Response to interpellations 2022/23:241 and 245 on the Transport Administration's planning of capacity and railway maintenance

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Patrik Jönsson has asked me if I intend to take any measures to ensure that the delivery of train positions to the train companies is made according to stipulated times. Daniel Helldén has asked me if I intend to take any measures to ensure that track maintenance is planned in time and that passengers are given the opportunity to plan their train travel well in advance, as well as what measures I intend to take in the short and long term. I choose to answer the questions in a context.

Trafikverket is the infrastructure manager for the railway network owned by the state and is responsible, within the framework of applicable regulations, for the planning of rail traffic and the planning of track works. Trafikverket is to follow the provisions resulting from the so-called SERA directive and the Railway Market Act.

I can state that the introduction of a new planning system has caused problems in Trafikverket's planning work. The new system is one of the biggest changes that has occurred within the railway industry in a very long time. It is an important transition. At the same time, it is very concerning that the railway companies have found it difficult to plan for their operations, with negative consequences for passengers and transport buyers.

Transportstyrelsen has conducted a supervision and in June 2022 decided on an order to Trafikverket due to Trafikverket's problems in meeting tight deadlines in the revision process. Transportstyrelsen notes in its supervision that Trafikverket does not follow the condition of 18 weeks' lead time for revisions of the train schedules. In February 2023, Transportstyrelsen decided on a new order to Trafikverket to rectify deficiencies in the capacity allocation process.

Trafikverket is now mobilizing to address the problems. Trafikverket and the supplier of the new planning system are working to improve the system's performance. Trafikverket is also reviewing internal working methods and is reinforcing with staff. Trafikverket maintains an ongoing dialogue with the railway industry regarding progress and the various measures being taken.

I will follow Trafikverket's work to improve and develop the capacity allocation and revision process. I will also follow Transportstyrelsen's ongoing supervision of the railway market. It is of great importance that Trafikverket improves the foresight in the planning of track works and the allocation of capacity.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrik Jönsson (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!

Yes, the issue of MPK, market-adjusted capacity planning, appears to be becoming a side issue. The railway companies are to have their train paths confirmed at least 18 weeks in advance, but with less than three weeks to Easter, it is still not possible to book tickets for many departures. It is the same failure from Trafikverket as during the Christmas period. It is a most unfortunate situation we have ended up in here, or rather a failure, where both the passengers and the railway companies are affected as a result of it not being possible to book journeys in time. In many cases, passengers are forced to choose the car or the plane as their alternative instead of the train, and that reduces the revenues for the railway companies. It can also have an impact in the longer term: for the next trip, one may very well choose to opt out of the train because one experienced it as so troublesome to book tickets that one does not consider taking the train to be a relevant alternative. Add to that the risk that the train will be delayed or that one might have to switch to a journey by bus - and then one has a lot of luggage with them - because of ongoing track work.

Mr. Speaker! This project was launched before Andreas Carlson took office as minister and is left for the current government to handle. But it still falls into the minister's lap to solve the problem. What I find remarkable is how Trafikverket has handled the entire implementation of the MPK system.

Mr. Speaker! When we visited Trafikverket in Solna a few months ago, it was stated there that, despite their knowledge that there would be major problems if the system were put into operation because the system is not fully developed, they choose to refrain from postponing the implementation. I must say that here Trafikverket is displaying a remarkably arrogant attitude. It was not more urgent than that an implementation could be postponed until the next timetable change in December this year. It is lucky that Nasa does not reason in the same way when launching a space rocket: We know that it will crash, but it is more important that we stick to the fixed schedule. To me, it is a completely incomprehensible reasoning. It has taken around six years to develop the system; then it is surely better that it takes seven years and works than that it takes six years and does not work?

To the question itself: Does the Government intend to take any measures to ensure that the delivery of train positions to the train companies is made according to stipulated times? Transportstyrelsen has also imposed a fine of 3 times 8 million on Trafikverket if the problem is not resolved, but what use does that actually do against a government agency?

I wonder if the Minister has demanded an action plan from Trafikverket with a timetable for when the problem is to be rectified? Because when Trafikverket was here at the committee just over a week ago, no such plan was presented, and I must say that the whole thing felt a bit shaky on their part, to say the least. It is currently taking great efforts of manual work from the not-so-large group of timetable planners that Trafikverket possesses, because it was chosen to put into operation an unfinished system where it can take five minutes just to upload a simple graphic timetable.

