and further expansion of >
> the Ostkustbanan north of Gävle. Such an effort would improve capacity, increase accessibility, and increase the ability for people to live further away from their workplace. A prerequisite for the initiative is that agreements with municipalities on increased housing construction will be in place. Rebuilding of the level crossings in central Uppsala is also proposed to commence during the planning period. It will create a safer traffic environment in central Uppsala.
Work will be pushed ahead on the Ostlänken and Lund – Hässleholm sections of the proposed national high speed network, although neither project is now expected to be completed within the plan period.
Other works will facilitate the operation of 750 m long freight trains on much of the network, and increase axleloads on the Malmbanan iron ore line. This is expected to contribute to the decarbonisation of freight transport through modal shift. The ongoing Hallsberg – Mjölby upgrading is to be completed, along with the new Hamnbanan and Vastlänken cross-city tunnel in Göteborg. Accessibility improvements are planned for many regional lines.
ERTMS implementation in Sweden
The Swedish planning horizon for infrastructure investments is 12 years and the plan is updated every four years. Consequently, the plan for ERTMS implementation is divided into different sections. Thus, the current national infrastructure plan covers the 2014-2025 timeframe. The upcoming national plan covers the 2018-2029 timeframe.
The current signalling equipment in Sweden is old, heterogenic and based on outdated relay technology. The majority of the equipment will have reached its economic life time within the upcoming 15 years. Consequently, Sweden has decided to reinvest the current equipment during the upcomig 17 years.
Between 2021 and 2035, around 780 interlocks will be reinvested into around 160 modern computerised interlocks equipped with ERTMS technology. Also, all rolling stock will be equipped with ETCS until 2025. Trafikverket estimates that the cost for ERTMS implementation will reach to SEK 26.2 billion (EUR 2.8 billion).
The possibilities of digitisation
During the 2018-2029 planning period construction and maintenance of the State infrastructure is being conducted. Overall, the plan contributes in a number of ways to increased digitalisation, automation and electrification of the transport system. In order to exploit the opportunities created by digitisation and the new technology, the Swedish Transport Administration cooperates with various parties in research and innovation, both public and commercial actors.
The overall objective of transport policy is to ensure a socio-economically efficient and long-term sustainable transport supply for citizens and industry throughout the country. However, neither the society nor the transport sector is sustainable today. In order for the transport system to contribute to sustainable society, the Trafikverkets’s Board has supported a target for accessibility in a sustainable society in 2030 and a vision for 2050, with objectives and functional requirements that the transport system operators can relate to.
By 2030, public transport trips will be experienced as reliable, comfortable and safe, as well as easy to plan, pay and re-plan in case of disturbance, no matter where you are in the country. Also, by 2030, at least 75% of unprotected road users will experience that the rail transport system is safe to use and stay in.
The Swedish Transport Administration has developed a target image for the transport system that the Board has supported. It takes its starting point in a sustainability perspective, but also based on an assessment of how a society can be created that is attractive and offers a good quality of life for all citizens and development opportunities for the business community across the country. The target picture is based on the transport policy goals and objectives contained in the UN Agenda 2030.
The goals are formulated for the entire transport system, focusing on the aspects and traffic types that are most important for achieving the goals. However, some quality assurance of target levels for 2030 remains.
by Elena Ilie
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