Response to interpellation 2023/24:13 on a new bridge or tunnel over the Saltsjö-Mälarsnittet in Södertälje
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD argues that there are capacity shortages in the road connections to Södertälje which affect companies and traffic 1. KD emphasizes that a sustainable transport system is crucial for the green transition 2 and that priorities must be made in an orderly process 3 2. KD argues that the government's priorities are to improve existing infrastructure to strengthen work commuting and freight traffic 1. S argues that the road network is vulnerable and that an accident would create chaos 4. S considers it concerning that the capital region gets worsened opportunities to meet its supply 4. S wants the green transition to become a reality 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Ingela Nylund Watz has asked me if I share the assessment regarding the need for a new passage over or under the Saltsjö-Mälarsnittet in Södertälje and how I intend to act based on my assessment. Ingela Nylund Watz has further asked me what assignment I have given to Trafikverket in connection with the assignment to conduct a dialogue with Södertälje kommun.
I am aware that there are capacity shortages in the road connections to and through Södertälje, something that affects Södertälje, not least companies such as Scania and Astra Zeneca, but also the traffic to and from the Stockholm area. It is important to have a well-functioning, long-term sustainable and reliable transport system for all of Sweden to function.
The needs within the infrastructure are great, and it is necessary to make thoughtful prioritizations between different measures. It is important that this is done in an orderly process with a sufficient basis. The Government has recently begun the work towards a new national plan for the planning period 2026-2037 by, in a first step, commissioning Trafikverket to submit a directional basis for a new planning period. This assignment is to be reported in January next year.
Within the framework of its mandate, Trafikverket has a responsibility to conduct dialogue with relevant actors in connection with planning as well as deficiencies and needs in the state transport infrastructure. I therefore assume that Trafikverket conducts the dialogues that are required. It is not up to the government or an individual minister to micro-manage the agency's work in individual matters. How Trafikverket interacts with its surroundings is, however, one of several issues that my colleagues and I continuously follow up on in dialogue with the agency.
Ingela Nylund Watz (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer. I believe the Minister is well aware of the background to the interpellation. It concerns the accident on the highway bridge on the E4 on June 27, 2016. It illustrates with all desirable clarity how vulnerable the Swedish road network is, specifically over the Saltsjö-Mälarsnittet in Södertälje.
There are four ways to get around if that bridge fails. One way is to go over the local Saltsjöbron. One can also go over Strängnäs and Enköping. Furthermore, one can take the route via Mörkö over Skanssundet by ferry to Botkyrka. The Minister knows what detours there will be - on roads with significantly less capacity. It would simply become chaos - which it also became in 2016 - if anything happens again with the motorway bridge, such that it is in some way taken out of service and does not function.
I believe that the Minister is well aware of this, as I said. What is concerning is that the country's capital region will then have significantly worsened opportunities to manage its supply of transport of both goods and cargo as well as people. In Trafikverket's previous plan, a widening to three lanes was included, but this is removed from the plan. Trafikverket is now doing no work in this matter.
But this is also concerning from another perspective than just the fact that it is a traffic passage that can be blocked. A completely different situation has also arisen given how we view the security aspects in Swedish society right now. It is clear that a passage in the capital region that is primarily based on a very small number of bridges for railway and road is a very vulnerable system in such a context.
That is why I feel that the answer I have received from the Minister, who admittedly says he is well aware of the situation, is a bit passive in this situation. I am not asking whether the Minister has awareness, knowledge, and insights regarding the situation for our municipality, Södertälje, and large parts of Mälardalen as well as the export industry in Södertälje, but I am actually asking if the Minister shares the assessment regarding the need for a new passage. That is what I thought the Minister would be given a chance to answer now.
Does the Minister for Infrastructure in Sweden share the assessment that there is a need for a new passage over the Saltsjö-Mälarsnittet in Södertälje?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank the interpellor for the question posed and the questions that give rise to the discussion we are having today. Let me underline what Ingela Nylund Watz says: This is an example of a vulnerability in the transport infrastructure. The accident that the interpellor refers to illustrates this.
Within the framework of the orientation assignment that we have now given to Trafikverket to begin the planning for the next planning period, there is a significantly greater focus on the needs of the total defense and on crisis preparedness. This vulnerability, which the interpellor points out and which I mentioned in my response, affects Södertälje of course, but also traffic to and from the Stockholm area and large companies that are dependent on having a functioning transport infrastructure. I am aware of the capacity shortages.
I therefore want to remind in this context that capacity enhancement for E4/E20 and the Södertälje Bridge was included in Trafikverket's proposal for a national plan with construction starting in 2025-2027. But the project was removed in connection with the previous government's decision.