Add to that that the system, according to Trafikverket, is plagued by a lot of bugs. It wears out Trafikverket's staff and capacity.

Mr. Speaker! From what I can hear from the Minister's answer, the Minister intends to "follow Trafikverket's work to improve and develop the capacity allocation and revision process", and that is one thing, but I call for sharper measures than that.

Timeline, reporting of measures, and continuous reviews to ensure that the timeline is maintained. Such an answer would have been slightly more desirable. Does the Minister not see a need for sharper measures?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Daniel Helldén (MP)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer to my interpellation!

It is today three weeks until Easter. It is two weeks until southern Sweden goes on Easter holiday. A large part of the Swedish people want to take the railway during the Easter holiday to be able to get around in a good and smooth way that is sufficiently economically sustainable and also environmentally sustainable. As recently as a week ago, it was almost impossible to order any tickets over Easter. And yesterday, for half of all train journeys, the information "track maintenance planned" was given. A few weeks before Easter, it is not possible to plan one's Easter trip. The public cannot know if they can get to relatives and friends or order a holiday in the mountains or for that matter book a hotel room in Stockholm, Gothenburg or Malmö to see those cities.

This is completely unreasonable, Mr. Speaker! We cannot have it this way. It is not worthy of a modern country that citizens cannot know with reasonable foresight whether they can travel somewhere during their vacation. We know today that if one chooses the flight, for example, one can usually book the tickets a year in advance. If one chooses to take the car instead, one does not need to plan at all. And it is precisely these modes of transport that we want to get rid of or reduce, but above all, there are many who need precisely the railway because there are a lot of places where one cannot take the other means of transport.

Trafikverket is responsible, and in addition to this, the minister is ultimately responsible. Trafikverket says that they are working on the issue, that they have the situation under control and that it will get better. But every time that Trafikverket says that it will get better and that they have the situation under control, we are informed that it is getting worse. It is getting worse all the time. Now we have Easter 2023 when one cannot order tickets. Soon we have the summer of 2023 when one will not be able to order tickets in time. We had Easter, summer and autumn 2022 when it was not possible to order tickets in time, and the same thing in 2021. This is not sustainable! Something must be done, something more radical, so that we can get away from these problems.

When it comes to what effects this will have, it is interesting that the Minister mentioned the report that Transportstyrelsen prepares when they carry out their reviews and analyses of this and impose fines.

It clearly states that when the tickets are presented close to the start of traffic, or alternatively that the transport buyer cannot have their logistics chain finalized in a reasonable time, it entails a risk that the buyers choose other means of transport. Furthermore, it states that, in addition to the short-term negative effects this has on the utility as well as on the buyer's and the actors' economic results, there is a risk of more long-term effects where the buyers change their behavior patterns and choose other modes of transport in the future.

This is not acceptable, and Trafikverket must do something here. This has nothing to do with MPK, market-oriented capacity planning, which was introduced last winter, but the problem has existed longer than that. There is a systemic error here. I wonder: Does the Minister have any solution to this other than to follow Trafikverket's work?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, the interpellants, for the commitment! Your description of the problem picture is essentially the same as mine – there we agree. All of us sitting in the chamber here today agree regarding the problem and also on the urgency of it being solved. It is of great importance that Trafikverket improves the lead time in the planning of track works and the allocation of capacity.

In my answer that I will follow Trafikverket's work to improve and develop the capacity allocation and revision process, it naturally includes following it very closely in the authority dialogue that one can have as a Minister.

The organization we have in our country, which has served Sweden well, is that it is the authorities that have the responsibility. In this case, they have a statutory responsibility which they have breached. Another authority, Transportstyrelsen, has reviewed this and, in its supervision, has reached the conclusions that Daniel Helldén set out. This is very serious.

How is it to be solved? This is a problem that both interpellants are involved in and which has built up over a long period. An important part is the railway maintenance, to have preventive maintenance and to plan for it in a different way. We see that the maintenance of the railway has been neglected. It has caught up a little bit in recent years compared to road maintenance, but at the same time, the construction mass and the traffic have increased, largely because railways and trains are a popular means of transport today.

One must be able to rely on being able to book a ticket and, subsequently, of course, that the trains run as they should and on time. There is much to be done, and the maintenance, which has been neglected, needs to be prioritized.

I expect Trafikverket to work as hard as they can, and they do. In our dialogue, they have assured me that they are making a concerted effort. I also have a dialogue with the industry and the railway companies and train companies that are affected, both the larger actors and the industry organization that represents the smaller actors.

