Response to interpellation 2025/26:534 on railway maintenance

Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Aylin Nouri has asked me how I justify that around 90 percent of the railway's neglected maintenance is expected to remain after the planning period 2026–2037, how I assess that the pace of the recovery of the maintenance debt will affect the railway's punctuality, capacity, and robustness during the coming decades, and whether I intend to take any measures based on my assessment.

The maintenance of the infrastructure has for a long time been allocated too few resources. For several decades, the maintenance of both roads and railways has been deprioritized, and the maintenance debt has been allowed to grow. This has meant that, in the long term, the conditions have not existed for Trafikverket to carry out the maintenance required to maintain the functionality of the facilities.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to tackling this. It is not possible to continue taking a shortcut and pushing the problems into the future. Therefore, the government is now prioritizing the upgrading and maintenance of Swedish infrastructure. In the recently decided national plan, a total of 210 billion kronor is added to railway maintenance until 2037, and in addition to that, a further approximately 34 billion kronor in track fees will be added that go towards maintenance measures.

The pace of the maintenance work has already begun to increase, and with notice. During 2025, 1,700 major maintenance works were carried out on the state railway, which was the highest level to date, and this year the number is planned to increase further to 1,800. The number of completed switch replacements increased from 60 during 2023 to 106 during 2025, and in 2028, 177 switch replacements are to be carried out. This is thus almost a tripling in just five years. The number of kilometers of overhead line replacements goes from 115 kilometers in 2023 to 278 kilometers in 2028. This is happening at the same time as there are more trains than ever before in the railway infrastructure.

The backlog of maintenance decreases as a result of this, and during the new planning period until 2037, Trafikverket continues to catch up on deferred maintenance at the level that is judged to be maximally possible under current conditions. The result will be a younger and more robust railway with fewer traffic disruptions and lower repair costs.

Train passengers and freight carriers must be able to rely on the trains arriving on time. When carrying out maintenance measures on the railway, it is important that the measures are well-planned and affect existing traffic to the minimum extent possible. Trafikverket needs, together with the industry, to continue with the ongoing development work of, for example, modernizing working methods and equipment, utilizing the possibilities of digitalization, and developing efficient and purposeful maintenance agreements. The Government has recently tasked Trafikverket with further strengthening productivity in the maintenance operations.

Maintenance has been deprioritized for decades. The Government is now reversing this destructive trend and instead prioritizing this central activity, both in terms of more money for maintenance and more maintenance for the money.

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Aylin Nouri (S)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for Infrastructure for the answer.

Let me also start this debate by being clear: I welcome that more resources are going to railway maintenance. Just as the Minister for Infrastructure describes, railway maintenance has been neglected for a long time, and the maintenance debt has built up over several decades and under several governments. But let us also be honest in the debate: The trend break that the Minister for Infrastructure describes did not start with this government. Under the Social Democratic government, resources for railway maintenance increased significantly, and this government has largely continued on the path set.

The problem is that something has happened in Sweden and the rest of the world, and the government does not seem to have drawn any conclusions regarding how much the world has changed. There is war in Europe, and Sweden is in Nato. We are investing hundreds of billions in total defense, and infrastructure is indispensable for us to be able to meet the demands placed upon us. Capacity is preparedness, robustness is preparedness, and functioning transport is preparedness.

The Minister describes the measures being implemented and the resources being allocated, and that is naturally important. However, my question was about what these investments actually lead to. The Government describes the investments as historic, but at the same time, the Government refers to the fact that the maintenance debt is not expected to be recovered until around the year 2050. This means, therefore, that the majority of the maintenance debt will remain long after the decided twelve-year plan has expired.

Therefore, the most important question is not which measures are implemented and how many tracks can be counted in different ways, but the most important thing actually becomes what improvements passengers and companies will notice during the period. This is very concrete in people's everyday lives: Will the train run on time? Will the train arrive on time? Will the railway become less vulnerable? Can I trust that the freight will arrive? Does the business community dare to invest in Sweden, or will delays, bottlenecks, and disruptions mainly persist during the next twelve years?

My question to the Minister is therefore: If the maintenance debt is not expected to be recovered until around the year 2050, what concrete improvements in punctuality, capacity, and robustness does the Minister believe Swedish travelers and companies can expect during the next twelve years?

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Rashid Farivar (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I want to begin by thanking the interpellor for raising an important issue. The state of the railway is crucial for both commuting to work, the competitiveness of the business sector, and Sweden's preparedness.

When one listens to the Social Democrats' criticism, one gets almost the impression that the problems arose overnight. The truth is that the maintenance debt we are discussing today has been built up over a very long time and under governments of different colors – not least during the eight years when the Social Democrats themselves governed the country. During that period, the punctuality problems, the capacity shortages, and the recurring operational disruptions continued. Despite big words about the climate transition and the importance of the railway, the mobilization of effort required to rectify the neglected maintenance was never carried out.

