Sweden begins to built his first high speed line 

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10/02/2016

Sweden has not so far a “TGV”. There exist the X2000 which was being introduced in 1990 and which is a tilting train capable of reaching 200 km / h. The 20 trainsets run between Stockholm and Gothenburg, and also to Malmö for nearly 20 years. That doesn't means that the X2000 is a real high-speed train. In 1993, the former Swedish Rail Administration received the first commission from the Government: create a rough outline for a future high-speed network. But the railroads were not ready and the architecture of governance has changed in the meantime, with the establishment of Banverket as infrastructure manager. The political environment in Sweden was also not conducive.

In July 2008, infrastructure manager Banverket has submitted a report to the government recommending the construction of two high speed corridors over the next 20 years, for an estimated cost of SKr100bn to SKr150bn.

According to BV Director General Minoo Akhtarzand, the rail network will need 50% more capacity by 2020 to cope with rising demand and encourage the transfer of passenger and freight traffic from less environmentally-sustainable modes. As well as making rail more competitive with air, saving up to 2 million tonnes of CO2 a year, the construction of new high speed lines would release capacity on the existing network for more regional passenger and freight trains, according to the report. Many routes were studied :

Requiring 246 km of new construction, Gotalandsbanan and Europabanan are intended to relieve the Western and Southern main lines which are expected to reach their capacity limit between 2025 and 2035. Both routes would be designed for 320 km/h, cutting Stockholm - Goteborg journey times from 3 h to 2 h and Stockholm - Malmö from 4 h 15 min to 2 h 45 min, Banverket envisages building the routes in phases. The "Europabanan" originally scheduled via Helsingborg, has been studied toward Malmö, as the city is now connected by the Oresund fixed link toward Denmark.

The total cost of the network is estimated to be around SKr 125bn ($US 19.4bn) at 2008 prices, of which SKr 59bn would come from the state, SKr 43bn from track access charges, SKr 19bn from local and regional governments, and SKr 4bn from the European Union. The remaining SKr 19bn would cover the cost of private finance, and the report suggests costs could be reduced if the project is entirely publically-funded. National transport infrastructure manager Trafikverket has divided the route into four sections which are being tendered in sequence. Funds could be raised for the project through a special infrastructure charge on freight operators who would benefit from additional capacity on existing routes. In addition to the infrastructure cost, an estimated SKr 29bn will be required for rolling stock, although the train fleet will be financed and procured by the operators.

2014
Swedish infrastructure manager - which is now called Trafikverket – has published a new report on February 28, 2014 outlining potential options for a high-speed line linking Stockholm with Gothenburg and Malmö. The Y-shaped network would comprise a line running east-west from Järna near Stockholm to Linkoping, Jönköping and Boras, rejoining the conventional network at Almedal on the outskirts of Gothenburg, together with a branch running south from Jönköping to Åkarp, halfway between Lund and Malmö. Construction of the Järna – Almedal line would be split into six sections, which would open in three phases between 2023 and 2025. Infrastructure would be designed for a commercial operating speed of 250-320km/h. Detailed studies were awarded by ÅF Infrastructure AB for Package 1 and by Sweco Rail AB for Package 2.

2016
On February 1, 2016, national consultation agency Sverigeförhandlingen began the formal consultation process with local authorities over the preferred route and location for the intermediate stations. Outlining the planned procurement strategy on January 28, Trafikverket’s Head of Procurement Johan Sundin and Head of Construction Otto Andersson confirmed that briefing meetings with construction consortia will begin this month ahead of the formal tendering. Construction of the line is expected to get underway in 2017.

Pour débuter
The “Ostlänken” or Eastern Link project is one of the first steps towards a generation of new railway infrastructure in Sweden. Ostlänken is planned as a new double-track high-speed railway between Järna near Södertälje and Linköping, a route of about 150km. The route is being designed for a maximum of 320 km/h. Five intermediate stations are envisaged. A multimodal interchange is to be developed near the village of Vagnhärad, serving the municipality of Trosa, while ‘transport hubs’ on new sites will replace the existing stations at Norrköping and Linköping. Around Nyköping the line will split into two, with the trunk route running via a station at Skavsta Airport and a secondary spur serving an interchange at the existing city-centre station. New stations are also envisaged at Tranås and Jönköping which would be served by a later stage of the high speed route.

Cinq gares intermédiaires sont envisagées. Un échange multimodal doit être développé à proximité du village de Vagnhärad, au service de la municipalité de Trosa, tandis que les «centres de transport» sur de nouveaux sites vont remplacer les gares centrales existantes à Norrköping et Linköping. Autour de Nyköping la ligne sera divisée en deux sections, avec un tronc commun passant par l'aéroport de Skavsta et une section secondaire desservant le nœud modal du centre-ville existant. De nouvelles gares sont également envisagées à Tranås et à Jönköping, villes qui seraient desservies ultérieurement à la grande vitesse.

Financial issues
Explaining that ‘there will probably not be enough resources within Sweden for a project of this size’, Sundin said the work would be split into approximately 15 packages worth SKr4bn to SKr5bn each. Opening up the project to foreign bidders would enable Sweden to benefit from other countries' experience in building high speed lines, he added. The packages will be split by geography, size and technology content. All of the construction work in each geographical area will be bundled into one contract, but the electrification, signalling and telecommunications will be procured separately from specialist contractors.