Response to interpellation 2023/24:613 on the effects for Dalarna of the railway's lack of punctuality
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD prioritizes the upgrading of existing railways to facilitate commuting and freight traffic 1. KD argues that the maintenance debt has grown regardless of the government 1 2 and that more maintenance needs to be achieved for the money through more efficient working methods and better procurement 2. KD emphasizes that infrastructure can be an enabler for new industrialization 3 and that the government is prepared to make decisions to accelerate measures 3. KD believes that more money for infrastructure and alternative financing are required to avoid bottlenecks in growth 4. S believes that the government's prioritization of commuting and freight traffic is correct and that infrastructure is the biggest obstacle to growth.
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! Lars Isacsson has asked me what messages I have for all commuters who are beginning to give up the idea of traveling by train and what measures I and the government are taking so that Swedish industry can use the railway for its important transports.
A well-functioning infrastructure is important to ensure a long-term sustainable transport supply for both the citizens and the business community throughout the country. For the government, it is therefore a priority to improve the infrastructure we have, repair where it is needed, and manage the common resources in the best way. The government prioritizes the upgrading of existing railways, and investments in the railway should primarily facilitate for work commuting and freight traffic.
The needs within the Swedish transport infrastructure are great, and maintenance has for a longer period of time been deprioritized. When sufficient maintenance of roads and railways has not been carried out, the maintenance debt has grown significantly.
In August last year, the Government tasked Trafikverket with reporting on measures to strengthen the implementation of railway maintenance and the robustness, reliability, and punctuality of railway traffic (LI2023/03037). Trafikverket shall, among other things, report on the measures being taken to strengthen its procurement competence and ability to plan and implement railway maintenance. The assignment was reported on February 12, and there will also be a couple of follow-up reports in June and October 2024. I will follow Trafikverket's work.
An important factor for effective maintenance of the railway is that Trafikverket, together with the industry, works to develop an effective and purposeful execution of the operations. To promote this, the actors need to, among other things, develop innovative working methods and purposeful maintenance agreements and strive for long-term and stable planning conditions for the operations.
The Government has initiated the work on a new national plan for the planning period 2026-2037 by, in a first step, commissioning Trafikverket to produce a direction document. Trafikverket presented this assignment in January, and it will now form the basis for an infrastructure bill with new economic frameworks and direction for a new plan.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer. We have also debated this issue previously, in September 2023. It was after SJ had replaced all modern train sets on the Dalabanan with what can more accurately be described as a museum railway but without the comfort of that time. The reason was that the quality of the Dalabanan was so low that it was unnecessary to use modern trains.
What I then raised was such as removed high-speed trains, no possibility for passengers to buy coffee, no AC, closed toilets, great difficulties or impossible to travel for persons with disabilities and no plan for when this could be rectified.
What prompts this debate is that more has now been added to the already anything but favorable situation for the Dalabanan and the possibility for the population of Dalarna to commute and transport the goods that contribute so significantly to Sweden's gross national product. The trains that still operate on the Dalabanan are, in fact, very poor at running on time, if they run at all.
Sveriges Television has compiled the ten most delayed train departures during 2023, and in an not-so-flattering third place is the evening train between Stockholm and Dalarna. It had a total of over 6,000 minutes of delay during last year. To accentuate this: I just checked in my SJ app and saw that my train home to Dalarna after this debate is cancelled. This is therefore continuing.
I can confirm what the Minister said: The maintenance debt is large, and this has occurred over a long period of time - regardless of government. That is also what we have said!
This is an enormous problem for Dalarna. Regardless of what the delays are due to, it is high time that a collective grip is taken on this. It must be possible to rely on the trains running on time. A functioning railway is a prerequisite for a Dalarna that is built on industry, forestry, tourism, and the service sector. The State must take this seriously. Every day that passes without anything being done risks leading to reduced growth, both economically and demographically.
In view of this, I asked Minister Andreas Carlson what message he has for all the commuters who have started to give up. I also asked what measures the Minister intends to take so that Swedish industry can use the railway for its important transports.
This is part of the government's response: "An important factor for effective maintenance of the railway is that Trafikverket, together with the industry, works on developing an efficient and purposeful implementation of the operations. To promote this, the actors need to, among other things, develop innovative working methods and purposeful maintenance agreements and strive for long-term and stable planning conditions for the operations."
My concluding words in the debate we had in September were that I hoped we could count on quick, concrete proposals that improve the train traffic between Dalarna and Stockholm. I can say that I did not become much wiser after the Minister's answer. The problems remain. The solutions involve "innovative working methods," but no working methods are reported, and no new initiatives are reported.
Mr. Speaker! My question to the Minister is therefore: Can the Minister provide information on what the innovative working methods are that will lead to Dalabanan being able to have modern trains, which also run on time?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the member for an important question. That is exactly the point; the working methods need to become significantly better. There needs to be more efficient maintenance with less impact on traffic.
