Response to interpellation 2023/24:287 on investments in the railway between Oslo and Stockholm
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD argues that the government is working for cross-border transport through dialogue with Norway and that the distance is included in Scanmed 1. KD emphasizes the importance of managing resources and making priorities based on underlying data 1 2. KD denies pitting different modes of transport against each other and argues that the development of aviation is happening rapidly 3 2. KD points out that infrastructure in an east-west direction is important from a total defense perspective 3 2. KD believes that one should look at routes rather than individual stages to avoid bottlenecks 4. KD emphasizes that investments in Swedish infrastructure and maintenance are a priority 4. S argues that the Prime Minister gave election promises that the shovel would be put in the ground 5 6. S considers the distance important for trade, security, and growth 5 7. S argues that there is sufficient underlying data to act 6. S wants that one stops investigating and instead makes decisions 7. S considers that socio-economic profitability arises only when the entire distance is built and that one must take a greater overall responsibility 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)
Madam Speaker! Gunilla Svantorp has asked me how I am working to ensure that the shovel hits the ground during the mandate period to build double tracks on parts of the stretch between the capitals of Norway and Sweden.
Transport across borders is of great importance for jobs and growth in the Nordic countries. Sweden and Norway are in dialogue about the need to develop the infrastructure for cross-border transport. This needs to happen in dialogue between the departments in both countries as well as between the authorities responsible for the transport system in each respective country. I look forward to working together with all my Nordic colleagues and continuing the dialogue to develop our cross-border transport.
The needs within the infrastructure are great, and it is necessary to make deliberate prioritizations between different measures. It is important that this is done in an orderly process with a sufficient basis. I want to remind in this context that the government has acted so that the Stockholm-Oslo route shall be included in the core network corridor Scandinavia-Mediterranean in TEN-T. In the general guideline adopted at the TTE Council in December 2022, Stockholm-Oslo had been added to the corridor.
The government's priorities will continue to be to improve the infrastructure we have, repair where it is needed and manage our common resources in the best way. It is therefore both about safeguarding what we have already built and about investing in new infrastructure where it is needed.
The Government has begun the work on 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 was presented on 15 January and is now being prepared within the Government Offices. The basis will form the foundation for an infrastructure bill with new economic frameworks and direction for a new plan.
Gunilla Svantorp (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
I submitted an interpellation to the Prime Minister concerning a campaign promise that the Prime Minister gave when he was in Värmland during the election campaign. It received a full page in the newspaper - this stretch was to be built, and the shovel was to be put in the ground during the next mandate period. We still have not seen anything of it. This was the reason why I submitted the interpellation. Campaign promises have been made in the infrastructure area all over the country, but so far we have not seen very much of what has been promised. Nor did we receive any answer regarding the campaign promise about Oslo-Stockholm in this interpellation response.
It is about infrastructure between two capitals - between Oslo and Stockholm. It is a distance of 40 mil (approx. 250 km) which is, therefore, approximately as long as the distance Stockholm-Gothenburg, which today takes around three hours by train. If we travel by train between Oslo and Stockholm, it takes six hours today. As the Minister very well knows, this is one of the reasons why Stockholm-Oslo is today Europe's twentieth most trafficked flight route. It is quite unreasonable considering that the distance is so short.
I also want to remind that 3.5 million people live in this stretch, in regions that are growing and which are important for trade, business, culture and so on. This is a very important stretch that affects very many people.
We have a new security policy situation in our country. Almost every day, there is talk about robustness and functionality. That is what we demand. It must exist in everyday life but above all in a crisis situation. People are also talking much more about the east-west corridor.
We also face a membership in Nato - even if it seems to be very hard-won - which will require troop movements between the different countries.
There are, therefore, very many different needs. Along this stretch, there are also large parts of our country's defense industry.
Regions and municipalities along the route have formed the company Oslo-Sthlm 2.55, which has worked hard to produce facts and increase knowledge about the work that will be required. It is a solid piece of work with a lot of factual basis. There is, therefore, an ongoing work.
I would like to ask the minister two questions. The first is: Is it reasonable that a distance that could be traveled in three hours by rail is allowed to be Europe's twentieth most busy flight route? The second question is: Can one at all trust the election promises from this government? Now, it was the Prime Minister's election promise and not the minister's, but it is the minister who is here and answering.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Let me begin by answering the first question that was asked here.
