Response to interpellations 2024/25:33 and 173 on the funding of cooperation agreements
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the financing of cooperation agreements and infrastructure. KD argues that the government's starting point is that all of Sweden should function and that good accessibility is necessary 1. KD emphasizes that Trafikverket is responsible for the state's agreements and that the budget for 2025 contains just over one billion kronor for transport agreements 1 2. KD argues that decisions on specific routes have not yet been made 2 3 and that the government is not deprioritizing the countryside but is investing in maintenance 4. S argues that the government is not providing extra funds despite infrastructure being crucial 5. S believes that the government is transferring costs to regions with economic problems 5 6 7 and is dodging responsibility for the financing of public transport 7. S argues that the government is shifting responsibility from the state to the regions and risks rail traffic in areas such as Ludvika and Smedjebacken. S believes that the budget proposal does not include all of Trafikverket's demands, which creates economic uncertainty for regions such as Stångådalsbanan and Norrtåg 8. S criticizes KD for being passive and argues that the regions are forced to deprioritize healthcare or the heartland due to reduced support 9.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Speakers (14)
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Lars Isacsson has asked me what impact assessment I and the government have made regarding the fact that the Gävle-Mjölby railway section will no longer be operated by passenger traffic, and whether I and the government will take the initiative to as soon as possible provide Trafikverket with the financial reinforcements needed to maintain the Gävle-Mjölby rail traffic. Åsa Karlsson has asked me whether I and the government intend to work to ensure that the operation on the sections affected by Trafikverket's cooperation agreement is maintained so that it will continue to be possible to live, reside, and work in the entire country. I choose to answer both interpellations in a single context.
As Lars Isacsson and Åsa Karlsson surely know, I answered a similar question from Åsa Karlsson on October 30, and my answer here in the chamber will be largely the same.
The government's starting point for infrastructure policy is that the whole of Sweden shall function. The conditions for living, residing and working in the entire country shall be strengthened. Transport and travel are necessary for the whole society to function and develop. It is therefore important with good accessibility between the country's different parts.
Trafikverket has been tasked to enter into and be responsible for the state's agreements regarding both interregional public transport justified by transport policy, including air traffic, which is not maintained under another regime and where the conditions for commercial operation are lacking, and partly sea transport to Gotland.
As a basis for the procurements that Trafikverket carries out, the authority maps out the accessibility between different parts of the country. Based on these investigations, the mandate the authority has, and the funds allocated in the state budget, Trafikverket carries out procurements and enters into cooperation agreements.
In the budget bill for 2025, the government proposes that just over 1 billion kronor shall be allocated to finance the state's transport agreements 2025, which is approximately 50 million kronor more than the appropriation levels for 2024.
Trafikverket has entered into a number of cooperation agreements which mean that certain interregional public transport is co-financed by the state. To what extent the transport will continue to be able to be co-financed is a matter for Trafikverket to decide on. To what extent the transport will be able to be operated in the event that the state's co-financing is reduced or omitted is a matter for the regional public transport authorities to decide on.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Infrastructure, for the answer!
Today we face a reality where the rail traffic along the important stretch Gävle-Falun-Borlänge-Ludvika-Örebro-Mjölby risks ceasing, despite it constituting an important hub for the regions of Gävleborg, Dalarna, Örebro, and Östergötland.
According to Trafikverket, half a billion kronor were needed to be able to sign necessary agreements and ensure that the trains run, but despite the government saying it wants to promote accessibility throughout the country, there are no extra funds for this in the budget for 2025. An accessible infrastructure is crucial for all of Sweden to be able to grow, but now we see that the economic pressure on Trafikverket results in cuts that will have large, painful consequences not only for our region.
The Minister speaks in his response about the importance of good accessibility and that the whole country should function. But how does that square with the fact that important public transport solutions are now being risked? In the interpellation response, it is said that the government's starting point for infrastructure policy is that all of Sweden should function. That sounds nice. That starting point is, however, more of a vision than a concrete goal for infrastructure policy. For us in Gävleborg, Dalarna, and Östergötland, it means nothing when the trains disappear and the entire train line risks ceasing to exist.
The answer continues: "The conditions for living, residing and working in the entire country shall be strengthened. Transport and travel are necessary for the whole society to function and develop. It is therefore important with good accessibility between the country's different parts." When I hear this, I think that either the government does not know what is happening with the train traffic between Gävle, Falun, Örebro and Mjölby, or the minister imagines that everyone will commute by car on that stretch instead of traveling by train.
