Response to interpellation 2023/24:153 on preparedness for repairs within the transport sector
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns strengthening the transport sector's preparedness for repairs in order to maintain essential societal functions during crises and wars 1. KD argues that the transport sector needs to be strengthened 1, that the supply of skilled drivers is an important issue 2 and that the cooperation BT POS aims to increase the ability to handle societal disruptions 2. KD emphasizes that Trafikverket can now procure and stockpile strategic road equipment 3 and that the government has made decisions on investigations for national planning as well as redundancy 2. S considers it important to identify, protect, and secure critical infrastructure as well as consider the stockpiling of spare parts 4 and emphasizes the importance of competence 5. SD considers that a robust transport system requires preventive maintenance, spare parts on site, and Swedish production 6 as well as cooperation with the civilian sector to ensure competence 7.
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)
Mr. Speaker! Gunilla Svantorp has asked me how I intend to address the importance of having good repair readiness within the transport system and how I believe this readiness should look.
When great pressures occur in society, the entire preparedness sector needs to be adapted and work together. This applies to both public and private actors. The transport sector needs to be developed and strengthen its capacity to be able to maintain society-critical functions during different types of peacetime crises and during high alert or war.
Therefore, a new cooperation structure has been initiated, which is based on Trafikverket's mandate to coordinate the transport sector's preparedness. Trafikverket coordinates, supports, and drives the work within the transport task groups land, sea, and air, where representatives from both the business sector and the public sector are included. The purpose is to strive for the actors to jointly strengthen their ability to resist and manage societal disruptions and deliver society-critical transports in all societal conditions.
The Government gave Trafikverket the assignment in June this year to propose measures to strengthen crisis preparedness and civil defense as well as increase the capacity during heightened preparedness and, ultimately, war for the authorities within the transport preparedness sector. The assignment includes, among other things, analyzing and reporting proposals for concrete prioritized measures and capabilities during heightened preparedness, for example, the endurance within repair and clearance preparedness. The assignment shall be reported by January 15, 2024, at the latest.
Trafikverket shall, in the execution of the assignment, take into account the assignment that the government gave the agency in June 2023 to prepare a basis for the direction of infrastructure planning for the planning period 2026-2037. Trafikverket shall take into account and provide an account of measures in the proposed direction that Trafikverket submits as a result of the assignment and which also contribute to strengthening crisis preparedness, civil defense, or emergency readiness.
It further appears from the orientation basis that Trafikverket, in the long-term planning for the development of the transport system and in the planning to strengthen the authority's operational capabilities in the maintenance of the transport infrastructure, shall take into account the requirements of the total defense in accordance with what is specified in the ordinance (2022:524) on the preparedness of state authorities.
Gunilla Svantorp (S)
Mr. Speaker! I wrote this interpellation after November 8, I believe it was, when an information session was held on the Riksdag's role in war or the threat of war. At that time, we also had a digital visit from Ukraine.
One of the Ukrainians' most important observations regarding the war itself was that the readiness for repairs was one of the factors that made the country still function somewhat. In the investigations that have been made, it can be seen that in June 2022, when the war had been ongoing for a few months, approximately 30 percent of the transport infrastructure had been damaged. This concerned local roads, motorways, national roads and, above all, railways, which of course affects the movement of goods, people, food, medicine and healthcare - not to mention the revenues that are lost when goods do not arrive.
It is therefore very important to take what Ukraine tells us to do to heart. We shall identify, protect and secure the critical infrastructure. It is good that that work has begun.
The Ukrainians also highlight the importance of access to spare parts. I want to ask the Minister how the situation looks in Sweden. The pandemic taught us, when borders were suddenly closed, that it might not be so simple to get goods in or out across the country's borders. What is the actual situation regarding the availability of spare parts and components? Stockpiling may not have been prioritized in any country in recent decades, and given that, we probably need to consider what the stockpiling should look like so that we have a good repair readiness.
Mattias Eriksson Falk (SD)
Mr. Speaker! This is an interesting debate. The question has also received more focus after Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
We have always discussed infrastructure in Sweden and preparedness for potential events - war or whatever it may be. It is important that we have a robust transport system that can handle different events, regardless of whether they are linked to war or, for example, weather. We do get winter weather, and it affects, for example, railway traffic.
I think the wording of the interpellation is somewhat vague. It may be because the interpellator wants a broad debate that they have chosen to write the wording in that way.
For me, the issue is about robustness, not only during war but also at other times when something can happen. It can be about opportunities for repair of roads, bridges, and railways, but also about something as simple as having spare parts on-site on a shelf if something were to happen, so that we can act quickly when a problem arises with any of the things I mentioned.