Now we face reality. A railway system that has been worn down harder than it has been maintained over decades cannot be restored in a few years. There are simply limitations in the form of competence, contractor resources, access to materials, and the possibility of carrying out works while traffic is to function.

That is why I think the minister's answer is both realistic and responsible. The government and the Sweden Democrats have decided on the largest investment in railway maintenance in Swedish history. As the minister stated, over 200 billion kronor will be allocated for railway maintenance until 2037. This is not rhetoric, but rather concrete investments that will make a difference for travelers and companies across the entire country.

At the same time, I want to be clear that the Sweden Democrats do not consider the work finished – on the contrary. Sweden faces significant infrastructure challenges. Freight flows are increasing, and industrial investments are growing. The needs of the total defense are becoming greater, and the population demands reliable transport. Therefore, we need to continue strengthening both the railway, the road network, and the aviation infrastructure in the coming years.

We also need to dare to discuss the efficiency of the implementation. Why do some projects take so long? How can productivity in maintenance work be improved? How can digitalization and AI contribute to better planning and fewer traffic disruptions? It is not enough to simply throw more money at it; the money must also be used in a way that provides maximum benefit for travelers, companies, and taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker! The Social Democrats are right that the maintenance debt is a major problem, but it is difficult to take the criticism fully seriously when the same party had eight years to do significantly more about the situation.

Now we see instead a government that actually prioritizes maintenance, which increases investments and which has begun the long-term work required to restore Swedish transport infrastructure. It will take time, but the alternative – to continue pushing the problems ahead of itself – is precisely the policy that created the situation from the beginning.

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for this debate. It is important to debate maintenance. There has been too little light on something as basic as maintenance in recent decades. The government has changed that now.

I will certainly give Aylin Nouri credit that the resources increased, began to "ramp up," from 2021 onwards. It was a fairly substantial increase. The problem was that it could not be implemented in practice. Money was left over that risked being wasted. One cannot, therefore, simply establish a sum in an Excel sheet in the Government Offices, Mr. Speaker, and believe that it will resolve itself. It is extremely important to measure the so-called "pins," which Aylin Nouri almost mocks.

I have been very careful to measure the effect of the money, so that it does not just become more money for maintenance. The Social Democrats were involved and took responsibility in the matter of it becoming more money for maintenance, and we have "ramped up" it very significantly since then. But it does not help if more maintenance does not also come out in the Swedish railway infrastructure, so that one gets more maintenance for the money.

Mr. Speaker! I mentioned in my response that the number of replacements increased from 60 in 2023 to 106 in 2025. In the year I became Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, 36 replacements were carried out. That was what the Social Democrats left behind – 36 replacements in 2022. In three years, it has thus tripled to 106 replacements.

Why is it important to raise in a parliamentary debate? And why should one not mock the fact that this is about sticks? Well, because axle failures are a major cause of train delays in the Swedish railway network.

Now we have more automated maintenance. One can prefabricate railway switches in a newly inaugurated factory in Kumla and do that work in the industry to then lay out the switches in hours instead of days, as it took when I took office as Minister for Infrastructure and Housing. This has happened thanks to investments in the railway sector, in Swedish companies, and also through good cooperation with Trafikverket. It has not happened by itself but is a result of ever stronger cooperation in the railway industry and also of several clear assignments to Trafikverket.

It is not just about allocating more money, Mr. Speaker. One must also ensure that maintenance is carried out. It is an important part of the fact that punctuality is now also increasing. Month by month, we see that punctuality is going up. Last year, railway traffic was the most punctual in several years. Trafikverket points out that this is largely due to the fact that we are now getting out more maintenance than ever before. And one does not just maintain a little here and there, but where it is strategically important to remove large bottlenecks.

I hope that this will be welcomed by all parties in the Swedish Riksdag and that we will not return to a situation where private companies that lead development on a global level are viewed with suspicion. I hope that they can continue to cooperate with Trafikverket, so that we can get out as much maintenance as possible. In that case, it is important to see what the effect will be of all the billions we invest.

The increase we are making is actually larger, because we have cleaned up in Trafikverket's management appropriations. Taken as a whole, the railway maintenance budget is therefore increasing by 18 percent, 36 billion, compared to the previous national plan. It is important that it continues and that we constantly ensure that we get as much infrastructure as possible for the money.

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Aylin Nouri (S)

Mr. Speaker! It may be worth reminding those listening to the debate that when this government took over the government power, it began by cutting 750 million from the railway. It is that kind of jerkiness that has characterized infrastructure policy and in particular the railway in recent years. Then they put money back and continued on the path set by the previous S-government when it comes to increased appropriations for railway maintenance. I have been clear that it is good.