The Minister also says in his response: "To what extent the traffic will continue to be able to be co-financed is a matter for Trafikverket to decide on." Yes, but Trafikverket has also signaled the consequences for the government of the economic policy being pursued. The government knew, but they did not take the warnings seriously. In this case, Trafikverket has stated which cuts will be made. It is no secret to the government. Inflation and cost increases have led to higher price levels - this does not only apply to Ebba Busch's falukorv but also to trains in Dalarna.
That the government, in a response, also places the responsibility on the regions as the Minister does, I think is outrageous, because in the same budget the government is cutting healthcare and the regions. The reduction of the so-called sector grant to healthcare is 7 billion. The reduction of the general state grant is 1 billion. For Dalarna's part, that corresponds to approximately 240 million. Dalarna's political majority, which includes the Social Democrats, the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats, is forced to save and cut in their healthcare. Furthermore, they are compelled to raise the tax by 35 öre, which yields about 255 million, so that the care does not collapse. Here, a tax shift from state to region is taking place.
Madam Speaker! I would like to ask the Minister how he views the consequences for people who commute to work and studies and for the local business community, which is directly affected when access to efficient commuting routes disappears.
Åsa Karlsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer! I hear what the Minister says and wish to quote the Minister: "The Government's starting point for infrastructure policy is that all of Sweden shall function. The conditions for living, residing and working in the entire country shall be strengthened. Transport and travel are necessary for the whole society to function and develop. It is therefore important with good accessibility between the country's different parts."
That was the introduction I received in response to my written question regarding the cooperation agreements that I submitted to the Minister for Cabinet three weeks ago.
The answer I am now receiving to my interpellation is consistent. It sounds good. But unfortunately, the government says one thing and does something else.
On October 16 this year, Trafikverket called a meeting where they informed that they do not have budget room in 2025 to pay for the availability that they themselves have identified as prioritized. They do not have budget room to maintain cooperation agreements. From the timetable change on December 14, agreements will not be extended. This is thus less than two months' notice.
The Minister also answers: "To what extent the traffic will be able to be operated in the event that the state's co-financing is reduced or omitted is a matter for the regional public transport authorities to decide on." This means that when the state does not provide funds, it is up to the regions to provide the money needed to maintain the traffic on the affected routes.
Before each contract period, Trafikverket investigates how different measures with bus and train can improve accessibility for the municipalities that have the worst accessibility in the country. The investigations have resulted in contracts being signed for both bus and train traffic. Cooperation agreements have been signed with the regional public transport authorities as it has been established that this is the most expedient way to improve accessibility in all of Sweden in a high-quality and cost-effective manner.
It is about decisive accessibility to critical public services such as healthcare, higher education and important national targets for a number of municipalities. It is an accessibility that can only be maintained through the specified bus agreements in Samverkande inland and rail traffic via cooperation agreements for routes operated by Norrtåg, Tåg i Bergslagen and Stångådalsbanan.
Does the Council of State think it is reasonable to transfer costs from the state to the regions when the regions are already bleeding money to be able to maintain healthcare? That is the question I asked the Minister for Civil Affairs during the question period two weeks ago. He laughed off the question and referred to it as Minister Carlson's question. The only statement the Minister for Civil Affairs gave was that he would raise the issue with Minister Carlson.
My question is therefore: Has the Minister for Civil Affairs discussed the issue with the State Secretary? What did you come to in that case?
Björn Petersson (S)
Madam Speaker! I come from Kalmar County and am temporarily replacing Tomas Kronståhl. He lives in the northern part of the county, while I live at the very southern end.
Tomas Kronståhl's current home municipality, Vimmerby, is passed by the Stångådalsbanan, one of the regional railways that now risk having its operating support withdrawn. This is a railway that runs through the interior of our rural county. It definitely fits the description the Minister for Infrastructure gives, namely that the conditions for commercial operation are lacking. This is real countryside.
During the last week, the minister's party comrades made a "riksgata" along the Stångådalsbanan's route and declared that my own party comrades, who had been concerned about the withdrawal of the operating support, were dealing with fake news and that if this were to cause any problems, it would indeed be raised within the Tidö cooperation. Among these party comrades to our Christian Democratic infrastructure minister was the Christian Democratic parliamentary group's transport policy spokesperson Magnus Jacobsson.
My question to the Minister is simple: Will the Minister act to secure the operating support for the Stångådalsbanan?
Linus Sköld (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the opportunity to debate this incredibly important issue!
Unlike Björn Petersson, I am from Norrbotten, one of the four northernmost counties that together have two cooperation agreements with Trafikverket regarding accessibility in sparse and rural areas.