Instead, the previous Social Democratic government, that is, the interpellant's own party, decided that state funds within the development framework would be allocated to, among other things, E20, Hovsjö interchange, with 110 million SEK and that Trafikverket should have a continued dialogue with the municipality regarding the redundancy needs for the road traffic crossing Södertälje canal. We now have to abide by the previous government's decision, and in that lies, of course, a mandate for Trafikverket to have a continued dialogue regarding the redundancy needs.
I also want to remind that Trafikverket, within the scope of its mandate, has a responsibility to conduct a dialogue with relevant actors in connection with planning as well as deficiencies and needs in the state transport infrastructure. This corresponds to one of the questions that the interpellor has posed.
With that said, I can also state that there is a lack of consensus between Trafikverket and Södertälje municipality regarding which capacity-increasing measures are needed. Trafikverket does not assess that a tunnel is socio-economically justified in the underlying documents that have been submitted. It is a view that is not shared at the local level; I nevertheless want the interpellator to note that. But now that the government has taken the first step by giving the assignment to Trafikverket to prepare a directional basis for the national plan for 2026-2037, it is of course important to have a dialogue with Trafikverket both at the municipal and regional level.
I encourage, here in the chamber and when I meet local politicians and regional politicians around the country, that agreements are reached on priorities at the regional level. It is important so that the government can receive the best possible basis to work from in the decision on the national plan for the next planning period.
This basis will, of course, also build on what Trafikverket will now produce, namely a direction document. There, it is pointed out specifically regarding crisis preparedness and vulnerabilities and that we must have redundancy and robustness in our transport infrastructure - for those reasons and with regard to the needs that the interpellor points out when it comes to just this specific need.
I absolutely share the view that there are capacity shortages. I am aware of it. But now Trafikverket will prepare a basis based on the consequences of the previous government's decision to cancel the parts concerning specifically the capacity reinforcement for E4/E20. There was, however, a mandate to maintain a continued dialogue. I look forward to this dialogue, and I am well aware of the capacity shortages that exist.
Ingela Nylund Watz (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister deserves praise for being clear in his argumentation. It is quite correct that Södertälje municipality does not at all share Trafikverket's assessment that a widening to three lanes on the highway bridge is a sustainable solution for the region.
The reason for it is the experiences that the municipality underwent during the period when the motorway bridge was under renovation after the accident in 2016, when the traffic was primarily – and to a very large extent – directed through the city, in the middle of central Södertälje. The air pollution problem became enormous, which has also resulted in other state authorities demanding that Södertälje municipality reduce particle levels and other factors in central Södertälje.
Another long period of closure for a project that Trafikverket wants to carry out is not sustainable for Södertälje municipality. There is also strong support for the municipality's view, not least among the large export companies in Södertälje.
I just want to give a picture of how this part of Sweden works. On a normal workday, it is 22,000 people who travel to and from work at Scania and Astra. These are enormously large workplaces. Additionally, Södertälje and the surrounding area have a further 30,000 people who move to their jobs. At the same time, in this passage, in principle all goods traveling by road to other parts, at least the southern parts, of the Stockholm region must be transported. This is a vital traffic point for all of Sweden.
I think it is important to get this perspective. This is not a small local issue; it is a major issue that has implications for, for example, Swedish exports. It is truly more than a local matter, and I believe the Minister shares my view on this.
I am naturally aware that the government cannot micro-manage. But the government must also know that the Transport Authority's representatives have commented locally in the media on the issue and said that they cannot do anything more in the matter without the government explicitly expressing such a mandate.
Therefore, it is interesting to know what the government's position is on the issue. Is this a matter for the Swedish government both in terms of traffic flow and redundancy, but also from a security perspective? I believe that both the population in Södertälje and the southern parts of Stockholm and, not least, our large export industries are interested in finding out.
One thing I believe the Minister and I are well aware of. The Minister can answer in the same way until the government has put forward a new national plan on the table. But it could take years before such a decision can reach the Swedish Riksdag. Therefore, not least considering the competitive situation for the export companies and the green transition, it would be good for everyone involved if the Minister could express what the government thinks on the issue.
Does the Government share the assessment of the need for a new passage over the Saltsjö-Mälaren section?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Thank you for the questions from Ingela Nylund Watz and for the commitment that is evident here in the chamber! I want to emphasize that it is needed, because we need an even better and more sustainable transport infrastructure system in Sweden. A long-term sustainable and reliable transport system is a fundamental prerequisite for all of Sweden to function.
