Response to interpellations 2023/24:421 and 432 on the Dalabanan
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD argues that the government prioritizes railway investments to facilitate commuting and freight traffic in order to strengthen jobs and growth 1 2 3. KD emphasizes that infrastructure is crucial for the economy and that by canceling high-speed trains, they can prioritize maintenance and capacity 3. KD considers it important to have a coherent planning process and that long-term planning should proceed faster. KD argues that operational issues for SJ's management and board do not fall within the infrastructure minister's area of preparation 1 2. S argues that Dalabanan is a vital link for industry and the tourism industry. S agrees with KD regarding the priorities for commuting and freight infrastructure 4. C emphasizes that the government must take responsibility for the accessibility of people with functional disabilities 5 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.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I have been asked how I and the government will support and cooperate with Trafikverket, SJ and other relevant actors to ensure that Dalabanan receives the necessary resources and investments to improve the train journey for passengers. Furthermore, Ulrika Liljeberg has asked me what measures I intend to take in the near term to ensure that accessibility within SJ's railway traffic, for example Dalabanan, also includes people with disabilities.
I choose to answer both interpellations in a single context.
Lars Isacsson and Ulrika Liljeberg touch upon several important issues concerning train travel, in two different parts. It is partly about the infrastructure itself and the capacity as well as the maintenance, and partly about how the train operator runs the trains and takes care of the passengers.
The government wants all of Sweden to function, and investments in the railway should primarily facilitate commuting and freight traffic. Regarding the capacity on Dalabanan, a number of measures are planned which are included in the national plan for transport infrastructure, including measures for increased frequency and shorter travel times. The measures will contribute to increasing the railway capacity between Borlänge and Stockholm.
The Government has recently begun the work towards a new national plan for the planning period 2026-2037 by, in a first step, commissioning Trafikverket to submit a directional basis for a new planning period. This assignment is to be reported in January next year.
When it comes to issues concerning improvements for train passengers during the journey itself, it is the train operator that is responsible. SJ AB shall, like all state-owned companies, act exemplarily and in a manner that ensures public trust is enjoyed. Issues regarding SJ AB's operational activities, including the scheduling of vehicles, accessibility for people with disabilities, and measures to ensure high-quality traffic, are operational issues and thus for SJ AB's management and board to handle.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister Andreas Carlson, for the answer!
It cannot be reasonable that the trains up to Dalarna and down to Stockholm along the Dalabanan are like on a museum railway. High-speed trains have been removed, there is no possibility for passengers to buy coffee, no AC, and great difficulties or it is impossible for persons with disabilities, something that is raised by my colleague, MP Ulrika Liljeberg. There is also no plan for when this can be rectified.
On a typical day, 50,000 people travel along the route between Mora and Stockholm. The Dalabanan is a vital link that extends from Mora to Uppsala and further towards Arlanda and Stockholm. It serves a large number of travelers and commuters every day. This railway is not only a transport corridor and the lifeblood for many municipalities, workplaces, and educational institutions along the route. It is also critical for Dalarna's large tourism industry, which generates approximately 15.5 million guest nights and a turnover of 7.6 billion kronor.
On the same stretch as these 50,000 travelers, 20-30 freight trains also travel every day. Dalarna is one of Sweden's most important industrial counties. The exports from Dalarna's industries correspond to 66 billion kronor.
Madam Speaker! I read a little on SJ's website today. There, 14 years are pointed out as milestones in SJ's history. The first year is 1856, when SJ was formed. The next milestone is 1990, followed by 12 years that constitute milestones up to 2022. The passengers on the Dalabanan travel today in a time capsule back to the 1980s' worn-out Intercity trains and thus miss 13 of the 14 milestones in terms of travel and comfort that SJ itself ranks as the most important.
I thank the Minister for the answer to my question, but I must point out some things that were not included.
The Minister refers to SJ, the state railway company, for which he also has ultimate responsibility. This brings me to the question of ownership governance. It is ultimately the government's responsibility to ensure that state-owned companies such as SJ deliver high-quality services. When one sees how substandard the conditions are on the Dalabanan, one cannot do anything other than question the ownership governance and the overall responsibility.
