Rail transport in Sweden

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Rail transport in Sweden utilises a network of 13,000 km of track, the 20th largest in the world. Construction of the first railway line in Sweden began in 1855. The major operator is the government-owned SJ AB.

Contents 1 Operators 2 History 3 Network 4 Main lines 5 Railway links with adjacent countries 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Operators

Rail transport has to some extent been privatised, but the major national operator, SJ AB, and the cargo transport operator Green Cargo are both fully owned by the state. The private company Tågkompaniet operate in central Sweden, and there are a number of regional companies. Tram systems are used in Gothenburg, Norrköping and Stockholm. There is a metro system in Stockholm, the Stockholm Metro.

Rail traffic is supervised by the Banverket (Swedish National Rail Administration), a government agency.

[edit] History

Main article: History of rail transport in Sweden

The first Swedish railroad for public transport using horse-drawn carriages, the Frykstads railroad in Värmland was opened in 1849.

In 1853 the Swedish Parliament decided that the state would build main line railways, but that other lines would be built by private enterprises, and in 1856 the first stretch, between Örebro and Nora, was opened for traffic.

The main line railways were of major importance for the development of the Swedish industry. The two first main line railways were the Southern, stretching from Stockholm to Malmö in the south, and the Western, to Gothenburg in the west. The were finished between 1860-1864. The Northern railway runs along the Baltic coast up to Boden in northern Sweden, and was finished in 1894. The Inland Railway runs from Gällivare in the north to Kristinehamn in the center of the country, through the central parts of northern Sweden, and was built between 1908-1937.

The construction of the early main lines provided a fast and safe connection from the mines in the north to the rest of Sweden. It also facilitated business (and private) travel, which had earlier required horse-drawn carriages.

[edit] Network

• Total: 12,821 km (includes 3,594 km of privately owned railways)
• standard gauge: 12,821 km 1.435 m gauge (7,918 km electrified and 1,152 km double track) (1998)
• narrow gauge: 221 km 0.891-m gauge (2001)

[edit] Main lines

There used to be six main lines (stambanor), all nationally owned:

• Western main line, 453 km (Stockholm-Gothenburg through Katrineholm-Hallsberg-Laxå-Falköping)
• Southern main line, 381 km (Malmö-Falköping through Nässjö-Jönköping)
• Eastern main line, 216 km (Nässjö-Katrineholm through Mjölby-Linköping-Norrköping)
• Northern main line, 484 km (Stockholm-Ånge through Uppsala-Avesta Krylbo
• Main line through upper Norrland, 629 km (Bräcke-Boden through Långsele-Vännäs
• Northwestern main line, 209 km (Laxå-Norwegian border through Karlstad-Kil-Charlottenberg

Today changes has been made in the terminology making the amount of main lines four. The northwestern main line is not considered a main line anymore and is renamed Värmlandsbanan. The southern main line between Nässjö and Falköping is also degraded since now what was the Eastern main line (Nässjö - Katrineholm) is considered a part of the southern one. Finally the northern main line south of Ockelbo refers to another and shorter way than that through Avesta. The main lines are still owned by the State.

[edit] Railway links with adjacent countries

• Denmark - yes - Öresund bridge - same gauge - voltage change 15kVAC/25kVAC
• Finland - not really - break-of-gauge 1435mm/1524mm (short dual-gauge track between the two stations closest to the border).
• Germany - yes - Rail ferry - same gauge - same voltage.
• Norway - yes - same gauge - same voltage

[edit] See also

• Rail transport by country
• Transportation in Sweden
• Roslagsbanan, the oldest electrified railway line for personnel transportation in northern Europe.
• Malmbanan, railway line between Luleå, Sweden, and Narvik, Norway.

[edit] External links

• Banverket - The Swedish Railway Infrastructure Agency - Official page
• A presentation of the Swedish railway network, with map at the Swedish Railway Infrastructure Agency home page
• History of the railways at the Swedish Railway Infrastructure Agency home page
• Official site of Swedish Railways, Statens järnvägars
• For Eurail and Sweden Rail Passes