My point, Mr. Speaker, however, is that I am not particularly impressed by the level of ambition. To reclaim only around 10 percent of the extensive maintenance debt that exists on the railway during the coming twelve-year period is not impressive. It is not enough to, at best, continue as before. Something has indeed happened, as I noted in my previous speech, in Sweden and the rest of the world that necessitates that we strengthen our infrastructure, and we must do so quickly. It is the extensive maintenance debt that leads to passengers facing delays on the trains every day. It must be addressed.

The second question, which I am considering and also want to ask the Minister, Mr. Speaker, is how realistic the plan is regarding reclaiming all the maintenance debt on the railway by around 2050. It is, as has been stated, around 10 percent of the maintenance debt that is to be reclaimed over the next twelve years. Then the remaining 90 percent is to be reclaimed, in some magical way, in the same number of years.

This has been met with massive criticism, it must be said, from those who know the field best – researchers and organizations working with, among other things, climate issues. It is argued that the level of ambition is too low, but also that the plan is not realistic. Why would the remaining 90 percent suddenly go faster than the first 10 percent? What is it that happens after 2037 that would cause the pace to increase so dramatically? What is the plan? And where have the concrete reforms been over the last four years?

The Minister often says that Sweden should get more infrastructure for the money. It is an ambition that I share. But then it is, of course, reasonable to ask: Where have the concrete reforms been? They have been conspicuous by their absence.

When I read the national plan, I do not see the far-reaching changes that would explain how productivity would increase so much that the maintenance rate could be restored at the pace the government speaks of.

Mr. Speaker! We have the proposals, however. We see a system where far too many resources are lost in administration, in procurement that does not work, and in demarcations between actors instead of the work actually being carried out at the facility. We see a Transport Administration that, unfortunately, has lost knowledge over a long period. We see a fragmented responsibility; many actors are involved, but many times the holistic perspective is missing. And we see recurring reports of cost increases, lack of cost control, and productivity problems.

That is why we want to build up Trafikverket's own competence. We want the opportunity to carry out maintenance under our own management. We want to invest in special machinery and improved working methods. We want to increase productivity and allocate more resources to completed railway maintenance. It is a path that actually takes responsibility for the major problems that the railway suffers from.

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Rashid Farivar (SD)

Mr. Speaker! It becomes a bit strange when the Social Democrats describe the government's and the Sweden Democrats' work and plan as insufficient and jerky without simultaneously accounting for what they themselves did when they held government power. The fact is that the maintenance debt continued to grow even during their time in power. Now they criticize the government for not being able to solve the problems that have been built up over several decades in twelve years. I believe that the Swedish people understand that reality is more complicated than that.

The national plan involves historically large investments in maintenance. But it is not just about money. The Transport Administration itself points out that implementation capacity is a limiting factor. More work requires more contractors, more competence, and better planning. What is important, therefore, is that the development is now moving in the right direction. We see more maintenance efforts, more track replacements, and increased investments in the railway's most critical parts and bottlenecks.

At the same time, I share the view that more will need to be done moving forward. Sverigedemokraterna want to continue to strengthen Sweden's infrastructure, not least to meet the needs of industry, strengthen our competitiveness, and improve our national preparedness. The difference between us and the Socialdemokraterna is that we do not just talk about the problem – we have actually started to address it.

I thank the interpellor, the minister, and the Speaker for the debate.

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Rashid Farivar is absolutely right that the maintenance debt grew very significantly during the last parliamentary term. It is almost hard to believe that it is true, but during just the last four years with the Social Democrats in power, the maintenance debt spiraled out of control by almost 40 billion kronor. Today, we sum it up at over 90 billion kronor. It is that debt that we are now beginning to pay off. But that this could be done in just one parliamentary term or within one planning period is simply unrealistic. One bears a responsibility for not ensuring that the resources one allocated actually led to more maintenance in the mountains.

Aylin Nouri asks where the concrete reforms are noticed. They are noticed in Sala, where switches have been replaced. They are noticed across the entire country – the contact point changes and track changes have more than doubled in just three years, and the switch changes have more than tripled in just three years. These are measures and reforms that are noticed in people's everyday lives. The year 2025 was the most punctual year in several years. But this takes time to turn around.

Aylin Nouri makes a very big point about 750 million kronor being redistributed when we took over. Why did that happen? Well, because those funds had been burning inside and could not be utilized. Aylin Nouri is aware of this. She knows that it was money that had been returned to the state treasury because maintenance funds could not be withdrawn. If she is not aware of it, I am happy to inform her. It is an example of poor management. Money was sent into a system that could not turn it into practical work in the railway facilities.