In his answer from the rostrum, the Minister of State states that SJ AB, like all state-owned companies, should act exemplarily and in a manner that ensures they enjoy public trust. Therefore, I would like to ask the Minister the following question: Does the Minister consider that SJ, under the current circumstances, lives up to this – that they act exemplarily and in a manner that ensures they enjoy public trust?
Ulrika Liljeberg (C)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank the Minister for the answer. I would like to agree with Member Isacsson's picture of the situation on the Dalabanan, but I would also like to supplement it regarding the accessibility for people with disabilities.
Failures in reliability in the form of cancelled trains and delayed departures have, as we have heard, increased. Also, failures in service and comfort in the form of lack of service, air conditioning, and wifi are commonly occurring.
SJ's decision to only run the slower Intercity trains between Dalarna and Stockholm and, furthermore, to frequently remove the bistro cars, involves significantly more than a deterioration of convenience. A removed bistro car means that for several of us, we will arrive craving coffee. But for wheelchair users, it means they will not arrive at all. This is because it is only in the frequently removed bistro cars that there are wheelchair lifts and wheelchair spaces. This means that wheelchair users have no possibility of arriving in Stockholm with SJ's trains, and it means that the state and SJ are guilty of discrimination. Often, the notice regarding the removed bistro car has also been given at a very late stage, which means that scheduled meetings have to be cancelled since the alternatives that are indeed offered are often poorly adapted for specifically wheelchair users and do not provide the possibility to arrive according to the timetable.
The answer from the Minister in the role of owner of SJ is therefore that this is solely an operational issue and that management and the board have to handle it. But I did not request operational solutions. I requested the Minister's strategic ownership responsibility. As an owner, one has a responsibility in owner dialogue and owner directives to see and highlight the problems and, through their ownership, take responsibility and ask the company to report the measures that it can operationally implement – all to ensure that an important group, the disabled, can easily travel on SJ's trains like everyone else, at least when the train is running.
The question is whether I should interpret the Minister's lack of an answer as that the rights of people with disabilities to travel with SJ will not be lifted, or planned to be lifted, with SJ's board and management on a strategic level in the near future.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Let me begin by thanking the members for their commitment to an important part of the railway infrastructure in Sweden. I am getting a picture described by the members in the chamber tonight. I was at a group meeting with the Christian Democratic parliamentary group and received the same picture from member Mathias Bengtsson from Dalarna, so I perceive that there is a great consensus regarding the challenges and problems that exist.
But let me remind the members of the Riksdag of my responsibility in this and of my area of responsibility. It concerns the transport infrastructure and the national plan, which includes measures for the Dalabanan specifically. In my response, I also set out this government's priorities, which concern freight traffic and work commuting, and of course will be guiding and reflected in the work of preparing a new national plan. It is a task that has already begun by the government having commissioned Trafikverket to prepare a basis for direction.
When it comes to SJ's operational matters, the management and the board responsible for SJ's operational activities must answer for them. When it comes to the state ownership, it does not, as member Isacsson claims, fall under my area of preparation as Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, but it is covered by the Finance Minister's area of responsibility. This is, therefore, a matter that I cannot answer in the chamber, but it is a matter for SJ's management and board.
I understand that the members would like me to answer this, but it would be outside the area of responsibility I have. What I have answered are the priorities that the government makes regarding the upgrading of the infrastructure in Sweden. There are great needs throughout our country, and all of Sweden must function. It is from this that the government works.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer! I shall then devote myself a bit more to infrastructure and the Minister's area of responsibility.
There is no doubt that the Dalabanan is in need of extensive upgrades. It is not an isolated opinion, but I dare say it is shared by all political parties in Dalarna, by the municipalities and the region, and not least by Trafikverket itself and SJ as the operator.
Among these parties, we have agreed on the goals for Dalabanan. We have signed agreements with a travel time of under 89 minutes between Uppsala and Borlänge. Despite this, current plans, even when fully implemented, will only reduce the travel time to 93 minutes, which is a clear lack of consistency between the jointly agreed goals and the actual measures.
