Response to interpellation 2025/26:174 on the regions' costs for socially important transport
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD considers that the government provides 151 million kronor in the budget bill for 2026 to maintain interregional accessibility 1 2 3. KD argues that the financing principle is not applicable since the state co-finances transport 1 and that long-term planning conditions are needed to avoid temporary agreements that drive up costs 3. KD considers that the parties must work to streamline the expensive agreement 4. S considers that the state is reducing its funding while the requirements for accessibility remain, which forces the regions to bear the costs 5 6. S argues that the financing principle is relevant 5 7 and that the state must finance the accessibility 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Åsa Karlson has asked me if I consider it compatible with the financing principle that the state reduces the compensation for socially important traffic without reducing the scope of the assignment, and if I and the government intend to ensure that the regions are compensated for the costs that the state, through Trafikverket's decision, is now transferring to them. Åsa Karlson has further asked me if I and the government intend to provide the funds required – at least 100 million kronor per year – to maintain the state cooperation agreements in northern Sweden. Finally, Åsa Karlson has asked me if I and the government intend to task Trafikverket with reforming the accessibility model and the process for cooperation agreements, so that the regions are given real participation and long-term planning conditions.
I want to begin by emphasizing that a well-functioning, long-term sustainable and reliable transport system, where all modes of transport are developed and contribute to the transport policy goals, is a prerequisite for the whole of Sweden to function. The conditions for living, residing and working in the entire country shall be strengthened. It is therefore important with good accessibility between the country's different parts. I have conveyed this several times in the chamber, but since these are fundamental starting points for the government's transport policy, it deserves to be repeated.
Regarding the state's funding of the transport agreements that Trafikverket is tasked to enter into, the government proposes in the budget bill for 2026 (prop. 2025/26:1) that 151 million kronor be allocated for 2026. The purpose is to maintain the interregional accessibility that the state-procured public transport creates. Unfortunately, the temporary agreement that Trafikverket has concluded with SJ AB has significantly increased the costs for night train traffic during 2025. This also affects the room to sign other agreements during 2026. I assume that Trafikverket and SJ AB are working to streamline the agreements so that costs are reduced. I will follow that work closely.
I also want to comment on what Åsa Karlsson raises regarding the principle of municipal financing. As Åsa Karlsson is well aware, it is applicable when municipalities or regions are imposed with new obligations through state-decided reforms. That is not the case when the state, through cooperation agreements, enters and co-finances interregional public transport.
In conclusion, I share Åsa Karlsson's view that long-term planning conditions are needed for the regions. This, in turn, requires long-term thinking in the transport agreements that Trafikverket signs, where temporary agreements that drive up costs are avoided. Against that background, I see no need at the current time to change the accessibility model or the process for cooperation agreements.
Åsa Karlsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
I must say that the answer left some of the central questions unanswered. What we are discussing are not minor adjustments or regional details, but this is about the state's responsibility for socially important transport that the state itself has defined as necessary. Trafikverket has over two years reduced the compensation to the four northernmost regions by 108 million kronor, despite the scope of the assignment not having decreased.
This concerns Norrtåg with train lines from Sundsvall and upwards in the country, Samverkande inland, that is to say 15 bus lines in Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Västernorrland and Jämtland Härjedalen, as well as state-run air transfer traffic with three lines in Västerbotten and five lines in Norrbotten. All these three cooperation agreements are crucial for people to be able to live, work and run businesses in northern Sweden.
The regions have already procured the transport. The agreements are already written, and transport is planned and capacity-allocated. When the state announces that the funding is insufficient, unreasonable costs are shifted from the state to the regions. For the state, it is small change, but for the regions, it is enormous costs.
When the Minister says that the financing principle is not applicable because the regions are not formally burdened with a new commitment, the Minister ignores the core of the problem, namely that the state is reducing its funding while the state does not reduce the requirements for accessibility. It actually does not matter whether one calls it a new commitment or reduced support because the result is the same.
Madam Speaker! The regions are burdened with the state's costs. In northern Sweden, it is not about any marginal effects, but it is a question of transport that is completely necessary for healthcare personnel to be able to get to work, for students to get to their education, and for companies to be able to recruit employees.
To say that the financing principle is not relevant is to disregard the basic prerequisites of local self-government. The Minister also refers to the fact that the government has added 151 million kronor to the state's procured transport agreements, but it is not a reinforcement but a fire brigade deployment.
Madam Speaker! The regions should not have to rescue the state when the state's own agreements become more expensive. The regions should not be budget regulators for the state; instead, the state must provide compensation to the affected regions. I did not hear that promise from the minister.
I hope that the Minister, in his next contribution, can explain how the state can continue to demand accessibility without financing it – that is the core of the interpellation.
Zara Leghissa (S)
Madam Speaker! Once again the government fails Norrbotten, once again with cuts to transport agreements, Samverkande inland, and flygtransfer. For Norrbotten, this means a total sum of approximately 43 percent in lost support.