Now Aylin Nouri is speaking about various measures to improve maintenance. That is the point. But it is during this parliamentary term that new tools and new working methods have begun to be implemented, Mr. Speaker. I mentioned the switch factory; the switches are prepared and completed in the industry and then sent out into the system. They can thus be placed in position in hours instead of spending several days of working time replacing switches. What is now done in hours was done in days before 2022. This is one of the reasons why punctuality is now increasing.

Trafikverket has signed contracts to purchase maintenance trains – exactly the equipment that the member stands in the chamber today and is calling for. It is already signed and ready – a billion-kronor investment in maintenance trains. A maintenance train is like a protected sheet metal tent, one could say. You can roll it out on the track and work with maintenance measures in one track while trains can pass in the adjacent track without reducing their speed. Then it is possible to perform more maintenance while many trains can continue to run.

This is very concrete – perhaps almost too concrete for a parliamentary debate, Mr. Speaker. But this is where the reform power has been lacking. Fine words are gladly spoken, but where have the measures been previously? It has been old methods that have not led to increased speed. Mission after mission, the government has strengthened that work.

What concerns the year 2050 is nothing that the government has made up. It is the railway industry itself that has set it as a target year. It is not just about injecting more money after 2037. At every plan revision and in every budget, every government must be prepared to inject more funds as methods are developed and maintenance work is streamlined. That is what that target year presupposes. Here, I hope that we will reach an agreement, so that we truly achieve a peace of mind regarding railway maintenance. This should not be so charged with political rhetoric, but it is about getting more maintenance into the ground, Mr. Speaker.

In this speech, Rashid Farivar (SD) agreed.

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Aylin Nouri (S)

Mr. Speaker! I am the first to sign on to the fact that we need more cross-bloc dialogue and work, especially regarding the railway. But I can only state that that interest has not existed from the government. In the Transport Committee, my first initiative was a request for an infrastructure working group. It received a direct no – they did not even want to deliberate the issue further. Only once has the Minister invited the opposition parties to a dialogue.

It is important to distinguish between two issues. The first is whether more railway maintenance is needed. Here we are completely in agreement – it is needed. The second is whether the government's level of ambition is sufficient. Here we are unfortunately not in agreement. The Minister himself says that it would be good to allocate more resources in every budget proposal, but we have not seen that happen. It has not been of sufficient scope. We have allocated 45 billion more to the railway and additionally allocated more resources in every budget motion.

For me, the decisive question is still the same as when I submitted the interpellation: What concrete improvements will travelers and companies notice? My second question must be: Is the Minister satisfied with the level of ambition to address around 10 percent of the maintenance debt over the next ten years?

Every time one engages in a debate with a minister from this government, the minister spends a large part of their time criticizing the policies during the years when the Social Democrats were in power. But, Mr. Speaker, we have changed our policy. Perhaps it would be good if the government could take responsibility for the four years that have now passed. When it comes to railway maintenance, it is not just I, but also a large part of civil society and the Swedish people who observe that the ambitions are too low and that the plan until 2050 is not realistic.

(Applause)

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! For many years, there has been a lot of talk about railway maintenance but very little work. That is what we are changing now. Aylin Nouri is speaking against better judgment. I say again that more maintenance work is being carried out than ever before and that the punctuality in 2025 was the best in several years. We are not finished yet, but we have certainly taken responsibility during the four years we have had to turn the development around. 2025 was the first year when the maintenance debt did not continue to spiral out of control. We have stopped the bleeding. We are getting more maintenance than ever before. Punctuality is heading in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker! It is not sufficient to continue with these Excel exercises that have nothing to do with reality. Aylin Nouri says that she is investing 45 billion in railway maintenance. It will not be possible to implement in practice. But what she does not tell, Mr. Speaker, is where she is taking those funds from, namely from the road maintenance. I do not know if the Social Democrats have conducted any consequence analysis of their reduction of road maintenance by 45 billion kronor, but I have. It will mean that the road maintenance debt that affects very many people in their everyday lives will not be addressed during the coming twelve years but will instead be worsened. They ignore the road maintenance to get a nice figure in an Excel sheet, and furthermore, this will not be possible to implement in practice.

Mr. Speaker! As I have already mentioned, we have also cleaned up after the Social Democratic shortcomings. There was no oversight of what Trafikverket used the money for. We found a total of 26 billion kronor that were incorrectly booked. Now we have ensured that those funds go towards maintenance, and that is what makes the railway maintenance increase by 18 percent.

We are not satisfied with the low level of ambition after 2037. Just as I said, at every plan revision, one must see how much can be converted. One must do exactly as we are doing now – maximize the maintenance so that more people can rely on the trains arriving on time and that the railway has the reliability that can be expected in a country like ours.

In this speech, Rashid Farivar (SD) agreed.

The interpellation debate was hereby concluded.

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