Just as described, some, not least SJ, have chosen to wait with selling tickets for the Easter rush. The delays also affect the railway companies' operations when it comes to rescheduling rotations for both personnel and vehicles, and Trafikverket has received criticism from the industry which we have been able to see in the media. It is therefore not just the three of us here in the chamber today who agree that this is a major problem that needs to be solved.

I assure myself that Trafikverket, which is the responsible authority, is doing what they can and what is required to tackle the problem, and as I said, I will continue to follow this very closely. I look forward to a good dialogue with the Riksdag's transport committee and those members who I know are engaged in the issue.

Of course, as Daniel Helldén pointed out, one should be able to rely on being able to book tickets. The train is a very popular means of transport, and it becomes part of the journey itself that one, as now, risks not being able to complete when it is not possible to book tickets. This is serious, and I expect Trafikverket to do everything they can to solve the problem.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrik Jönsson (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I am completely convinced that we here in the chamber as well as our Riksdag and the industry are determined, and that even Andreas Carlson is determined that the problem is solved, let alone that.

It has become much worse since MPK was introduced. There were of course problems earlier, but it escalated when a system that does not work was introduced. It says for itself that we then inevitably get huge problems, not only for passenger traffic but also for freight. Not so much is said about it, but even there, the companies are of course struggling with problems with their train paths.

The Minister mentioned that we are on our way to having a reduced maintenance debt, but the figures actually say the opposite, that it is on its way to increasing. The construction mass may have increased, but it is highly marginal. There is very little new railway in relation to existing railway, and we have received very little new road compared to what we possess.

It is clear that it is not so easy for a minister. It goes without saying that it is not the minister's task to solve the problem hands-on. It is obviously not possible to fix bugs or go in and micro-manage how personnel planning should be done at Trafikverket, but that is the responsibility of the Director-General and the managers below them. But I mean that we should demand higher pressure on Trafikverket to solve this. We should receive a plan and a detailed account of what has been done, what will be done, and when it is expected to be finished.

As Daniel Helldén from Miljöpartiet said, one has a completely different outlook in, for example, the aviation industry. There are admittedly no track works or road works there, but one can book trips sometimes even up to a year in advance. Such a planning horizon does not exist at all for travelers on the railway side.

My perception is that Trafikverket has become far too large and has lost some of its soul, which existed in the time of Vägverket and Banverket. It is a difficult-to-manage colossus, where the number of employees has increased by more than 50 percent since the agency was formed on 1 April 2010. Just as many people working out in the tracks have disappeared since 2000, and it is clear that one gets more administration and less maintenance, planning, and so on then.

It is difficult to allocate the resources in the right places. Trafikverket is simply too difficult to manage. That is why the Sweden Democrats want it to be divided again into a road authority and a rail authority. I hope that we subsequently receive the minister's and the government's support for this and that we can retake maintenance from Infranord and Svevia in our own capacity so that the authority can bring in more competence and retain or, as it was in the past, provide new career paths for people who have worked within the industry and who know their construction.

I thought I would repeat the question, whether there is not a point in putting a bit harder pressure on Trafikverket and if the minister, who is to follow this, perhaps can consider whether there is anything more we can do from the government's side. Is there anything we can do that obliges Trafikverket to have a management, a timetable and an action plan?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Daniel Helldén (MP)

Mr. Speaker! It is obvious that things are not working. It is obvious that many are suffering from this, not least all train passengers. We also know that our tourism industry is suffering from the problems, now during Easter and during the summer. One can speak with actors up in the mountain world, not least Svenska Turistföreningen, who have enormous problems when it comes to the summer. People want to know how they are to proceed. It concerns those areas where it is not even possible to use any other means of transport without completely unreasonable travel times and costs. That makes this activity simply not work as it should. It must be rectified.

It shall be 18 weeks for the planning. It is statutory and regulated towards the EU. It is therefore strange that we have a transport authority that cannot manage it. It has major consequences in the whole country.

Why is this happening? Member Patrik Jönsson spoke about how it might be Trafikverket that has an unreasonable organization and cannot get it in order. It is perhaps something that needs to be done there. I do not think it has anything to do with the new planning system. When it eventually works, perhaps it can be this that clears everything up.