Some who have highlighted how this affects the county are, for example, Svenskt Näringsliv, which had a debate article dated September 15 in Dalarnas tidningar with the headline "Poor infrastructure hinders Dalarna's companies". The article describes how close to 19 percent of the companies in Dalarna see significant growth barriers linked to poor infrastructure. Another report comes from Mellansvenska Handelskammaren and shows that Dalarna's contribution to Sweden's exports is twice as large as official statistics show.
This may be a contributing cause to why a number of important infrastructure investments have not been carried out in Dalarna. It has been shown that deficiencies in the statistics can explain why it looks the way it does. For example, it is shown that Dalarna's export value may have been underestimated in the official statistics from SCB. Large parts of northern Sweden's export value are then moved to other counties because some of the largest exporters have their headquarters in metropolitan areas.
This leads to the development of industrial production in the forest counties being underestimated in Trafikverket's planning basis, which can have negative consequences for the green industrial transition and thus negative consequences for the entire country.
Today, every fourth freight wagon rolling through Sweden has Dalarna as its final destination or will roll through the county. Borlänge and Krylbo rail yards are strong nodes, where Bergslagsbanan and Dalabanan respectively and the freight route through Bergslagen meet.
Industry and the tourism industry provide significant revenue for Sweden, which among other things should mean that the state takes a considerably greater responsibility for the financing of the railway network, which is so important in Dalarna.
Madam Speaker! My question to the Minister is therefore: How does the government intend to ensure that the existing and future investments in Dalabanan reach the goals and expectations shared by both municipalities and the region, Trafikverket, and also SJ?
Ulrika Liljeberg (C)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank the Minister for the commitment and for what is being reported. Consensus is good, but accountability is better. The Government needs to take this responsibility, because it is the Government as a collective that must ensure that society is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.
Sweden stands behind the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which stipulates everyone's right to participation in social life, and this naturally also applies to transport. Furthermore, we have a law and regulation on the accessibility of public transport for people with disabilities.
It is good that we are now entering a new period of developing national plans for transport infrastructure and related county transport plans, because these are long-term and important issues. Both Member Isacsson and I myself, in our previous roles as chairman of the municipal executive board in municipalities in Dalarna for many years, have been involved in developing the plans. One might think that these are long plans. But suddenly the years have passed, and these are important investments that need to be taken care of.
I look forward to the continued consensus, and I look forward to the aspects of development that Member Isacsson has highlighted being included. But above all, it concerns the group that often has no alternative, that is, the people with disabilities. Their accessibility needs to come high up on the list - higher than it is today.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Lars Isacsson raises the issue of lacking infrastructure as a growth barrier. We see this in many parts of our country. Infrastructure is the backbone of the Swedish economy. This applies in particular to the railway, which has historically laid the foundation for much of the prosperity that has been built in Sweden.
Now we see that, given the new industrialization with establishments in large parts of the country, a capacity and maintenance worthy of the name is needed so that the infrastructure does not become a growth hindrance. A small and export-dependent country like Sweden obviously needs a robust infrastructure.
Good accessibility regionally, nationally and internationally is of great importance for citizens and the business sector and for competitiveness, economic development and welfare. It is therefore the government's priority that investments in railways shall primarily facilitate for work commuting and freight traffic. It strengthens jobs and growth in the whole country.
The government has taken responsibility in a difficult time for Sweden by cancelling the plans for main lines for high-speed trains. It is a project that was criticized by the National Audit Office for lack of control and high costs. This means that we are better equipped to undertake other capacity-increasing measures and prioritize maintenance in a clearer and better way than would have been possible if this project had not been cancelled. That is taking responsibility.
That is why I look forward to the planning period for which we have now taken the first step with the domestic basis. It creates space, while at the same time I believe that everyone in the chamber is well aware of the cost increases that have occurred in our entire society. They are noticeable, not least when it comes to planning expensive infrastructure projects. Therefore, there is even greater reason to prioritize that which strengthens exactly work commuting and freight traffic.
What is already planned for the Dalabanan concerns that Trafikverket is now continuously upgrading the line to allow for higher speeds by building new passing tracks, which in the long term will increase the capacity of the line.