It is as if one does not understand or care what the cuts actually mean for people in our county and for northern Sweden. When the government reduces the support, it is not just a line in the budget that is affected, but people's everyday lives, security, and the opportunity to influence their lives.
In northern Sweden and Norrbotten, the distances are long. We travel collectively to get to work, to healthcare, to school, and to family, and when we go on vacation and tourism. The government should actually know this. But one still makes the same mistake again, for the second year in a row. Young people find it harder to get to education, older people have longer journeys to reach healthcare, and commuters face an insecure everyday life. The government's announcement also hits hard against jobs and against the business sector.
Northern Sweden is in the midst of a historical transition regarding industrial jobs, energy, and green technology, involving establishments that the whole world is watching. It concerns investments of approximately 1,200 billion in Norrbotten within industry, infrastructure, mining, and forestry, about 30 billion in increased tax revenues, and 20,000 new jobs.
At the same time, the government chooses to weaken the structures upon which that entire development is built. Companies need labor, and the labor needs to get to work. It is not rocket science; it is a self-evident fact. Yet, the government makes it harder instead of easier.
Madam Speaker! This is also a question of welfare and equality. When the state withdraws, regions and municipalities are forced to make up the difference, as the agreements with the operators have already been signed. This means that money must be moved from healthcare, from school, and from elderly care to cover holes that the state itself has created, for transports that the state itself has pointed out as socially important but has chosen not to finance.
This action goes against the principle of funding and that the municipalities should be self-governing. It is a reverse Robin Hood policy. Resources are taken from welfare to compensate for the government's passivity.
Let us speak plainly. When public transport deteriorates, the inequalities in people's lives increase. Those who have a car might manage. But those who are young and those who are ill and cannot afford a car pay the price for the government's cuts. It is not equal, it is not fair, and it is definitely not a policy for the whole country.
We know what happens if this is allowed to continue. It will become harder to recruit, it will become harder to stay, and it will become harder to move in. More places risk being emptied in the long run, not because people want to move but because they feel they no longer have a choice. The risk of further bankruptcies and for companies choosing to establish themselves in other countries also increases, in an already downward spiral for Sweden's growth.
How can the government defend that it time and again worsens the opportunities for northern Sweden and Norrbotten to grow, develop, and live?
Madam Speaker! My question to Infrastructure and Housing Minister Andreas Carlson is simple: When does the government intend to take responsibility for long-term and sufficient funding for the transport agreements, Samverkande inland and flygtransfer, so that people can actually live and work in the entire country and so that companies also dare to invest in Norrbotten?
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! One can call it a supplement of 151 million kronor that the government makes in the budget bill for various different things. You can call it a fire brigade response, as Åsa Karlsson does, if you wish. But you cannot call it a reduction or a cut. A budget supplement of 151 million kronor is not a reduction. It is something that is added to an appropriation for what we are discussing here today: the procured transport, the co-financing, and the cooperation agreements.
The background to the strained situation that the members express concerns about relates to the temporary agreement that Trafikverket has entered into with SJ AB, where the costs for night train traffic have increased significantly during 2025. This also affects the room to sign other agreements during 2026.
Madam Speaker! Now it is clearly important that Trafikverket and SJ work to streamline the agreement as much as possible, so that costs are reduced. This also creates space for the purposes that the appropriation was intended to cover: interregional accessibility and the public transport procured by the state.
So it is an addition of 151 million kronor that the government is making in the budget, Madam Speaker. But against the background that the costs have increased powerfully for the emergency agreement or temporary agreements that Trafikverket has concluded with SJ, it is a strained situation. It is of course important that Trafikverket and SJ are now working to streamline their agreement, so that the costs decrease. It is a task that I will follow very closely.
Åsa Karlsson (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister speaks of the importance of good accessibility and equal conditions throughout the country. I welcome that. But I must state that the government's policy does not live up to that ambition.
In northern Sweden, there are long distances, and there is a weak population base in some places and in some areas. There is a business sector that is completely dependent on functioning public transport. Therefore, the consequences become serious.
The Minister speaks of investments, but Norrtåg has its state compensation halved from 143 million to around 60 million. Samverkande inland loses 18 million, which is almost half the funding. And for the flight transfer, it is reduced from 7 million to 4 million, even though Trafikverket itself has assessed that the needs are at 7 million kronor. This is happening, as stated, at the same time as the regions already have agreements with operators and have already staffed the traffic. Over 100 million kronor have thus disappeared in two years.
Why should the regions pay the price? These agreements are negotiated by the state, not by Region Västerbotten, Region Norrbotten, Region Västernorrland or Region Jämtland Härjedalen. The regions are not parties. They have no influence. But they still have to pay.
The Minister also says that the accessibility model does not need to be changed. But it is precisely that model that has made it possible for the regions to be informed, two months before the start of traffic, that 30 percent of the funding disappears, Madam Speaker. That type of model is neither long-term nor legally secure. The Minister says that long-term perspective is important. But with today's system, one cannot deliver that.
