The Western Main Line (Swedish: Västra stambanan) is the main railway line between Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden. The line is electrified and consists entirely of double track, except the four-track sections between Gothenburg Central Station and Olskroken (2-kilometre / 1.2 mi), in Järna Station (5 km), and south of Stockholm, between Flemingsberg Station and Stockholm South Station, about 14 km. The last section between Stockholm South Station and the central runs mainly on a two-track bridge, and is a serious bottleneck, as all trains have to use the same tracks. The Stockholm City Line is being built between Stockholm South Station and Solna Station north of Stockholm. There will also be two new underground stations on this line, and all commuter trains will be removed from the main floor of Stockholm Central Station.
The maximum speed on the line is 200 km/h. This speed is only attained by the X2000 tilting high-speed trains and some regional trains. The InterCity trains are limited to 160 km/h, due to the rolling stock. A section of the line, between Skövde and Töreboda, is the longest straight section of railway in Sweden, with almost 40 km of track without a curve, and used in speed trials. The current Swedish speed record of 303 km/h was achieved here by a X50 "Regina" EMU. The line has always been known for its high speeds. As early as the 1950s, the mighty Rapid engines travelled the route at 150 km/h.
There are plans to build a high-speed line between Stockholm and Gothenburg, south of the lake Vättern. The route would be operational somewhere around 2020, and capable of speeds of more than 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph). However, this would only cut the travel time by about 40 minutes (the fastest connection today is a non-stop X2000 service which covers the 455 kilometres (283 mi) in 2 hours and 52 minutes, at an average speed of 159 kilometres per hour (99 mph)), but connect more large cities to the Stockholm–Gothenburg line (Borås, Jönköping, Linköping, Norrköping).