Rail transport in Sweden
Rail transport in Sweden uses a network of 10,912 kilometres (6,780 mi), the 24th largest in the world.[3] Construction of the first railway line in Sweden began in 1855. The major operator of passenger trains has traditionally been the state-owned SJ, though today around 70% of all rail traffic consists of subsidised local and regional trains for which the regional public transport authorities bear responsibility.[4] Passenger traffic has increased significantly since the turn of the millennium,[5] and in 2019 Sweden ranked number five in the world (as measured in passenger kilometres per capita) and number three in the European union,[5] as well as number six in the world when measured by passenger share.
Sweden
264.6 million[2]
10,912 kilometres (6,780 mi)[3]
2,058 kilometres (1,279 mi)[3]
8,186 kilometres (5,087 mi)[3]
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
10,846 kilometres (6,739 mi)[3]
66 kilometres (41 mi)[3]
Hallandsås Tunnel (8.7 km)
Öresundsbron (7.8 km)
601 m a.s.l.
30 m b.s.l.
In 1988, driven by significant deficits at Swedish State Railways, the Swedish parliament pursued a separation strategy that involved partitioning the ownership of rail infrastructure from train operations. This move, which made Sweden the first European country to undertake such a separation, also involved opening the railway system to private train operators, including open-access operators, and introducing competitive bidding for regional service contracts. [6][7]
Sweden is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Sweden is 74.
Operators[edit]
Passenger traffic on Swedish railways consists of commercial long-distance lines as well as regional and local trains, which are always subsidised by the regional public transport authorities.[4] As measured by train kilometres, the commercial lines correspond to 28% of the traffic (in 2016), the rest being subsidised local and regional rail traffic.[4]
The major national commercial passenger train operator is state-owned SJ, which has a comprehensive network of commercially operated routes between the major cities with few, if any, stops in smaller towns. Between the major cities in southern Sweden, SJ operates the high-speed train X 2000 (200 km/h) on an hourly basis.[8] MTRX operates high-speed trains (200 km/h) between Stockholm and Gothenburg, around every second hour.[9] FlixTrain operates the same route with around three trains a day.[10] Snälltåget operates the route Stockholm-Malmö-Copenhagen (Høje Taastrup)-Hamburg-Berlin.[11] Tågab operates services Gothenburg-Skövde-Karlstad, Gothenburg-Trollhättan-Karlstad-Stockholm, Gothenburg-Falun and Karlstad-Alvesta.[12] Fares in the commercial traffic can be complex and usually vary depending on demand.[1]
The subsidised traffic covering most Swedish railway routes are handled and marketed by the different regional transport authorities, such as Skånetrafiken, Västtrafik and Storstockholms lokaltrafik.[1] Usually, tickets to these trains are sold by the regional public transport authority also holding full responsibility for the trains despite contracting SJ or a private operator, sometimes from another country, to actually run the trains. Many regional train systems, such as Øresundståg, Krösatågen, Västtågen, Norrtåg and Mälartåg are joint ventures where different regional public authorities are involved.[1] Tram systems are used in Gothenburg, Norrköping, Stockholm and, since 2020, Lund. There is a metro system in Stockholm, the Stockholm Metro.
While most current railway lines of Sweden were determined and built by the state, and receive their technical upkeep from the public as well, SJ no longer holds a monopoly on operating and owning passenger trains where such can be run profitably on a commercial basis. Large parts of the rail network serve parts of the country which don't generate enough passenger or cargo traffic to make a profit, and on some of these stretches SJ has held a de facto monopoly until recently (2010, see below in this section). Average speed is an important factor regarding profitability (more distance per hour means more income per hour). All subsidised and commercial traffic is operated on state-owned tracks, except Inlandsbanan, Roslagsbanan and Saltsjöbanan which are locally or regionally owned and Arlandabanan which is owned by private interests.
A decision was made in March 2009 to cancel the monopoly for SJ. By autumn 2009, free competition was allowed on Saturdays and Sundays when there is more room on the tracks, and competition was allowed to a full extent by autumn of 2010. In 2019, the Swedish railways were called 'the most deregulated railways in the world'.[13]
Rail traffic is supervised by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), a government agency.
Unlike the roads, railways in Sweden use left-handed traffic for trains (the same as the metro) because Sweden drove on the left until 1967. Railways did not switch because the engines of the time had the driver's seat on the left side and the signals are normally located to the left and hence are easier to see. Only railways in Malmö and further south have planned right-hand traffic due to their connection with Denmark. However, as signals are placed in both directions on all tracks, it is possible to drive both left- and right-sided at the traffic controller's discretion.
Sweden and Norway have the same Automatic Train Control (ATC) system and the same voltage, meaning that trains can generally cross the border without being specially modified. Sweden and Denmark have different ATC systems and different voltage, so only specially modified trains can cross the border. The X31K Öresund trains and some of the SJ X2 (branded X2000) trains and some freight and night train locomotives can do that. Such vehicles are needed for border crossing traffic because the Øresund Bridge is not adopted for change between purely Swedish and purely Danish locomotive, or passengers changing between two such trains.
These train ferries never have electric overhead lines on board, so diesel must be used to get trains onboard/offboard. Generally locomotives are not transported on these ferries, only train cars.
International passenger trains today (2023) operate on these lines:
No passenger trains operate between Finland and Sweden, neither through Haparanda/Tornio nor train ferry to Turku. However trains at Haparanda are planned in 2025.[14] Passenger trains are not allowed on the train ferries.
Media related to Rail transport in Sweden at Wikimedia Commons