It is also important to remind that the regions' budgets are already under severe strain. For every million they are forced to allocate to transport, money may need to be taken from healthcare. It is about real priorities in the reality of already heavily pressured regions.
Madam Speaker! The regions need full compensation for state-prioritized traffic. A restored funding of at least 100 million kronor is needed. An immediate review of the accessibility model is needed, so that the regions no longer receive late notices without being able to participate. And a stop is needed to the regions being used as a buffer when the state's own contracts become more expensive.
Zara Leghissa (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank the interpellor Åsa Karlsson for this important question and also thank Andreas Carlson for the answer.
The Minister answers that he will not work to increase the support. That is not sufficient. Norrbotten does not need more excuses. Norrbotten needs decisions and long-term perspective.
It is not possible to hide behind words like priorities. When the government prioritizes away Norrbotten, it prioritizes away people's opportunity to work, study, and live their lives. It prioritizes away the important development that actually puts Sweden on the map. It prioritizes away 100 billion in export value. And it prioritizes away 2–3 percent of Sweden's GDP.
It is the people of Norrbotten who see the consequences every day. Our young people are left standing on the platform. The elderly have to travel further to reach healthcare. And companies have to fight against the wind when the state abdicates its responsibility. We Social Democrats want to invest in public transport, because we know that it is important for our common society.
Madam Speaker! It is easy to talk about all of Sweden. It is harder to actually conduct politics for all of Sweden. But it is precisely what we Norrland Swedes and Norrbotnians demand, that we should be allowed to continue developing and live a safe and dignified life.
I therefore urge Minister Andreas Carlson and the government once again: Take responsibility for the transport agreements for Samverkande inland and flight transfers! Stop shifting the costs onto the regions and municipalities, which are already struggling with the economy! Ensure that people can get where they need to go regardless of distance – for the jobs, for the welfare, for growth, and for the climate!
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! For the benefit of new viewers, I can say that 151 million kronor is being added for the transport agreements 2026.
Long-term planning conditions are needed for the regions. I agree with the debaters on that, Madam Speaker. This, in turn, requires long-term thinking in the transport agreements that Trafikverket signs and that temporary agreements that drive up costs are avoided. The background to the strained situation that currently exists is, as I have said before, a temporary agreement between Trafikverket and SJ which has significantly increased the costs for night train traffic during 2025. It affects the room to sign other agreements even during 2026, despite the fact that 151 million kronor is now being added to the budget that the government has proposed for 2026.
I also want, Madam Speaker, to mention that the government will, of course, take part in the Swedish National Audit Office's ongoing review of the transport agreements for increased accessibility between regions. The results of the review will be presented in a report in March 2026. The review is intended to answer whether the state's efforts through transport agreements effectively contribute to improving basic accessibility in public transport between different regions. It will, of course, be an important basis for continued work.
Mr. Speaker! I want to return to the fact that the situation has arisen as a result of a very expensive temporary agreement that Trafikverket has signed with SJ AB regarding the night train traffic. I assume that the parties are working very actively to streamline that agreement so that the costs are reduced. It is a task that I will follow closely and carefully.
Åsa Karlsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! In this debate, the Minister has emphasized the importance of good accessibility. We share that view. But it is not enough to say that accessibility is important. The state must also finance it. What is happening now is that the state is reducing its funding and dumping the costs onto the regions. That is the core of the problem. The regions are faced with impossible choices.
The cooperation agreements have been established because we have collectively, at both national and regional levels, concluded that it is more cost-effective for the state to purchase transport from the region where there is regional transport. The alternative to co-financing via cooperation agreements is for the state to organize and procure its own transport, which in that case would partially run parallel to regional transport. But the cost for own state transport would then be higher than today's level in the budget for transport agreements, because the coordination disappears. The smartest and cheapest option is therefore to provide the funds required so that the transport does not have to be reduced. It is not the regions' responsibility that the state night train agreement became expensive. Then the regions should also not have to bear the costs?
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I also want to thank you for the debate.
The Leader of the Opposition speaks about the "core of the problem," Mr. Speaker. A very significant cause of the strained situation is the temporary agreement that Trafikverket has signed with SJ AB for the night train traffic. It was and is very expensive and affects the space. It is therefore why I, in several instances in this debate, have repeated that I assume that the parties are working very actively to streamline that agreement and that it is a task that I will continue to follow closely and carefully.
Good accessibility is important. That is why the government has allocated 151 million kronor for this purpose in the budget proposal. One can discuss the content of it. One can discuss the size of the sum and whether it is too much or too little – I personally have not heard anyone say that it is too much. But one cannot escape the fact that the background to the situation is the very expensive temporary contracts. I have not heard the members mention that in their contributions, but I can state that it is a significant reason for the strained situation. Therefore, it is important that the parties are now working to streamline the contracts and make them more cost-effective, so that they do not crowd out other important purposes that Trafikverket also has responsibility for in procurements and cooperation agreements for transport.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.