Rail transport in Sweden uses a network of , the 23rd-largest in the world. 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.Transportstyrelsen Resandeflöden på Sveriges järnvägsnät Analys av utbud och efterfrågan på tågresor (in Swedish TSJ 2019-2258. Website URL: https://www.transportstyrelsen.se/4978e1/globalassets/global/publikationer/marknadsovervakning/resandefloden-pa-sveriges-jarnvagsnat20190411.pdf Passenger traffic has increased significantly since the turn of the millennium,Eurostat (2021) Statistics Modal split of passenger transport. Data from 2019. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/t2020_rk310/settings_1/table?lang=en and in 2019 Sweden ranked eleventh in the world (as measured in passenger kilometres per capita) and third in the European Union, as well as sixth in the world when measured by passenger share.
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.
Sweden is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Sweden is 74.
Operators 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. 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.
The major national commercial passenger train operator is state-owned SJ, which has a comprehensive network of commercially operated routes. High speed routes are operated between the major cities with few stops in smaller towns, and InterCity and Regional routes are available throughout the country, serving smaller towns and stations. Between the major cities in southern Sweden, SJ operates the high-speed train X 2000 (200 km/h) on an hourly basis.ResRobot Timetables URL: https://tagtidtabeller.resrobot.se/ VR Snabbtåg Sverige operates high-speed trains (200 km/h) between Stockholm and Gothenburg. Snälltåget operates the route Stockholm-Malmö-Copenhagen-Hamburg-Berlin.Snälltåget URL: https://www.snalltaget.se/en Tågab operates services Gothenburg-Skövde-Karlstad, Gothenburg-Trollhättan-Karlstad-Stockholm, Gothenburg-Falun and Karlstad-Alvesta.Tågab website URL: https://www.tagakeriet.se/english/ Fares in the commercial traffic can be complex and usually vary depending on demand.
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. 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. 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 do not 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'.Söör, Johan (2019). Världens mest avreglerade järnväg. (In Swedish). URL: https://timbro.se/smedjan/varldens-mest-avreglerade-jarnvag/
Rail traffic is supervised by the Swedish Transport Administration (), a government agency.
Train categories
History
The first Swedish railroad for public transport using horse-drawn carriages, the Frykstads railroad in Värmland opened in 1849.
In 1853 the Riksdag of the Estates (a parliament chamber) decided that the State would build main line railways, but that other lines would be built by private enterprises (often with cities as main owners), and in 1856 the first stretch, between Örebro and Nora (a private railroad), was opened for traffic.
The main line railways were of major importance for the development of the Swedish industry. The first two main line railways were the Southern, stretching from Stockholm to Malmö in the south, and the Western, to Gothenburg in the west. These line railways were finished between 1860 and 1864. The Northern railway runs parallel to the Baltic coast (but not along it) 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 and 1937. It was a part of the 1853 decision that the railways should avoid coasts, and not make detours to pass medium-size cities along the route. The reason for avoiding coasts (most evident for the railway to northern Sweden) was to protect it from military attacks, and because steam boats were already established along the coasts as a much faster transport method than before. Railways built by private companies, e.g. Västkustbanan (1888), were however sometimes built very close to the coast.
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. Roslagsbanan is the oldest electrified railway line for personnel transportation in northern Europe. Malmbanan, the railway line between Luleå, Sweden and Narvik, Norway was inaugurated on 14 July 1903. The stretch between Kiruna and Riksgränsen was the first major railway line in Sweden to be electrified in 1915.
Network
Total: 15,006.25 km (includes 3,600 km of privately owned railways) Standard gauge: 15,006.25 km of gauge (8,100 km electrified and 4,925.75 km double track (2008) Narrow gauge: 221 km of (Swedish three foot) gauge (2001), but narrow-gauge is now dismantled and converted to standard-gauge, except for Roslagsbanan and a few heritage railways. (2019).
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 of its extreme cost as well as 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.
Lines Main lines
There used to be six main lines (), all nationally owned:
Västra stambanan (Western main line), 453 km, Stockholm–Gothenburg through Katrineholm–Hallsberg–Laxå–Falköping Södra stambanan (Southern main line), 381 km, Malmö–Falköping through Nässjö–Jönköping Östra stambanan (Eastern main line), 216 km, Nässjö–Katrineholm through Mjölby–Linköping–Norrköping) Norra stambanan (Northern main line), 484 km, Stockholm-Ånge through Uppsala-Avesta Krylbo Stambanan genom övre Norrland (Main line through upper Norrland), 629 km, Bräcke–Boden through Långsele–Vännäs Nordvästra stambanan (Northwestern main line), 209 km, LaxåNorwegian border through Karlstad–Kil–Charlottenberg Some lines were upgraded to main lines but have since been downgraded: Mittbanan (Norrland cross line), about 500 km, SundsvallNorwegian border through Ånge–Östersund Inlandsbanan, about 1300 km, Kristinehamn–Gällivare through Mora–Östersund
The naming rationale was that lines built by the state were main lines, but others, such as by private companies, were not. Mainly 1940–1952, most lines were purchased by the state, making the term main line less well-defined.
Today, changes have been made in the terminology reducing the number of main lines to four. The northwestern main line is not considered a main line anymore and has been renamed . The southern main line between Nässjö and Falköping has also been downgraded since what was once part of the Eastern main line (Nässjö–Katrineholm) is now considered a part of the southern one. The Norrland cross line is not a main line anymore, but a regional railway. The northern main line south of Ockelbo refers to a shorter way than the line through Avesta. The East Coast Line (Ostkustbanan) Stockholm-Sundsvall is now considered a main line, since it has the majority of the passenger traffic into Norrland. The was considered a main line for a few decades, but is now a tourist railway only. The main lines are still owned by the state, except , which is owned by the counties it runs through.
Other lines
Ådalsbanan Älmhult–Olofström railway Älvsborgsbanan Bastuträsk–Skelleftehamn railway Bergslagsbanan Bergslagspendeln Blekinge kustbana Bofors–Strömtorp railway Bohusbanan Bollnäs–Furudal Botniabanan Dalabanan Forsmo–Hoting railway Fryksdalsbanan Godsstråket genom Bergslagen Godsstråket genom Skåne Göteborgs hamnbana Halmstad–Nässjö railway Haparandabanan Jönköpingsbanan Kinnekullebanan Kontinentalbanan Kristinehamn–Persberg railway Kust till kust-banan Lilla Edet – Alvhem railway Lysekilsbanan Malmbanan Markarydsbanan Mellansel–Örnsköldsvik railway Mora–Märbäck railway Morjärv–Karlborgsbruk railway Mälarbanan Nässjö–Åseda railway Nässjö–Oskarshamn railway Norbergsbanan Norge/Vänerbanan Nynäsbanan Örbyhus–Hallstavik railway Öresundsbanan Österlenbanan Ostkustbanan Piteåbanan Roslagsbanan Rååbanan Sala–Oxelösund railway Skånebanan Storuman–Hällnäs railway Stångådalsbanan Svealandsbanan Söderhamn–Kilafors railway Södra stambanan Tjustbanan Viskadalsbanan Vännäs–Holmsund railway Västerdalsbanan Västkustbanan Ystadbanan
Railway links with adjacent countries
Bordering countries Denmark: same gauge, voltage change 15 kV AC / 25 kV ACØresund Bridge Finland: break-of-gauge /, voltage change 15 kV AC / 25 kV ACTornio–Haparanda railway Norway: same gauge, same voltage