I do not want to pit different modes of transport against each other in the way I perceive the member did here. There are good reasons to strengthen the competitiveness for aviation and air transport, where a transition is taking place. At the same time, we see a need to make investments and take maintenance measures in the railway infrastructure. These do not need to be pitted against each other, and I do not want to do that. The steps that have been taken on this specific stretch, with the investigations that have been carried out by Jernbanedirektoratet and Trafikverket, stand on their own. It is important to strengthen the robustness and redundancy in the Swedish transport infrastructure on the railway, regardless of comparisons with other modes of transport.
The second question was whether one can trust election promises. That question can be asked of the parties that have put forward the promises, but I pointed out in my answer that the government, already during its first year in office, acted to ensure that the Stockholm-Oslo stretch is included in the Scanmed backbone corridor on the TEN-T map. In the general guideline adopted at the TTE Council, Stockholm-Oslo was added. This is important in the ongoing work, as it means that the stretch will receive increased focus because the commission has appointed a coordinator for the corridor who will drive the development.
Applications for funding from the CEF fund, the Connecting Europe Facility, may potentially prioritize this and do so to a greater extent than if the section had not been included. For regions and other stakeholders along the section, there is also an opportunity to participate in the corridor forums arranged by the coordinator.
This shows that this is a prioritized stretch. At the same time, we have the process we have with a direction document that has now been prepared, where Trafikverket has been tasked to consider the needs of the total defense. I intended to use the last part of my speech to touch upon what Gunilla Svantorp raised regarding the security policy situation in our immediate vicinity.
Our own defense preparedness in Sweden has pointed out the need to strengthen the transport infrastructure in an east-west direction. This is something that I have repeated on a number of occasions. This applies to both this and other stretches, from Norway, via Sweden and to Finland.
This is something that is important to take into consideration when we shape the planning for the long-term transport infrastructure. On that, I and the government have given notice.
We have now received the orientation basis. This is out for consultation, and we are going to analyze it in its entirety. The Government will then return to the Riksdag with a proposal for a bill. I know the member knows that is how it works when one plans transport infrastructure.
I would like Gunilla Svantorp to reflect a little on this. She gives the impression that it would be as simple as putting the spade in the ground and starting to work immediately after an election, but that is not how it works when building infrastructure in any case. I would very much like to hear Gunilla Svantorp elaborate on how she herself sees this could have been done so that one could, from one day to the next, put the spade in the ground and start working. Gunilla Svantorp knows that it is not that simple.
The government has, however, prioritized this. It is included in the main network corridor. Now we are, of course, awaiting the analyses and the views on the orientation basis for the continued process.
Gunilla Svantorp (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
I submitted the interpellation precisely because it is not that simple to put the spade in the ground. I want to remind the Minister that it is not I who have said it, but it is the Prime Minister who has made promises in a two-page feature in Wermlands-Tidningen that the spade shall be in the ground within the next mandate period if they win the election. It is not I who have said it, but the Prime Minister.
It is easy to make election promises in a campaign, but they are significantly harder to implement, as the minister shows us all. It is not only in Värmland that the Prime Minister has promised this. The Prime Minister and his party comrades, ministers and others, have been out across all of Sweden and promised road segments and bridges. I really want to emphasize that it is not I who have said it, but it is the Prime Minister.
The Minister stated in his response that there must be a sufficient basis. I just want to remind that there are thousands of pages of basis. Then, certainly one thing or another basis is missing, but a measure choice study was conducted in 2017. On the Norwegian side, a similar study was conducted in 2020, a concept choice study. Then a joint report was made between both countries which was presented in 2022, exactly in connection with the election.
What has been concluded is that the deficiencies are the same in both countries. It is a matter of low capacity, low punctuality and long travel times in relation to the distance. Most significant is the lack of capacity.
The current alignment on the Swedish side misses the densely populated areas north and west of Mälaren. The section of the Värmlandsbanan between Karlstad and Kil is the most heavily trafficked single-track railway in Sweden with mixed traffic. It is an important line for freight. Those of us who travel the line every week are constantly stopped because it is single-track, if we leave Karlstad or Stockholm at all. Much can be done with that section of the Värmlandsbanan, and it would provide great regional benefit. Everyone knows that.
Mälardalsbanan is a relatively modern railway, even though there are some bottlenecks where it is not double-tracked. The conclusion is that it is not about building new all the way, but rather about complementing existing infrastructure. It is approximately what the minister usually says is prioritized. It is about adding capacity and functionality, with the aim of having a faster, more robust, and more attractive line to travel on.
This is not about what the minister says every time we debate, namely that I am pitting transport modes against each other. On the other hand, one must ask relevant questions. Is it wise that the short distance of 40 miles is one of the most heavily trafficked for aviation - also from a climate perspective? Furthermore, we have not seen the environmentally friendly parts. They will surely also come to aviation, but they are not in place now - and it is precisely now that we are discussing.