One of the agreements is called Norrtåg. It is thus train traffic on the routes Sundsvall-Umeå, Sundsvall-Östersund-Storlien, Umeå-Luleå and so on. The other agreement is called Samverkande inland. It is thus bus traffic in the very sparsely populated parts of the country, that is, the areas in the country where, in parts, there are rounded zero inhabitants per square kilometer.
That there are no market-based conditions for running the traffic is a self-evident fact. If there is anything to the minister's talk in the interpellation response about the whole country having to function, he will of course act when the issue presents itself so clearly.
The two cooperation agreements, that is to say the rail traffic in the northernmost Sweden and the bus traffic in the sparsest Sweden, and the accessibility that Trafikverket has assessed as needed, are underfunded by 40 million. The 40 million will land on the regions. At this stage, the traffic planning is already laid, so it is almost impossible to achieve that no buses run next year.
Even if it were possible to achieve that the buses and trains should not run because the state does not want to pay its share of the cake, no one can give an answer as to which accessibility should be removed. Trafikverket does not, and the minister answers that it is a matter for Trafikverket. But when the regions ask, Trafikverket answers that no one knows.
To divest oneself of responsibility for a highly political issue, that is, access to public transport throughout the country, and to say that the government's agency and the regions, which are self-governing and receive zero supplements in general state grants in 2025, shall take responsibility for solving the issue is to dodge an issue that definitely concerns the minister.
I think he should present a proposal on how he will act to resolve the problem so that the traffic can be financed and maintained, or present which of the bus lines in Norrbotten, my home county, will be cut. Is it Kiruna-Riksgränsen, Pajala-Överkalix-Luleå, Gällivare-Jokkmokk-Boden-Luleå, Arvidsjaur-Älvsbyn-Boden-Luleå or Arjeplog-Arvidsjaur-Skellefteå? Which of these lines will be closed? The minister can answer that - if he does not now present a proposal to solve the financing of the state's part of the traffic.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by thanking you for the commitment to the issue. It cannot be overlooked in the Chamber, and I appreciate that.
I still want to repeat that it is Trafikverket that has the mandate to enter into and be responsible for the state's agreements on interregional public transport that is transport-politically justified. I want to remind once again that next year there are just over 1 billion kronor, approx. 50 million kronor more, for the procured transport in the appropriation levels that exist in the budget.
It is slightly different degrees of how the members express themselves, Madam Speaker, regarding whether there is a risk or that the appropriation will be withdrawn. No decisions have been made regarding the spans that the members are raising. The members are, in that sense, anticipating the events. I have great respect for the concern and that there may be questions, but Trafikverket has not made any decisions.
The situation is so clear that it is Trafikverket that has the responsibility. Therefore, I will not provide answers to questions regarding individual sections. But, as Björn Petersson rightly says, I have received information about the situation on the Stångådalsbanan from my party colleagues in Kristdemokraterna who have visited and familiarized themselves with the issue. Trafikverket has also had to come out and emphasize that no decisions have been made. This needs to be taken as a basis for the discussion and debate that we have in the chamber.
Åsa Karlsson asked a specific question about my dialogue with Minister Erik Slottner, and the work is so distributed in the Government Offices that it is I who answer the questions concerning this area. Erik Slottner has informed me that the question was raised during the question period last week, and I also received questions on the area during the question period yesterday. At that time, I gave the answer that I have repeated today.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister again for the answer.
Trafikverket names which cooperation agreements are at risk, and that is the reason why we members have this debate. I also want to return to the fact that the Minister is shifting the responsibility from the state to the regions. The trains already exist, and the train paths are already ordered for next year. Train traffic is something that is planned far in advance. Region Dalarna cannot take a position on whether the traffic should continue or not, as it is already ordered. It is just that the state suddenly stops paying its part. Trafikverket has informed the government in advance of what the consequences will be if an increased framework is not obtained.
Madam Speaker! I want to particularly highlight the rapidly growing labor market region around Ludvika and Smedjebacken. A clear example is Hitachi Energy, which has secured Sweden's largest export order ever at 147 billion kronor. The company continues to secure new orders, and they are hiring three people a day. On Thursday, a completely new Hitachi factory will be inaugurated in Smedjebacken, and present to cut the ribbon is Minister for Enterprise Ebba Busch.
I imagine that the Minister for Enterprise wants to speak about the fantastic development with 3,000 new jobs over three years, perhaps also tell about how the government wants to invest in the railway to and from Ludvika and Smedjebacken so that transformers, which are needed worldwide in larger quantities than today, can leave Ludvika and Smedjebacken.
I think that the Minister for Enterprise wants to avoid talking about the government's and the Transport Administration's reduced support for rail traffic, which is so important for commuting to and from Ludvika and Smedjebacken.
