Response to interpellation 2023/24:18 on the future of the Norrbotniabanan
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 KD wants to facilitate commuting and freight traffic to strengthen jobs and growth through infrastructure in northern Sweden 1. 1 KD argues that the Norrbotniabanan is an important part of the national plan and that work is ongoing 1. 1 2 KD emphasizes that cases are handled carefully so as not to jeopardize legal certainty 1 2. 2 KD claims that the government is aware of the needs and is looking closely at the issue 2. MP argues that the project is at a standstill, which is serious for the development in Norrland. 3 MP wants the government to resolve compensation issues for the Sami's activities 3. 3 MP argues that the government has not given concrete answers and that the project is being delayed 3. 4 MP argues that the government has also stopped large railway investments in southern Sweden 4. 4 MP believes that the large railway projects are at a standstill because the government is not moving forward 4. 5 KD argues that the interruption of the plans for main lines for high-speed trains is due to the National Audit Office's warning about lack of control and risk of cost increases 5. 5 KD believes that the interruption enables faster investments and creates room for more capacity as well as funds for deferred maintenance 5. 5 KD argues that the government will return with proposals for Skåne and Göteborg-Borås 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)
Mr. Speaker! Daniel Helldén has asked me if the government intends to change the rules for what Trafikverket may fund and thereby create opportunities for retroactive compensation within the framework of projects such as the Norrbotniabanan. Daniel Helldén has further asked me if the government intends to, within a reasonable timeframe, make a decision to give the green light for Norrbotniabanans railway plans regarding the section Dåva-Skellefteå.
The government wants to facilitate commuting and freight traffic to strengthen jobs and growth throughout the country. In Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties, an extensive re-industrialization is underway linked to fossil-free production and electrification. The government sees great opportunities for northern Sweden to lead the industrial revolution and become an engine for green innovations. The infrastructure in northern Sweden, of which the Norrbotniabanan is an important part, is of great significance for both commuting and freight traffic in the region. Norrbotniabanan is included in the national plan for transport infrastructure, and work is ongoing at different stages for different sections. The first section, Umeå-Dåva, is under construction.
The grounds for the appropriation of land and compensation are regulated by law. Compensation can be granted both to property owners and to those who hold a special right to a property, both for the encroachment itself and for certain damages. If a voluntary agreement is not reached, the matter is examined in court. In cases of redemption and compensation, the Expropriation Act shall be applied. No work is currently underway to change this order.
Daniel Helldén refers to a communication sent to the government on 19 September. I have received it, and the content of the communication is being analyzed in the department.
Regarding the parts of the Norrbotniabanan that lie between Dåva and Skellefteå, it is quite correct that six plans were appealed, and these are currently being processed in the Government Offices. Appeal cases are often complex and can involve a large number of trade-offs between various public and private interests. It is of great importance that the cases are prepared carefully. I cannot anticipate the government's decision but can only state that they are being prepared in the same way and with the same care as other appealed cases. I can assure Daniel Helldén that the work on the cases within the Government Offices is ongoing and that they will be decided as soon as possible without compromising legal certainty.
Daniel Helldén (MP)
Mr. Speaker! Minister Andreas Carlson partially answered my interpellation regarding the Norrbotniabanan, but the most important points were not addressed. Will the government make any decision regarding the Norrbotniabanan? It is at a standstill right now, which is incredibly serious for the development in Norrland.
It is also about the possibilities for Trafikverket to ensure that the interests that are heavily affected by large infrastructure investments can be compensated. In this case, it concerns very much the Sami people's rights and possibilities to conduct their activities. The Norrbotniabanan is 27 miles of railway - in this case, we are talking about 11 of these miles now standing still. The six plans are appealed because this affects the Sami people's activities specifically.
The County Administrative Boards in both Västerbotten and Norrbotten have, just as the Minister said, about a month ago informed the government that it must resolve what is creating problems for the Sámi. It is about having fences that make it possible to gather the reindeer and then move them across the railway, which is an obstacle. It is about compensation for land claims and other things needed around it, which do not have to do with the railway project itself, but which Trafikverket does not have the right to provide money for. It is also about being able to do these things retroactively in order to get the Norrbotniabanan started, which is now waiting for a decision from the government.
This is very serious for Norrbotten. I know that the Minister has many times been up and spoken about the industrialization and the need for new railway initiatives, not least the Norrbotniabanan, but the government has soon had the question on its table for a year without doing anything.
The County Administrative Boards, together with the Sami Parliament, already sent a letter to the Transport Authority two years ago, which also went to the Infrastructure Department, where they pointed out that the compensation issues must be resolved because it will cause problems. The current department has had the issue and these documents with them, but nothing is happening.