Which documents is the Minister missing, and when does the Minister intend to request them?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! The Government is working purposefully with the infrastructure in our country, and the needs are great. Just as Gunilla Svantorp is on, the Government prioritizes improving the existing infrastructure and repairing where it is needed, that is, managing the common resources in the best way. It is not solely a question of maintenance, but it is also about new investments to strengthen what we already have.
The majority of the railway and road infrastructure we have in Sweden is the infrastructure we will use in the future. The infrastructure that will be used for future use is already in place today. Therefore, it is important to have the approach of caring for and safeguarding the common resource in the best possible way.
Regarding the various underlying documents, a preliminary study has been prepared. In that, it has been pointed out that capacity reinforcements provide shorter travel times and can lead to increased travel. At the same time, it has been pointed out that the investment costs are high in the project.
Common investigation results and conclusions are now being analyzed in the Government Offices, and the analysis will continue as the process of developing the national plan proceeds. There is an opportunity here for various stakeholders in the regions, municipalities, and other actors to submit their views when the orientation basis is out for consultation.
It is important to prioritize infrastructure in its own transport mode but also to see how the benefits of optimizing the entire transport system are realized. Development within aviation is occurring at high speed, where the industry's own goal is for domestic flights to be fossil-free by 2030.
Even if the shovel hits the ground early - the parliamentary term is not over yet - the benefits of the investments will not be fully realized by 2030. It is not possible to compare something in the present against something else in the future, but the comparison must be made on similar premises. I will not compare different types of transport against each other. The Government has acted so that the Stockholm-Oslo route shall be included in the core network corridor at the EU level in the TEN-T network, and that is based on the importance of the route.
The analysis work of the studies that have been conducted is ongoing, and we have received a direction document. We will then continue to look at how we can strengthen the infrastructure and what new investments are needed to increase capacity, not least from a total defense perspective and our upcoming membership in Nato. There are great needs to strengthen the infrastructure in an east-west direction, as the Defense Preparation Board has pointed out and which the government is working from.
Gunilla Svantorp (S)
Madam Speaker! Infrastructure is an important subject for us to discuss. But since this stretch concerns so many regions and so many people, one really has to "dig" into the issue, which the Minister of the Interior does. It is an important stretch, but we cannot investigate ourselves to death; instead, we must at some point talk about what is going to happen.
Then there was the question of socio-economic profitability. We have seen that the socio-economic profitability only comes when the entire stretch is built. This is something we must consider when we say that a certain section is not profitable to build. I believe we need to take a much greater overall responsibility. Otherwise, it is not correct. Just this stretch is a stretch where certain parts are not considered socio-economically profitable, but when the entire stretch is built, it will be. This is something we need to consider; we cannot travel on sections, we travel a whole stretch.
If all of Sweden is to live, we must consider how people will be able to move around in our country. The Prime Ministers in the Nordic countries have said that the Nordic region shall be the world's most integrated region, and then the Nordic region must be tied together.
The Minister usually says that work commuting and freight are prioritized, and that is what is transported on the stretch. Therefore, the stretch should be prioritized so that we can do business, increase our growth, and contribute to an increased GDP. It is very well done that the stretch is included in the backbone network corridor, but what will happen after the joint investigation with both countries has been submitted?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Just as I have explained, we will return to that. We will have reason to return to that.
I also want to say in the conclusion that I appreciate Gunilla Svantorp's commitment to the Stockholm-Oslo railway line. We would, of course, have had an even better basis already if this had been prioritized earlier, under the Social Democratic government. But now we stand where we stand, and I see that we have a common view on the security policy situation and that the needs of the total defense need to be taken into account.
I also want to say that we share the same view on how one looks at the utility of investments. Also, when it comes to seeking co-financing at the EU level and moving forward at the national level, it is about looking more at corridors and less at individual stages. It is of course so that you get the utility of an investment when the entire corridor is complete, not when you have only invested in individual stages. In those cases, you have occasionally increased capacity, but then there are bottlenecks built into the system.
That is what lies in the concept when we say that we shall care for and manage the common resources that we have. It requires maintenance, but there are also different solutions to build away bottlenecks in the railway infrastructure. The needs are obvious for everyone who travels on the railway or waits for trains that are delayed. Investments are needed in Swedish infrastructure, and investments are needed in the maintenance of the same on both the road and railway side. It is a priority for the government in the continued work, and I look forward to continued good dialogue with Gunilla Svantorp and other members of the Swedish Riksdag during that process.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.