Much is about preventive maintenance and what can be done to avoid problems arising and us ending up in a situation where the transport system stands still. If there is a stoppage on the railway or whatever it may be, our possibilities to transport food, important materiel, people who commute and so on are damaged. It is about replacing parts before they break and ensuring that we have a road and railway network that works.
It is important that the authorities are on their toes regarding this issue and work proactively to carry out the required maintenance and prevent anything from happening.
In Sweden, we are good at infrastructure, developing new technology and manufacturing things. Besides ensuring that the things are in place, Swedish production is also important. The companies - the business sector - are an incredibly important part in achieving this.
I can make a short reflection. In my home county of Gävleborg, we have had some problems with the infrastructure. Trains have come to a standstill or had to take detours. In a war perspective where that happens, we can think about how important it is that the railway functions, but also that we have double tracks on many sections. If something were to happen on part of the track, we could still have one track that allows the trains to roll. If we only have one track, it means that the train traffic will come to a standstill and that we cannot get through what we need to get through.
Then, naturally, there is a connection between railway, road, and shipping. Everything is a context that must function in a society, so one must not get stuck in just one part. But it is clear that the railway is and will continue to be an immensely important part for us to be able to have a robust transport system in Sweden and ensure that we have transport that works, regardless of whether it is people who are to get somewhere or products that are to be transported.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Let me begin by saying that I fully agree with the interpellor regarding the importance of having good repair readiness within the transport system. I informed at the meeting in the Transport Committee yesterday that I recently returned home from a visit to Kyiv in Ukraine. We have, from the Swedish side, taken the initiative for a help platform – a mechanism for reconstruction and for the coordination of the measures that will be needed for a long time to come regarding the transport infrastructure. I had a meeting with the minister responsible for reconstruction, Oleksandr Kubrakov, and some of his deputy ministers. It is given that Sweden has much to contribute when it comes to building up and rebuilding Ukraine for a bright future for its population. It is about expertise and about building sustainably and building in traffic safety from the start. But we also have much to learn from Ukraine, which Gunilla Svantorp is touching upon.
As I pointed out in my interpellation response, the government has already taken several measures. I mentioned the industry collaboration led by Trafikverket, which coordinates, supports, and drives the work in what is abbreviated as BT POS, preparedness sector transport - private-public partnership. The government mandate to Trafikverket that I mentioned regarding strengthening crisis preparedness and civil defense is, for example, about analyzing the resilience within the repair and clearance preparedness. The mandate is to be reported in January at the same time as the orientation basis, where the requirements of the total defense must also be considered. This will be synchronized ahead of the work with the national plan, which I believe everyone understands the importance of.
The government has also decided to change the Swedish Transport Administration's (Trafikverket) instructions. This took place in February 2023. With the change, the authority shall be able to procure and stockpile important material for road infrastructure. That possibility already exists today when it comes to railways. The change means that Trafikverket is granted the freedom of action to, in the event of high alert or extreme war, ensure the availability of strategic material through procurement or stockpiling. This possibility now applies to both railways and roads. I do not think I need to emphasize the need for this possibility. This answers Gunilla Svantorp's and Mattias Eriksson Falk's questions regarding stockpiling. Thus, almost a year ago, the government made a decision that Trafikverket shall be able to secure strategic road material, and Trafikverket has had this possibility since earlier for railway material.
The government is, of course, open to taking further measures if it turns out to be necessary. We have, naturally, taken note of the Defense Preparedness Committee's reports on the various measures deemed necessary to strengthen the Swedish transport infrastructure. We are in full swing with preparing the transport infrastructure for the upcoming membership in Nato, which will obviously place new demands on us. We are not sitting and waiting until the day we become members, which every day comes a day closer, but we ensure that we prepare ourselves as well as possible. The decisions I have accounted for are parts of this. There, I appreciate the broad consensus that exists in Swedish politics. This is important. To continue providing support to Ukraine is also something that all of us parties in Sweden agree on, and the value of which cannot be sufficiently emphasized. But just as Gunilla Svantorp has pointed out, we also have much to learn from Ukraine in the cooperation, which is very good between both our countries in this very tough situation in our global environment.
Gunilla Svantorp (S)
Mr. Speaker! It is very interesting and good to hear about this changed instruction. It is truly something that is necessary, if one is to listen to what Ukraine says.
Another thing that also belongs to the things that Ukraine has mentioned, but which we have not discussed today, is competence. One had, for example, a large shortage of drivers, because those who often drove were out in the war. It is also a matter to consider how we should position ourselves. Even though education issues are not the Minister's area to handle, it is still within our sector, the transport sector, that we must ensure that the competence exists if something were to happen that would make us need access to it. I think that is very important.
I think it is good that we are open and that we all think it is important that we are in solidarity with Ukraine. We really need to be.
