Swedish government bill commits to new high-speed rail links

1996
Photo: Claes Lundqvist, Linköping municipality/ CC BY 3.0
Listen to this article

Sweden’s new infrastructure bill, which sets out the government’s budget priorities between 2018 and 2029, has committed to the construction of new main line routes for high-speed rail services.

SEK 622.5 billion will be invested in transport infrastructure in that period – SEK 100 billion more than was committed to the current financial period.

Announcing the new bill, the Swedish government said that ‘new trunk lines for high-speed rail will be completed to Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo’.

Included in the infrastructure bill is the East Link Project – a new 320 km/h high-speed rail line between Järna (near Stockholm) and Linköping. Construction of the 150-kilometre corridor is scheduled to begin next year, with the line becoming operational in 2028.

By bringing Linköping within an hour of Stockholm, the city hopes grow employment and its economic output.

The bill also increases the annual budget for rail maintenance, with the allocation increasing by 47 per cent between 2018 and 2029 compared to the previous period.

 

 

Previous articleÖBB to expand night train services
Next articleProduction of Vienna’s Flexity trams begins