Botniabanan
Encyclopedia
The Bothnia Line is a high-speed rail
way line in northern Sweden
. The 190 km (118.1 mi) long route, from Kramfors
airport via Örnsköldsvik
to Umeå
, was opened in 2010 and will carry trains at speeds up to 250 km/h (155.3 mph).
airport via Örnsköldsvik
to Umeå
and required 140 bridges and 25 km of tunnels.
Construction was carried out by Botniabanan AB, a company owned 91% by the Swedish state and 9% by the regional governments of Kramfors, Örnsköldsvik, Nordmaling
and Umeå
. Work began on the line in 1999, and reached the halfway point at the end of 2005. After its completion in 2010, the line was leased to the Swedish Rail Administration. When Botniabanan AB has recovered its investment (estimated to be 2050), the ownership of the line will pass to the Rail Administration. The construction budget was SEK
15 billion.
It is intended that the Bothnia Line will compete with road transport using the E4
, which is a main road carrying heavy freight traffic.
Passenger traffic began in August 2010, but only from Umeå to Örnsköldsvik. The late upgrade of the Ådalsbanan means that traffic south of Örnsköldsvik will not begin before April 2012. This latter date was August 2011 but has been postponed because of trouble with the ERTMS signal system installation on Ådalsbanan.
. These areas are protected as a nature reserve
and the process to approve its location was opposed by environmentalists and neighbors concerned about their properties. Other alternatives to the present location were deemed unacceptably close to the Umeå Airport for safety reasons, and a tunnel under the airport and river would have been much too expensive. A more southerly route would have lengthened the line and been more expensive. The crux of this debate was that the nature reserve was established some years after the railway line placement had been fixed.
There was no passenger traffic before all of the railway was finished, because the largest city, Umeå, was not connected to this line before then, though some freight traffic utilized the finished sections.
The railway line itself allows 250 km/h. When the speed limit is raised above 200 km/h, it will be the fastest single-track railway in the world. The trains will run at 180–200 km/h for the first few years, with a speed increase in the future.
The Transitio leasing company owned by the counties signed a contract in October 2008 to buy Alstom
Coradia
trains. These trains will be delivered in 2011, and have a top speed of only 180 km/h. For long-distance trains from Stockholm, SJ
will run X55
trains, with a top speed of 200 km/h. So far the suppliers cannot guarantee winter characteristics above 200 km/h, since there is no experience operating at such speeds in the Swedish climate. A research project "Gröna tåget" is investigating this.
The Bothnia Line will also be the first line in Sweden equipped with the signalling system ERTMS (Level 2) and has been tested at 289 km/h on the southern part of the Bothnia Line. Currently, Swedish signalling and its ATP safety system (ATC - Automatic Train Control
) is only validated up to 210 km/h.
As of October 16, 2008 parts of the railway are used by freight trains, but with manual train protection control.
No Alstom train was delivered for the traffic opening in August 2010, since the delivery time is at least two years. One train of the type Regina
has been rented from southern Sweden for the Umeå-Örnsköldsvik traffic, with a top speed of 200 km/h. Traffic will not go to or from Sundsvall before autumn 2011. SJ runs the Stockholm-Narvik and Göteborg-Luleå night trains over Långsele-Mellansel-Örnsköldsvik-Umeå from August 2010, but they have often been rerouted along the old line because of ERTMS problems.
On the Ådal Line:
On the Bothnia Line:
Some trains will be prioritised and only stop at the biggest stations.
The most used station is forecasted to be Umeå East, since it is within walking distance to the university
and the main hospital for this part of Sweden. Umeå Central is closed 2010-2011 for rebuilding.
at the existing Ådalsbanan railway line, which goes Långsele
–Kramfors
–Härnösand
–Sundsvall
. The distance from the connection to Sundsvall is 101 km. This railway was built from 1890–1925, and is rather curvy and in poor condition. It carries mostly freight, and has very little passenger traffic today. The Ådalsbanan will be improved along the existing route to allow higher speeds than today, in the range of 100–160 km/h. The improvements will include new rails, new catenary, a new signalling system (ERTMS) and better and fewer road crossings. A few parts of it north of Härnösand (totalling 29 km) will be replaced with a new route, built to the same standard as the Bothnia Line. This will be finished in 2011. The reason for keeping most of the existing embankment is that the advantage of building a new railway is smaller when there already is a railway, but the costs for a new railway would be the same as if there was no railway, which is the case along the Bothnia Line. The improvement cost for Ådalsbanan will be up to 6 billion SEK
.