This is not an isolated issue of transport, but this is a question of securing sustainable and long-term growth in one of the most expansive parts of our country. Hitachi and other companies depend on a functioning infrastructure to recruit and for their employees to be able to commute and continue with the expansion that Sweden needs. Stability and long-term perspective are needed here.
It is clear that in large parts of the country and in the Swedish business sector, things are going well. Companies are investing and expanding. The municipalities where the companies are located, for example Ludvika and Smedjebacken, are investing in building new housing and preparing land for continued expansion, but the state seems only to want to stand by on the sidelines, in some cases even step back. The state needs to take responsibility for improving the situation for the companies in the country, not worsening it.
Madam Speaker! Where is the support, Minister, for these companies and municipalities that are investing and expanding? How does the government view its responsibility to ensure that the investments receive the support needed from the state so that they can be successful?
Åsa Karlsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
Yes, there is 48 million kronor more in the budget bill than there was in 2024, but what does that help when the demands were at 194 million kronor? The situation has arisen because the government's budget proposal does not include the entirety of Trafikverket's demand, and it is the responsibility of the government parties.
Those affected by the terminated cooperation agreements – which the Minister for Infrastructure denied were terminated when he last visited the Transport Committee and which he also denies here today are terminated – are Stångådalsbanan in Kalmar, Tåg i Bergslagen, Norrtåg and Samverkande inland. Samverkande inland is thus bus traffic in the four northernmost counties.
These actors have today agreements to increase accessibility at important target points, and in the affected regions, there is now great concern as to whether the infrastructure will be able to be maintained or if it will disappear. It is largely about being able to maintain the possibility of commuting to work, which the government itself has highlighted as particularly important when it comes to which infrastructure investments are important to prioritize.
The news came with short notice. The regions are already under severe financial strain, and the budgets for 2025 have already been set. This means that Tåg i Bergslagen, Stångådalsbanan in Kalmar, Norrtåg, and Samverkande inland will lose large sums of money. For Trafikverket, it is small change, but for the affected regions – which are already struggling to make the finances work to manage healthcare – it concerns an incredible amount of money. Furthermore, it occurs with very short notice and already set budgets. The cost for the mentioned transport will thus be added to the regions' expenses.
Does the Minister for Infrastructure still claim that no decision has been made regarding a continuation or a termination of these cooperation agreements? The regions need to get an honest answer. If the regions will not receive the money they have counted on from Trafikverket – money that the government decides on – what responsibility will the government take for the regions' increased costs?
I want to repeat my question: Will the Minister and the Government work to ensure that the traffic flow on the sections affected by the Transport Agency's cooperation agreement is maintained?
Björn Petersson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson for the answer.
The Minister emphasizes that no decisions have been made and that the debate here today should proceed from that. Let us therefore do so!
The traffic planning in Region Kalmar is completed, and the region's budget is essentially finished. There is one and a half months left until 2025 and the budget that we are now discussing, where the operating support for the Stångådalsbanan risks being withdrawn. The work on a new signaling system for the Stångådalsbanan is underway, and new trains have been purchased for the Stångådalsbanan. This railway is important for the possibilities of commuting in the inland of Kalmar County - in Hultsfred, Högsby, and Vimmerby.
Let us assume that the decisions have not yet been made. As the minister says, Trafikverket is responsible for the issue, and Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson from Kristdemokraterna is responsible for Trafikverket. I repeat my question: Will the minister act to secure the operating support for the Stångådalsbanan?
Linus Sköld (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister began his second speech by thanking us members for our commitment to the issue. I now call for corresponding commitment to the issue from Andreas Carlson.
Andreas Carlson responds incredibly passively to our questions. He says that the government allocates so and so much money and that the rest is up to Trafikverket. But now, Trafikverket is not here and cannot answer our questions, but now it is Andreas Carlson who is the responsible minister for the issue. Andreas Carlson returns to the point that decisions have not been made. Oh, how nice – then there is still time to act, Andreas Carlson!
The question of how Andreas Carlson intends to act so that this does not become a catastrophe for accessibility in the country's rural areas, he evades by saying that it is Trafikverket that must decide it. I think like this: Andreas Carlson is a Christian Democrat, and the Christian Democrats still write on their website that healthcare, the heartland, and security are priority issues for the Christian Democrats. In this situation, which has arisen because Andreas Carlson is shoveling over hundreds of millions in increased costs onto the regions, it is either the heartland or healthcare that has to pay.