It also does not seem to be an economic issue. Many say that if more money is provided, one can perhaps do the maintenance at night and so on. But Trafikverket is sending money back. The government says, in any case, that the maintenance funds were not needed. They have put them on the roads instead - 750 million kronor. What is the chicken and what is the egg here can be an interesting question to delve into.

I am also thinking about the fact that we have enormously many more trains running on our rails now than we had 10-20 years ago - regional trains, long-distance trains, freight trains and so on - and we want to bring in even more. We know that it is a problem to maintain when we have so much traffic. That can be an aspect in this regard. Then I think unprompted about new main lines in southern Sweden. We know that the southern main line will face major problems when it is opened up for new traffic from the continent and when Sweden is to have more passenger traffic, more regional traffic and more freight traffic. At the same time, we know that major maintenance is needed in certain parts to achieve reasonable speeds, and the tracks will likely need to be rebuilt.

The Minister has for many years advocated for new tracks in southern Sweden as a way to achieve regional development, a good labor market region and sustainable travel for everyone who wants to travel, so that they do not have to stand and freeze along the railway tracks when the trains do not come.

For this to happen, we need to build new tracks also in southern Sweden, just as is happening in northern Sweden. In some parts, even more was needed. We need new capacity and new good tracks that also allow maintenance to be carried out in an efficient way, so that one does not constantly end up in such problems. It would likely make it easier for Trafikverket with the maintenance, apart from the fact that they have other types of problems.

It is often said that it takes a long time to build new main lines, and that is true. Outside Stockholm, Förbifart Stockholm is being built - two miles of motorway for an enormous amount of money. It takes 18 years to build it. No one says that is a long time.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! I want to begin by commenting on what I said in connection with Patrik Jönsson's contribution just regarding railway maintenance. My point was that, in relation to road maintenance, it has looked somewhat better regarding railway maintenance where more has been invested. But there is still a maintenance debt that is significant and which is very important to prioritize, pay off, and work to catch up on. It is also important to work more with preventive maintenance - a planned maintenance. The maintenance efforts that are made today are not even sufficient to maintain the standard that exists today. It is gradually, and unfortunately at quite a high rate, getting worse on both roads and railways. This is a priority issue for the government. And the efforts that are made shall be made primarily to facilitate for commuting and freight traffic. Therefore, I want to thank Patrik Jönsson for just mentioning the freight.

Of the transport buyers that I mentioned, and train companies, which are affected today, there are very many freight suppliers who are in a really bad position. Also, the industry organization Tågföretagen highlights what it means for them. This is occurring in a situation where we see an explosive re-industrialization in the northern parts of our country, where the train is a very important part to provide the possibility for the green transition, which is important to accelerate rather than to put spokes in the wheels for, which lack of maintenance and capacity can lead to.

When MPK, the system itself that Daniel Helldén was involved in, is rolled out and functioning, it is an important part of actually achieving a better adapted allocation. Trafikverket is replacing an old planning system with a more modern and digitized system with new tools and a common interface within the industry. The purpose is that it should become easier to plan and apply for slots on the track, and it should contribute to the railway being utilized in a better way. When this is rolled out and in place, the purpose is, therefore, that it should be that way.

This system support has been developed over a long period. The implementation has occurred in three stages. The first was launched in the spring of 2021, and the third was launched in December 2022.

But the problems that this debate also highlights are greater than that, and it is these problems that we collectively need to ensure we address. That is what we are working on. Of course, our own Transport Administration must live up to Swedish law, and this planning shall be available 18 weeks beforehand according to the requirements in the SERA directive. It is something that I expect the Transport Administration to work hard on, and I know that they do.

Member of the Board Jönsson thought that we should consider if there is anything more we can do. We do that, and we have a close dialogue. We follow, as said, this. This does not mean a passive following but an active one. We see if there are any obstacles. But what is important now is that Trafikverket is hiring people. It is also a starting point for exactly training, and they are working on this. I have ensured myself of that. And we will, of course, continue to follow this.

When it comes to capacity, it is important that when it concerns maintenance, as Daniel Helldén pointed out and which we have had a debate about previously, to look at where the bottlenecks are. It is this assignment that Trafikverket has to prepare in Skåne ahead of the opening of the Fehmarn Bält connection. I discussed this on Monday when I was at the Öresund Bridge and met the CEO of Öresundsbrokonsortiet. I can return to more regarding this in my next post.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrik Jönsson (SD)

Mr. Speaker! As the Minister said, people are being hired. Actually, it is a bit sad. I just spoke about how much Trafikverket has swollen with enormous amounts of employees without the new staff fixing a single fortification, replacing a single TKK, or adjusting a single lit on the overhead contact line - nothing of the sort. It is basically mostly administrative staff, who do not produce anything that makes the maintenance better.