The remaining parts, which run between Skellefteå and Luleå, will also not be able to proceed as planned unless the government – above all – solves the problem with the reindeer husbandry. One cannot move the reindeer to the winter grazing grounds at the coast in a sensible way.
Why am I interpellating on this just now? It was appealed a year ago. The entire planning of the continued parts of the Norrbotniabanan is lying and waiting. Actually, the decision should have been taken a month ago so that it could move forward. If the decision is not taken now, this will be delayed. It will be half a year, a year, and then several years. All we know is that we need this railway now.
Initially, it was intended that the first stage of the Norrbotniabanan should be completed by 2030. Trafikverket said somewhere 2032-2033 before this occurred. With the government's hesitation regarding moving forward, Norrbotniabanan will be delayed by several more years. Then the industrial investments in Norrland will not have the opportunity to transport the freight and to transport the people who are to work in the new industries. This will slow down the entire development. I wonder how the Minister has intended to solve that.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I thank Daniel Helldén for his commitment and for underlining what the government has stated, namely the need for investments and for strengthening railway capacity as well as the need to speed this up, not least in the northern parts of the country. This is precisely what the government has pointed out both regarding commuting and regarding freight traffic to accommodate new innovations, batteries and raw materials. This is an important part for us to succeed with the green transition. This is definitely on the government's agenda.
Mr. Speaker! Daniel Helldén knows very well that this is an administrative matter. It is very important that it is handled in a careful manner. Different public and private interests are in conflict, and legal certainty is, of course, an important part of the process. The Government's review of the appeals cannot be anticipated, and these matters can therefore not be commented on further by me in such a debate, however much Daniel Helldén would like to have even more concrete answers on this.
I note the high tone. Daniel Helldén speaks of the government having done nothing, of nothing happening, and of helplessness. That is not true. This is a matter that is handled in the same way and with the same precision and care as all administrative matters and appeal cases. As I have just said, I cannot comment further on these cases given that the preparation is ongoing, Mr. Speaker, but as I said in my response, they will be decided as soon as it is possible without compromising legal certainty.
The communication that Daniel Helldén refers to was received by the government at the end of September. In it, very extensive changes to basic legally regulated principles are proposed. It can be analyzed in the Government Offices and cannot be commented on further in this situation. I can, however, confirm that I have received it. It contains proposals for extensive changes that will be analyzed and which are being analyzed now.
Daniel Helldén (MP)
Mr. Speaker! The government is not a court in the ordinary sense, and the minister cannot be disqualified in any way, so the minister can comment on these matters.
I had hoped to hear something about this. It is not the case that a letter just arrived from the County Administrative Boards in Västerbotten and Norrbotten a month ago, but a letter was also sent to Trafikverket two years ago, which was also sent to the Ministry. This means that the government, since it was appealed, has had these matters on its table.
It is about how one can ensure that there are claims for compensation. These are not major legislative changes. It affects things, but it is about Trafikverket being able to fund facilities that are located outside the railway itself. Today, landowners and Sámi people must pay for fences themselves where they can gather the reindeer so that they can be moved across the railway, and that is completely unreasonable. It does not need to be any major changes in the legislation.
The issue of retroactivity, which the county administrative boards have now pointed out extra because they are so worried that the initiative in Norrbotten will stop, is a larger issue, but the government says nothing about it. The government can talk about it; there is no problem with that. I therefore think that the Minister can comment on that issue. Is it something the government intends to do?
Above all, it is important for northern Sweden to know whether the government will give a clear signal regarding these plans. These are, therefore, fully planned routes of eleven miles of railway that are waiting. They go up to Skellefteå, where we have Northvolt which is just screaming for labor. Efforts are being made to build housing so that people who are going to work there can also live there, but they must be brought in in other ways. We have Umeå, where people are needed. We have the continuation up to Luleå, where H2 Green Steel is to have its facilities and where we have Hybrit. We have the continuation of the Botniabanan down to Timrå, where we also have a battery factory in the works.
This whole area is simply simmering with entrepreneurship that needs labor, and yet there is no railway. There are plans, but nothing is happening. The project offices up there are just sitting and waiting for a decision so they can start the procurement and start building. But nothing is heard from the government. It is completely silent regarding the Norrbotniabanan.
It is a problem for all of northern Sweden. Freight traffic will not be managed on the current main line, and as regards passenger traffic, it is not possible to get to Skellefteå in a sensible way by train or, for that matter, to Piteå. They are siding tracks that are not operated with normal trains.
