Prioritising the iron ore line Malmbanan
After several train derailments and long traffic stops on the railway line running between Luleå on the Gulf of Bothnia and Narvik on the Atlantic coast, measures on this important railway line will now be prioritised.
"The Government sees a great need to strengthen the road network and railway infrastructure, not least strategic investments to enable and accelerate the industrial green transition in northern Sweden. Investments in transport infrastructure are also important for the needs of total defence and are also important for our membership in NATO," says Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson in a press release.
The Government will shortly decide on a further assignment to the Swedish Transport Administration regarding transport infrastructure in the counties of Norrbotten and Västerbotten.
The Swedish Transport Administration will be instructed to prioritise the objects in the national plan relating to the ore line so that they can be completed as early as possible.
No decisions have been or will be made to allocate more money to the prioritised projects on the ore line; the prioritisations will be made within the existing framework.
Norway's Minister of Transport, Jon-Ivar Nygård, is now promising money to upgrade the railway line on the Norwegian side, between Riksgränsen and Narvik.
The Swedish Transport Administration is also tasked with investigating and submitting proposals for various financing solutions for a possible future construction of double track on the Luleå-Boden section of Malmbanan.
Lennart Håkansson
editor@northswedenbusiness.com