For the section Uppsala-Borlänge, speed-increasing and capacity-increasing measures are underway. This involves, for example, improved and new meeting points and removing smaller railway crossings. Curve straightening, track switching, and trimming of the signaling system are also planned for Dalabanan 2025-2027. At Heby, meeting tracks are planned 2025-2027.
As I have mentioned previously, Madam Speaker, we have just taken the first step towards a new national plan where the objective is that commuting and freight traffic that strengthens jobs and growth throughout the country is a priority and something that is clearly pointed out to Trafikverket when they work out the basis for the next planning period.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker and Minister Andreas Carlson! During the debate, I have highlighted two critical aspects of the situation surrounding Dalabanan. It concerns the passengers' experiences with removed high-speed trains and worn-out Intercity trains from the 80s that are not adapted for persons with disabilities and lack kiosks and AC. It also concerns the quality of the infrastructure.
I also think it is unacceptable that SJ and Trafikverket pass the responsibility back and forth between each other, especially when it is the passengers, the business community, and the environment that are affected. SJ does not expect to be able to introduce new trains until at the earliest 2027-2028 and refers to the fact that it is not meaningful to use new trains on a track that is in such poor condition. In other words: We cannot wait for new trains if the track is not upgraded. At the same time, Trafikverket has invested a lot in the Dalabanan, but the goals that the parties have agreed upon are still not being reached.
I agree with the Minister regarding the priorities. The Minister has the correct priorities regarding commuting and freight infrastructure.
These solutions are not insurmountable. It is not a question of enormous sums remaining to reach the jointly set goals. With departures once an hour and shorter travel times, Dalarna can gain access to necessary labor, and people can continue to live there and commute to their jobs.
I would like to thank the Minister for Infrastructure for the debate. I hope that we can count on quick, concrete proposals that improve the rail traffic between Dalarna and Stockholm. It is no small matter for those of us who live in Dalarna, and it is an issue that affects both Dalarna's and Sweden's future.
We are also many who are ready to help in this work. I am fully aware of when the Minister for Infrastructure took office, and these are deficiencies that have existed for a long time and under different governments.
Ulrika Liljeberg (C)
Madam Speaker! I would like to once again thank the Minister for the information that has been provided. This is, as said, no easy task, and since it spans long periods of time, we really need to work together on these issues. There are many of us who are stepping up there.
My question was, therefore, what measures the Minister intends to take in the near future to ensure accessibility within SJ's railway traffic, which on the Dalabanan also includes people with disabilities. I also requested the government's strategic responsibility. I am not entirely sure that I received a crystal-clear answer there, but I have nonetheless received an impression that one is aware of the problem. And as was said: With cost increases and other matters, it is a matter of prioritizing. I expect nothing other than that the government prioritizes people with disabilities and ensures that SJ lives up to the requirements that the law sets regarding accessibility for people with disabilities.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I appreciate our dialogue here on the evening branch in the chamber regarding an important issue.
Let me then be clear to Ulrika Liljeberg: I think it was a perfectly clear answer. When it comes to operational issues, it is a matter for SJ's management and board. I cannot answer them, rather it is a matter for the board. When it comes to the state ownership responsibility, this is also not a matter that lies within my area of preparation, but a matter for the Minister Elisabeth Svantesson.
I understand that it may not be an answer that makes the member completely satisfied, but it is a straight answer on where my responsibility as Minister for Infrastructure and Housing lies. That is why I have also focused much on the infrastructure in this debate.
Lars Isacsson calls for quick, concrete proposals. I understand that is urgent. But there is a value in a coherent planning process, something that I believe all parties in the Swedish Riksdag stand behind.
We have taken an early and quick step to initiate that work and not let it sit on the shelf. There were views regarding the previous government, which came quite late with the national plan near the election. My ambition is that the long-term planning should move faster, and in that, the mandate to Trafikverket is clear when it comes to work commuting, freight traffic, and not least the lack of maintenance. It needs to be strengthened, and that applies to both railway and road.
This is an important issue in our entire country. One does not need to travel many miles either by rail or by road to see that the maintenance needs are great. In that regard, we have taken a quick first step with a concrete assignment to Trafikverket to return with a directional basis at the beginning of next year. After that, we will gradually present a government bill to the Riksdag during next year.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.