Planning for double track can begin

The planning work can start as early as this year, as the Swedish Transport Administration is providing the funding with its own appropriations.

"This means that we will shortly start work on developing the plans. We have already looked at the possibilities of cutting lead times to speed up the work, and we believe that we can shorten the time by about two years, which means that we are paving the way for a possible construction start around 2029," says Helena Eriksson, Regional Director for the Northern Region at the Swedish Transport Administration.

The cost of developing the railway plan will be around SEK 200 million (EUR 18 million). The total cost of building a double track between Luleå and Boden is estimated at SEK 5 billion in 2021 prices (EUR 446 million). The Swedish Transport Administration lacks funds for this, as the current national transport plan does not include any funding for double tracks on the 35-kilometer stretch. Therefore, the Swedish Transport Administration has held discussions with the state-owned mining company LKAB, the private H2 Green Steel, which is building a new steel plant in Boden, and Region Norrbotten about advance payment to start construction as soon as possible.

The capacity of the current single-track section will not be sufficient in 2030 as several large industrial establishments are underway in the region. These are expected to involve up to 91 trains per day on the line. The need for passenger traffic is also expected to increase, to enable better public transport for commuting and thus promote the supply of skills.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com