I will be honest and say that I have not read the entire partial report from the Defence Preparation Board yet, but I have looked at it. In several passages, "total defense-critical activity," as it is called, is emphasized, that is to say road, rail, sea, and air transport, and how the supply of necessary goods and services can be maintained. The repair readiness is precisely one of the things that makes it possible to maintain that total defense-critical activity.
I look forward to the reports that are to come. It is very good to have investigations, but then one must also make decisions based on them. It will be exciting to see what comes out of the reports.
Mattias Eriksson Falk (SD)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister in particular for explaining how Sweden has contributed to Ukraine's fight against Russia's illegal invasion and how Sweden can continue to do so. For us, it is about helping a free country to continue to be free from a Russian imperialist system that is trying to defeat it. Thank you very much for that, Minister!
For us in Sweden, it is a matter of continuing to work with preventive maintenance and ensuring that we have spare parts on site. The Minister just accounted in the speaker's chair for the possibility that Trafikverket now has to stock spare parts in order to create a more robust system when something occurs. I believe that it will contribute to a very important change. One can question why previous governments have not made such a decision, which is actually simple, I must say. An agency must be able to work effectively.
I also want to highlight something else that is important in this robust transport system and in the whole. It is easy to always think about what role the state has or what role municipalities and regions have. But it is also about cooperation with civil society. I am thinking perhaps above all about the cooperation that takes place in many places with Bilkåren, which trains drivers of trucks, buses, and tracked vehicles that can navigate difficult terrain. They also train power plant operators and line builders, something that also contributes to us getting a robust system in Sweden. Everything is connected. Without lines, we cannot have any trains running on electricity. It is important that we ensure that the competence exists. Bilkåren has, for example, assignments together with Svenska kraftnät, Trafikverket, and Polismyndigheten. It is important to ensure that the competence continues to exist, because without it we actually cannot execute anything, even if we have spare parts.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! It is important to have a holistic approach when looking at how we can strengthen the capability in Sweden.
Gunilla Svantorp is addressing an important issue, namely the supply of competence, and specifically of drivers. In the cooperation within the industry for the preparedness sector transport that I have told about, there is the cooperation preparedness sector transport - private-public cooperation, which is abbreviated BT POS. That group includes Trafikverket, Transportstyrelsen, Luftfartsverket, Sjöfartsverket, other sector-responsible agencies and representatives from the business sector within the transport sector.
The purpose of BT POS is to increase the transport sector's ability to resist and manage societal disruptions and deliver society-critical transports in all societal conditions. This also includes competence issues, of course, and there are representatives in the collaboration who highlight this. Just as the member is aware of, there is every reason to draw lessons from the experiences that our friends in Ukraine have from being in the middle of this right now, so that we ourselves can increase our ability in the security policy situation we have in our immediate vicinity.
That is, of course, why the government has already made several important decisions. The investigations that have been commissioned and the assignments that have been given aim to provide a basis for the national plan, and we have also made a number of other important decisions to increase preparedness and redundancy beyond these assignments. This includes, for example, a rapid assignment to Trafikverket to investigate reserve port capacity on Gotland and to ensure redundancy in the train ferry traffic between Trelleborg and Germany.
There are, therefore, several examples of the government having made necessary decisions, which I believe there is a broad consensus on, to accelerate the work of increasing the state of preparedness. It is no coincidence that the assignments specifically concerning repair readiness, which are part of the mandate to propose measures to strengthen crisis preparedness and civil defense, arrive on the same day as the orientation basis. It is so that we can include it in the broader work ahead of the development of a national plan.
I really appreciate the commitment and share it. This is important, and I appreciate the broad consensus around it in Swedish politics.
Gunilla Svantorp (S)
Mr. Speaker! I think that what we have talked about – robustness, redundancy, and sustainability – are important factors to carry with us both in this work and overall when it comes to infrastructure. Strengthening society is our focus regardless of which committee we sit in. This applies in particular given the political situation around the world.
Therefore, one can also reflect on what we are going to discuss in our next interpellation debate, namely how much it affects both the robustness and the redundancy - and not least the sustainability - that we outsource very much and do not do things in our own name. I want to return to this that we must learn from what happened during the pandemic. We saw that even our neighboring countries closed the border to us, and it can happen just as quickly again.
Even though we do not believe the pandemic will return, things can happen that cause borders to close, and what happens then? Now we are discussing the repair readiness, and what happens if the border closes? Even though Trafikverket has received a new orientation document, we do not have very much in our own warehouses. We therefore really need to consider this moving forward.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I have actually already said what I intended to say. Gunilla Svantorp made an exemplary promotional clip for the next interpellation debate, so if anyone follows this on the Riksdag's website, we can therefore recommend that they click further and also watch the next interpellation debate, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to thank you for the debate. I would like to thank you for the consensus and for the constructive approach and tone that this conversation has been characterized by. I look forward to a continued good dialogue.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.