This needs to happen now. And I think the Minister can comment on the question of how the government intends to solve this equation. It could also be that the government intends to give the green light without resolving the claims from, above all, the Sámi. But when a railway is to be built that involves 27 miles of restriction on the reindeer husbandry's possibility to move, I assume that one has some idea of how this is to be done.
I believe that all of northern Sweden is standing and waiting for this. There are other large and important projects, for example the Malmbanan, but this is the absolutely most important for ensuring a good supply of the labor market in this part of Sweden. And there it stands still.
It was two years since the first letter arrived. The current government has had a year to read those documents, which are essentially the same as those now coming from the county administrative boards up there, telling the government: Solve the problem; solve it for us now! We will not move forward.
My questions to the Minister are, again: Will the Minister look more closely at these matters, and - above all - how does the Minister think this should be resolved?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! There is no doubt that the need is great. There is no doubt that the new industrialization and social transformation that we are now seeing is something that is very positive and that creates jobs and growth, not only in the regions where the establishment takes place, but it is positive for the whole country.
The transport infrastructure is an immensely important part for this to succeed. The Government is aware of the needs. We have also tasked Trafikverket to speed up various parts that could be prioritized and expedited on a national level. It is a relatively short assignment that Trafikverket has now delivered on and which we are processing in the Government Offices.
When it comes to the concrete question of whether I will look further into the matter, I can say that I am already looking closely at the issue. This is an important matter.
Since then, I have great respect, Mr. Speaker, for the fact that Daniel Helldén thinks that a minister in an interpellation debate should be able to step in and give a preliminary decision regarding an administrative matter and an appeal case. Of course, the member is free to think that. But the government's review of the appeal cannot be preceded, and these matters can therefore not be commented on further. But I have given a statement. I have said that the preparation is ongoing and that it will be decided as soon as it is possible without compromising legal certainty.
Daniel Helldén (MP)
Mr. Speaker! I did not expect the Minister to give a preliminary notice and say that now we are making a decision and this is how it will look. But I would have expected the Minister to be able to reason about the matters that the County Administrative Board has submitted and which have been on the government's table for a long time, because it is so important. It is not just this project with the Norrbotniabanan. The County Administrative Board points out that there are several projects where a solution must be found, otherwise the work will come to a standstill, and that is not sustainable.
I had, therefore, expected, and I still expect, that the Minister could comment on these possibilities without the Minister giving the government decision itself, for that I had not expected.
In this context, I want to say that I am concerned, because the government has also stopped the large railway investments in southern Sweden. There we now have Lund-Hässleholm, which we know nothing about, and we have Borås-Göteborg. The latest was that a press release from the government came out the other day stating that they are further postponing the announcement on how to proceed with Göteborg-Borås.
This means that the large railway projects are at a standstill because the government is not moving forward. In that context, one can ask whether the government has torn up too much and therefore does not have time to ensure that the railway projects move forward, and thus Sweden's development for a sustainable infrastructure, in a time when we have a climate crisis and must get the railway working for all types of transport. One can ask if the government has simply bitten off more than it can chew and torn up too many things and cannot concentrate on what must move forward now.
My question to the Minister is: How does the Minister intend to achieve good railway investments in Sweden when you are braking and stopping everything?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I am pleased that Daniel Helldén is raising the issue of the abandoned plans for main lines for high-speed trains.
It was indeed a project that the government discontinued. The reason for that was that the National Audit Office warned of a lack of control and that there was a risk of cost increases for this. The assessment made was that this could mean that other priorities would have to be set aside.
The cancellation of the new main line for high-speed trains enables other investments that can be implemented faster. Regarding the parts that were, and are, in the national plan and where Trafikverket has been tasked to look at what can be done instead when they are not parts of a high-speed network, the government will return. We have proposals regarding both Skåne and Göteborg-Borås.
What becomes possible is to prioritize other things. We would have had a worse starting position for all the investments that need to take place in other parts of the country if we had simply continued with the criticized plans for new trunk lines for high-speed trains.
The question is justified, but it is precisely the opposite. By reason of the fact that we have now cancelled those plans, we have created a space for the future to be able to obtain more capacity where it is needed, but also more funds for the deferred maintenance for both railway and for road, which is an important part for companies when they are to establish themselves and have the opportunity to do business. A major growth obstacle in large parts of the country is, in fact, the deferred maintenance. What Daniel Helldén puts into the question is, in fact, an opportunity that enables other important investments.
When it comes to what was the basis for the interpellation, I cannot comment on the administrative matters that are now on the government's table. But it is prioritized, and the government will return. This will be decided as soon as possible without compromising legal certainty.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.