During many of the years that maintenance has been deprioritized, the debate has stalled at the maintenance budget – whether there should be more money for maintenance or not. There has been too little money for maintenance. We can state that when the maintenance debt on the road side is approximately 35 billion and on the railway side a full 91 ½ billion kronor. These are unrealistic but descriptive sums. It is easy to see that this is a major problem in large parts of the country when one has allowed the maintenance debt to grow like a snowball – and this regardless of the color of the government, as Lars Isacsson is pointing out.
The previous Alliance government with Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd did, however, appoint an inquiry that was not only about the size of the budget but also about what one gets for the money. We must get more maintenance for the money. The inquiry, with an investigator who is a leading expert in the field in Sweden, concluded that it is necessary to account for the impact on traffic to a greater extent. The procurements should be designed in such a way that contracts are written that involve as little impact as possible on other traffic. For example, work commuting and freight traffic shall be guiding and weigh heavily when the maintenance is procured.
The Chairman asks what kind of innovative working methods it is about. There are Swedish operators who can perform maintenance at night and then move out of the way so that traffic can continue. In that case, commuting traffic and freight traffic are not affected. Then the operators can go back and carry out maintenance measures. In this way, the railway can be upgraded much better and faster without disturbing traffic in the tracks.
This is one of the issues that I have spent a lot of time on. I have gathered actors and gathered the industry so that they will not continue to bark at each other in the media, but instead move forward together. It is now part of the mandate for Trafikverket that they shall cooperate and collaborate with the actors who are affected.
So it is about developing working methods, having purpose-oriented maintenance agreements and striving for long-term and stable planning conditions for the operation, just as I said in my answer and as Lars Isacsson quoted.
I can also state that the largest part of the lack of punctuality, measured in delay hours, is caused by the railway companies themselves. Following that come accidents and incidents. In third place comes the infrastructure. This is evident from the partial reporting of the punctuality mission that Trafikverket has carried out. For that reason, it is important with a cooperation in the industry where people do not point fingers at each other but jointly pull together to achieve increased punctuality. In that case, maintenance must take place in a significantly more efficient way.
A maintenance contractor who was present at one of the meetings described it as that maintenance needs to occur more like a Formula 1 pit stop. It might be a comparison that falters somewhat, but the idea behind it is that it should be well-planned and quickly executed with as little impact as possible on traffic. My ambition, the assignments we have given to Trafikverket and what we have said when we have gathered the industry, also go in that direction: maintenance measures need to be better planned and faster executed and have little impact on traffic. Then more people can rely on the train, and it can benefit both commuting and freight traffic throughout Sweden.
We can point fingers backward, but looking forward, my ambition is that we will now tackle the maintenance so that we get more money for maintenance but also more maintenance for the money.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer. More maintenance for the money – there I completely agree with the Minister. We are in full agreement that more money is needed for maintenance, but more maintenance is also needed for the money.
To the state council that was enumerated, one can also add Trafikverket's procurements. I believe that many municipal and regional politicians have been frustrated by how much more expensive it becomes when Trafikverket procures compared to when the municipalities do it. If measures are to be carried out on a state road, it is still the municipality that has to pay. In the municipalities, one can see that if the municipality had performed the procurement itself, it would have cost, say, 10 million, but the invoice to Trafikverket amounted to 20 million. That is also a major problem.
Then I come from a motor municipality with a great interest in motors, and it is clear that Formula 1 stops sounds very good. We would be satisfied even if the trains didn't run for a while if it meant that the Dalabanan was refurbished, but of course, we can strive towards Formula 1 stops.
We also see that the new industrialization in Sweden is strongest where Trafikverket and the government make the fewest efforts. Sweden becomes poorer with such a policy. Then jobs risk moving abroad. It threatens the green transition and new industrialization taking place all around Sweden, mostly outside the large cities.
A concrete example is Ludvika, which is located in Dalarnas län. There, the company Hitachi has hired three people per day for nearly two years. The company received last year Sweden's largest industrial order ever, amounting to 147 billion. They are a cutting-edge company and are leading the green transition all around the world with power transmission.
Hitachi manufactures transformers. For the largest and most valuable transformers, there is a ceiling on how much can be exported, namely 52 transformers per year. This is not due to a lack of greater demand or that the company cannot produce more, but it is because there is one train slot per week, the night between Saturday and Sunday. This is a clear example of how lacking infrastructure directly hits jobs, growth, and export revenues important for Sweden.
Mr. Speaker! I would like to take the opportunity to ask the Minister what responsibility he believes the state should have and take for holding together and building up Sweden through infrastructure, both city and country.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I said in a previous debate that infrastructure is either a bottleneck or an enabler for the new industrialization we are seeing. That was in connection with an interpellation regarding northern Sweden, but we see this development largely across the entire country. Therefore, this is very important also from the perspective of a basic platform of an operation that has been in place, in this case in Ludvika, for many years, but where we are now seeing a further development and expansion. There, of course, the infrastructure needs to keep up in order to enable the growth and job creation that the industry provides. That is why the government's prioritization in the infrastructure area concerns precisely work commuting and freight traffic to strengthen jobs and growth in the whole country.