Andreas Carlson is still the one responsible: Does he intend to act to rectify this problem? Does he intend to act to solve the state's part of the funding for these accessibility measures? Will it be the heartland or the healthcare system that has to pay otherwise, Andreas Carlson?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Let me begin by reassuring Linus Sköld: Both the heartland and healthcare are still important issues for the Christian Democrats. I have also read out in the chamber today from my written interpellation answer that all of Sweden must function and that the conditions for living and working in the entire country need to be strengthened. Therefore, this is an important issue, and that is why I thank you for the commitment.
However, I do not think it is consistent with the truth to say that we are shifting a responsibility, as decisions and agreements have not yet been made and entered into. Trafikverket has the mandate to handle the issue, and it does not fall to me to go in and discuss individual sections in substance. What I can say is that it is an important issue, that I know Trafikverket is working on it and that the government is following that work closely.
Let us not get ahead of events here in the chamber today, Madam Speaker, but let us state what I have said: There are just over 1 billion kronor set aside to finance the state's transport agreements. Trafikverket is working on the issue. It is an urgent issue for me, for my party, and for the members. Let us continue to have this good dialogue, which I appreciate, in the chamber – but let us not get ahead of events!
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank the Minister for Infrastructure for the debate. I also thank the fellow debaters, who come from different parts of Sweden.
I want to emphasize that infrastructure investments are long-term and complex. It is nothing that can be planned around at short notice. As I have explained, we have a functioning commuter route with trains where people commute to work and studies and where companies such as Hitachi can recruit labor from a larger catchment area. When the funding is now withdrawn at a late stage, despite the fact that Trafikverket has communicated the need clearly, we risk large socio-economic costs.
I want to send a clear message to the Minister and the Government: If the goal is for all of Sweden to function, the plans must also include continued access to basic infrastructure even in those areas where the market is not self-sustaining. It is about long-term stability for the companies, security for the people who live in these regions, and the conditions for sustainable growth in the entire country.
Now regions are to save, and railway lines risk being shut down. I will nevertheless return to what I read in the Minister's written response, namely that the regions must reprioritize. From what, and with what? It is obvious that the government's fine words do not match reality. You had the money in the budget, Andreas Carlson. You just wanted to spend it on something other than healthcare for everyone, trains that make everyday life work for ordinary people, or freight transport that allows the industry to continue to develop.
Madam Speaker! I hope that the Minister and the Government now – when no decision has been made yet, as the Minister of State says – take this to heart and ensure that the Transport Administration receives the funds required to maintain traffic along these important routes.
Åsa Karlsson (S)
Madam Speaker! We who live in the affected regions are incredibly disappointed by how the government chooses to deprioritize the countryside and northern Sweden.
The regions have been given changed conditions on very short notice and will face even tougher conditions than they do today. Important train and bus lines may disappear. People who depend on public transport risk losing that possibility and to - if they have a driver's license - be forced to take the car. Infrastructure that is incredibly important to give people the opportunity to travel by public transport to work, education, doctor's visits and so on risks disappearing.
How did the Minister's answer begin again? "The government's starting point for infrastructure policy is that all of Sweden shall function. The conditions for living, residing and working in the entire country shall be strengthened. Transport and travel are necessary for the whole society to function and develop. It is therefore important with good accessibility between the country's different parts." Does the Minister mean those words?
I would like to thank you for the debate and for the commitment of the other participants in the debate.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I will answer very directly to Åsa Karlsson's concluding question. Yes – I mean those words.
Look at the decisions that have been made! Look at the infrastructure bill that was recently laid before the Riksdag! It contains 1,171 billion kronor and focuses on reclaiming overdue maintenance of the road and railway network.
We know that the poorly maintained infrastructure in Sweden is a growth barrier for companies. We are addressing this now – or at least we are laying the foundation to reclaim the entire maintenance debt on the road side and as much as possible on the railway side. It is a decision that has been made.
Now I hope that the Riksdag gives support to this infrastructure bill, so that more trains can run and so that more maintenance work can ensure that we strengthen jobs, growth, commuting and freight traffic throughout the country.
What we have discussed today, Madam Speaker, is the concern that members feel regarding decisions. I am strongly struck by this concern and can understand it, but this is based on decisions that have not yet been made. The decisions that actually have been made truly prove that the government is not deprioritizing any part of Sweden or the countryside. On the contrary, it has been a destructive trend that too little has been spent on maintenance and infrastructure also in the parts that the members represent.
The reinforcements in Ludvika and Hitachi's expansion are something that is well known. I have a good dialogue with that company. We have also engaged in the work of obtaining even more traffic possibilities with the transformers and with the train positions. This is an important and pressing issue. We could certainly continue to discuss it, but now the time is up. I want to thank you for the debate and for the commitment.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.