This is not the first mistake from Trafikverket. We have seen countless reports from the National Audit Office where Trafikverket is criticized from various angles. The maintenance debt is growing on both roads and railways. A few years ago, around 500 railway technicians could be sent home per day when a budget overrun occurred. The list can be long, and it concerns rail clips in large quantities, poor winter road maintenance, and cost overruns.

This is about a new data system, and the system itself has been plagued by many deficiencies. Trafikverket has reported this to us in the Transport Committee.

I can compare it with what it was like to be a power dispatching manager for over ten years at Trafikverket and Banverket. Back then, we received a completely new system that was the same for the entire country - GELD, common power dispatching system - instead of having eight different ones. It was tested rigorously before it was put into operation. It was a completely different attitude. They tested and dry-ran the system so that it actually worked. It has been a very good system. But here, they do the opposite. I think this testifies not only to the fact that we have problems with a large and clumsy organization, but also that we have an attitude problem. They choose to launch a system that they know does not work. I think it is reprehensible conduct by Trafikverket.

I hope that we can follow up on this and that we get better progress from Trafikverket.

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Daniel Helldén (MP)

Mr. Speaker! It was a bit of a pity that the Minister did not have time to go further into the issue of new tracks as part of the solution to the problems that we can see at Trafikverket when one is to travel by train.

It is incredibly sad that we see it today. The Swedes want to travel by train. They want to do it when they commute to work, when they are on business trips and when they have their holiday trips, but they cannot make it happen.

It is simpler if one commutes to work. Then it is not as critical. There are not as many people who need to travel, and it is easier to get tickets and so on. But for tourist travel and everyone who is going to do things and such over Easter, the summer and so on, we get the problem that trust decreases.

It happens so quickly when it doesn't work. One stops seeing it as an option. Then we end up with people sitting at home. They can do that. It is often pleasant at home too. But we want people to be able to move around the country in a good way to take advantage of the fantastic opportunities that exist here, not least within the tourism industry, or to visit relatives and friends.

That Trafikverket cannot manage it creates problems for the entire nation. So we cannot have that. An important long-term solution is that we build new tracks. The Södra stambanan needs new tracks, for example. That can also mean that we can maintain the old tracks we have and expand them.

We need to continue with the expansions taking place in northern Sweden. The Ostkustbanan is, for example, completely necessary to get those things in order. There have been major problems ordering tickets northward, to Oslo and so on.

There is much for the Minister to do here, even though it is actually Trafikverket that is fundamentally responsible for those issues. I am forwarding it to the Minister. Do more on the track area!

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Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you for the debate on two pressing interpellations! We will have great reason to return both in the Committee on Transport and between the coalition partners. I look forward to that cooperation.

When it comes to the question of capacity, the new system is intended to utilize the capacity that already exists. It must also be maintained in a better way than we have done previously. It has previously been deprioritized.

People have spoken quite quickly about new tracks that lie far in the future. I mean that the essential part of maintaining what we already have has been missed. It is also for that reason that a reorganization is required.

It was made visible during my visit to the Öresund Bridge. In Trafikverket's referral to the national plan, there were three relatively inexpensive measures on the Swedish side to increase capacity over the Öresund Bridge. These were not even included in the national plan.

There is not so much to work with now. But it will be an important part in the plan revision and the work on our part, and also in the assignment that lies with Trafikverket to increase the capacity when the Fehmarn Bält connection opens.

It was measures that correspond to approximately 1 billion kronor according to the referral response. Those at the Öresund Bridge stated that the capacity per hour across the bridge could have been increased from 8 trains to 14 trains. It is not particularly far off in time.

What people get stuck on in this debate is talking about what lies far ahead and large investments. They miss the smaller bottleneck measures and the maintenance. That is why the government has been forced to prioritize this in its work when we now see that the costs are increasing so much.

We will continue with that. Maintenance is important. New investments shall be made where needed. But we need to get the system to work. I expect that Trafikverket is working on it and will continue to do so. I expect that we who are in this chamber today will follow that. I will, in any case, do so.

Mr. Speaker! Thank you for a good discussion.

The interpellation debate was hereby concluded.

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