I am well aware of the specific situation that the member of Parliament raises. I have personally met Hitachi's CEO at the department and had the situation described to me. I believe the member of Parliament has full respect for the fact that I cannot anticipate the process that is now underway with the work on the national plan, but as the government has previously shown with its actions, we are prepared to make decisions to expedite measures and see how we can enable infrastructure investments and, if necessary, move them forward to avoid hindering development. This is a good example of that.
I have no new announcements today. However, this is also a clear example of that infrastructure is either a bottleneck or an enabler. That is why one needs to have focus on this and have it at the table when looking at the infrastructure planning and the priorities moving forward.
Regarding the Transport Administration's procurements, which the member raises, it is part of the review that is now taking place within the agency and which the Transport Administration itself has initiated. As Minister, I naturally welcome that they are looking at how they can facilitate for more to win contracts and make it easier to procure infrastructure projects. This is also something that can benefit small and medium-sized companies, for example, those that are locally anchored. It will be a more efficient and less administratively heavy way to manage important infrastructure measures, which in itself can speed up processes. This is something that I welcome.
The authority has itself pointed out large efficiency gains and that the funds released could be used for roads and railways instead of administrative processes. This corresponds to an order of magnitude of 600 million kronor per year, according to Trafikverket. Hopefully, that answers the question that the member is throwing into the debate.
Let me however return to the basic question of what messages I want to give to those who are starting to give up on the idea of traveling by train and to Swedish industry when it comes to being able to rely on the train for their important transports. The answer is: Now we are tackling the basic need for functional maintenance of the railway, something that has been neglected for decades. We can leave the question of whose fault it is that the situation is as it is and instead jointly ensure that we prioritize this moving forward. It is my firm conviction that we will need to do so. Then it is, as said, about both more money for maintenance and more maintenance for the money.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I think the government's prioritization of work commuting and freight traffic is correct. The problem is that that prioritization has existed for a long time, for decades. In politics, there is a certain window where one talks about what one wants to do, but in the end, one must also do something. If one looks at the outcome for Dalarna, one can also see that regardless of the government, we usually end up last.
I am fully aware that we have had a debate about Dalabanan previously. I am also fully aware that one can easily be perceived as a nagging demand machine when standing here. However, these are not just my or the Social Democrats' opinions. Regardless of which company or which industry I meet, it is the infrastructure that is highlighted as the greatest growth obstacle.
It was not least clear when Svenskt Näringsliv had its business days here in Stockholm a few weeks ago. The collective picture from the business community to us Members of Parliament from Dalarna was: Drive this issue! Unfortunately, I see no Member of Parliament from any other party here today; I would have gladly seen someone from one of the government parties.
On a typical day, 50,000 people travel the Mora-Stockholm route. It is critical for Dalarna's tourism industry. 15.5 million guest nights in Dalarna per year generate approximately 7.6 billion kronor. We also have 20-30 passenger trains on the route. Dalarna is one of Sweden's most important industrial counties. Exports correspond to 66 billion kronor.
Mr. Speaker! It is not a pity for us in Dalarna. We are not victims standing with our hats in our hands. We are, among many other things, Sweden's fourth largest export county and Sweden's fourth largest tourism county. It is a significant overperformance for a county with 3 percent of Sweden's population. Investments in Dalarna are therefore not only good for Dalarna but also good for Sweden.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I appreciate that Lars Isacsson highlights the importance of infrastructure for jobs and growth. That it is a growth barrier that we have deficiencies in our infrastructure is obvious.
That is why the government points so clearly to exactly jobs and growth as factors that should be strengthened with the infrastructure investments that need to be made, and in that respect, maintenance is central. The lack of maintenance is also highlighted by the business community as a growth barrier. I have very good contact with industry organizations in the business community and entrepreneurs who highlight this.
I am pleased that the member is bringing this further to me here in today's debate. There are many other ways to highlight this to the government than via the interpellation tool. My party colleague in Kristdemokraterna, Mathias Bengtsson, does not miss any opportunities to highlight what the member raised here today, namely the needs in Dalarna. There are great needs across the entire country given that this is so neglected.
That is why it becomes an important discussion how large the framework should be for the infrastructure bill and how much alternative financing can come in so that more can be involved in financing infrastructure. I have said in this debate that more money is needed for maintenance. More money is needed for infrastructure in general, and we need to get more infrastructure and more maintenance for the money.
Then we need to look at possibilities for alternative financing where it has been relatively closed off previously. Given the great needs we have and the limited economic framework we will have, we need to have an approach here that opens up for new ways to carry out projects and new ways to finance projects so that there will not be bottlenecks in the growth that we are now seeing and that the member has highlighted in this debate. I share that commitment.
Let us now jointly ensure that we pay off the maintenance debt and make the investments that are required!
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.