Trafikverket, the Swedish Transport Administration, has published its rail plan for 2025. As part of the largest planned works, the agency intends to upgrade the Western mainline along the coast from January onwards. The Iron Ore Line (Malmbanan) will also be modernised.
“We will start work on the Western mainline in January. It is about a necessary and long-awaited upgrade of one of our most important train routes. In the long term, it will provide more reliable traffic, but while we are upgrading the facility, it means that traffic will be affected”, says Jon Sundh, head of the railway system department of the transport agency.
The agency has consulted with market parties ahead of the start of construction works in order to limit disruptions on the western route. “Compared to normal traffic, more than 70 percent of the passenger trains will run on the Western mainline during the spring”, Sundh says.
“That number is a result of our cooperation within the railway industry, a lot is about creating the conditions together to manage as well as possible the challenge of combining large necessary track works with a large demand for running passenger and freight traffic”, he concludes.
The Iron Ore Line
Moreover, the Iron Ore Line will also get an upgrade. One of the major works on the Malmbanan next year will take place on the section Gällivare-Råtsi where the track is worn and needs to be replaced. The track replacement began in 2024, after which the Gällivare-Håmojåkk section was completed. Works will continue in 2025 along the Håmojåkk-Råtsi section, according to Swedish media.
The Iron Ore line, which is vital for northern Sweden’s mining industry, recently also became the first line in Sweden to be equipped with ERTMS.