The figures on the number of road users passing through this passage underscore this. I have personally been to Scania and spoken with the company, which is one of Sweden's largest. It is an important workplace and also an important part of the green transition that the interpellor refers to. We see in different parts of Sweden that a functioning transport infrastructure, regardless of traffic type, is absolutely crucial for us to succeed with the green transition and the new industrialization in various parts of the societal transformation that is taking place.
I will not take a position for or against different lengths today. That is why we have a system with a national plan, where different priorities are weighed against each other. But in my previous answers, I have explained what the government points out to Trafikverket within the framework of the work to produce a new orientation basis.
The previous government presented the national plan very late in the term. I have previously said that my ambition is that we should produce it earlier. Therefore, we made the decision early to produce the orientation basis. That is the first step, and the Swedish Transport Administration is to report back on it in January.
Within the framework of its mandate, Trafikverket has a responsibility to conduct a dialogue with relevant actors in connection with planning as well as deficiencies and needs in the state transport infrastructure. I repeat that I assume that Trafikverket conducts the dialogues that are required.
I thank you for the understanding that a minister cannot micro-manage or dictate everything. We have a functioning system where the government gives a mandate to the agency. Then, it is of course a matter of prioritization which will also be submitted to the Riksdag when it comes to the frameworks. The government will develop a proposal and decide on priorities within those frameworks.
This is something that is urgent. It is pressing, and that is why the government has this high on the agenda.
I have also earlier in this debate noted the capacity shortages that the member has pointed out, so in that regard I would say there is a consensus. The Government must return when we have taken the further steps at a relatively high pace.
I understand the impatience, and I understand the commitment. I share it, and I work every day so that Sweden shall have a sustainable and functioning transport infrastructure that allows people to travel without being uncertain about whether they will arrive or not. One should be able to travel and visit loved ones, drive children to floorball practice, and get to and from work. It must also be a functioning transport infrastructure for our business sector, and that is why the government's priority is precisely work commuting and freight traffic. This has been pointed out to Trafikverket.
There is great reason to return to the issue, and I thank Ingela Nylund Watz again for the questions she has asked.
Ingela Nylund Watz (S)
Madam Speaker! 6 percent of the total export value originates from this small part of Sweden, which is naturally extremely important for Sweden's growth prospects, and we want it to be even more. We want Scania, and Astra for that part, to continue to be world leaders in their fields. Above all, we want the green transition to become a reality in the Stockholm region as well as in the rest of the country, and there Scania contributes to the highest degree.
I note and must take away from this discussion that the Minister intends to wait regarding all of this until the underlying data from Trafikverket have been prepared and until the government begins to gather itself for priorities in a new national plan. I therefore do not receive any confirmation that the Minister shares the assessment of the need for a new crossing over the canal in this part of the road network.
I can rephrase it a little so that we might be able to get some indication of which way the Minister is leaning. I therefore return to the fact that the security situation in Sweden has deteriorated drastically in recent years. We are living with a war in Europe, in our absolute vicinity, and we are strengthening our defense capability in every possible way. In that case, I think like this: Is it reasonable that three bridges for road transport and two railway bridges are the only possible passages to and from the Stockholm region from the south?
I think that this cannot be a particularly happy situation from a security perspective. Does the government at least share that assessment?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! The member cannot understand that I am evading the question of whether there is a need. I have several times in this discussion stated that there are capacity shortages in the road connection to and through Södertälje, which affects the business sector and the Stockholm region and which, in light of the security policy situation, is something that is important to include as a recognized vulnerability. I have therefore answered that question. I am not evading it.
To answer the member's questions, a small and export-dependent country like Sweden obviously needs a robust infrastructure. Good accessibility regionally, nationally, and internationally is of great importance for citizens and the business community, for competitiveness, economic development, and welfare. For this parliamentary term, which we are now a year into, the government's priorities are therefore to continue improving the infrastructure we have – repairing where it is needed, managing our common resources in the best way, and making capacity reinforcements where they can accurately strengthen commuting and freight traffic.
So, it is about both safeguarding what we have already built and investing in new infrastructure where it is needed for, among other things, the needs of companies. But I cannot say yes or no today to different technologies, different routes, or different solutions for different stretches, but it lies within Trafikverket's mandate to develop this based on the mandate that the government has now given them.
When they do so, it is important to have a close dialogue with regions and municipalities. I want to once again encourage the region in the Stockholm area to discuss together what views they have on different investment needs and infrastructure so that they jointly have the same picture. This provides a very good basis for a continued dialogue, which I look forward to.
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank you for the dialogue we have had in the chamber today and for the commitment.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.