Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven was among 90 special guests attending a special ceremony as infrastructure manager Trafikverket started construction work on the North Bothnia line.
The planned 270km coastal railway will run from UmeÃ¥ to LuleÃ¥ (See map below), improving connectivity between the north coast cities while also strengthening Sweden’s freight traffic. It will be a northern extension of the Bothnia line.
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Work on the first 12km stretch of the new railway between Umeå and Dava has now begun. Funding currently only exists for the Umeå-Skellefteå stretch, with work underway to develop this route.
Trafikverket director general Lena Erixon said: “The Norrbotten railway will be a modern railway that can handle higher speeds and heavier loads than the Stambanan does.”
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