–Boden
, "Stambanan genom övre Norrland
") was built during the period 1880–1895, about 30–100 km from the coast to protect it from military attacks (airplanes did not exist at all then). It is very curvy and has relatively steep grades. It will remain in use by freight traffic, and probably partly for some passenger traffic, such as Östersund-Bräcke-Långsele-Kramfors Airport-Umeå.
. The distance is about 270 km, longer than the Bothnia Line. The preliminary decision to build it has been made, and detailed planning is being done, including the choice of a route. Construction is planned to begin around 2020. There is no go-ahead decision and it may be delayed.
Both the North Bothnia Line and the Bothnia Line will have the advantage of immediately reducing the cost of the frequent and heavy freight traffic when finished. They will provide large travel time reductions for passengers compared to buses; for example, travel time from Sundsvall-Umeå will be reduced by at least 1½ hours.
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
way line in northern Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The 190 km (118.1 mi) long route, from Kramfors
Kramfors
Kramfors is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 6,235 inhabitants in 2005.Geographically the town is situated on the western shore of the Ångerman River. This river was the reason that Kramfors was founded, because in the 19th century it was a...
airport via Örnsköldsvik
Örnsköldsvik
Örnsköldsvik is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 28,617 inhabitants in 2005.Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the High Coast area. It is well known as an exporter of paper products...
to Umeå
Umeå
- Transport :The road infrastructure in Umeå is well-developed, with two European highways passing through the city. About 4 km from the city centre is the Umeå City Airport...
, was opened in 2010 and will carry trains at speeds up to 250 km/h (155.3 mph).
Introduction
Completed in August 2010, the Bothnia Line adds 190 kilometres (118.1 mi) of high-speed railway to the Swedish railway network. At up to 250 km/h (155.3 mph) this is also the highest-speed track in the country. The route is from KramforsKramfors
Kramfors is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 6,235 inhabitants in 2005.Geographically the town is situated on the western shore of the Ångerman River. This river was the reason that Kramfors was founded, because in the 19th century it was a...
airport via Örnsköldsvik
Örnsköldsvik
Örnsköldsvik is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 28,617 inhabitants in 2005.Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the High Coast area. It is well known as an exporter of paper products...
to Umeå
Umeå
- Transport :The road infrastructure in Umeå is well-developed, with two European highways passing through the city. About 4 km from the city centre is the Umeå City Airport...
and required 140 bridges and 25 km of tunnels.
Construction was carried out by Botniabanan AB, a company owned 91% by the Swedish state and 9% by the regional governments of Kramfors, Örnsköldsvik, Nordmaling
Nordmaling
Nordmaling is a locality and the seat of Nordmaling Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden with 2,619 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
and Umeå
Umeå
- Transport :The road infrastructure in Umeå is well-developed, with two European highways passing through the city. About 4 km from the city centre is the Umeå City Airport...
. Work began on the line in 1999, and reached the halfway point at the end of 2005. After its completion in 2010, the line was leased to the Swedish Rail Administration. When Botniabanan AB has recovered its investment (estimated to be 2050), the ownership of the line will pass to the Rail Administration. The construction budget was SEK
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
15 billion.
It is intended that the Bothnia Line will compete with road transport using the E4
European route E4
European route E 4 passes from north to south through Sweden from the border with Finland, total length . The Finnish part lies entirely within Tornio in northern Finland, and is actually only long...
, which is a main road carrying heavy freight traffic.
Passenger traffic began in August 2010, but only from Umeå to Örnsköldsvik. The late upgrade of the Ådalsbanan means that traffic south of Örnsköldsvik will not begin before April 2012. This latter date was August 2011 but has been postponed because of trouble with the ERTMS signal system installation on Ådalsbanan.
Purpose
A railway line along the coast of Northern Sweden has been required for some time, with a lack of capacity on the existing main line (further inland) because of lower speed limits, curves, and gradients. The Bothnia line will also improve public mobility in the area, reducing the travel time between Umeå and Örnsköldsvik to 40–50 minutes via high-speed train. It will also be served by commuter trains, at a proposed frequency of at least six trains in each direction.Railway standard
The line is single track (with grading and other provisions for a second track), and has 22 passing loops. The maximum axle weight will be 25 tonnes at 120 km/h (freight trains) and 250 km/h permitted for passenger trains (as with all new lines, the earthworks must have time to adjust to the intended traffic). Curves have a radius of 3200 m or more, except for the passage of Örnsköldsvik (down to 600 m) and a few between 2000 and 2500 m. The maximum grade is one percent.Delayed stretch through the natural reservation area
The middle part of the railway was ready for traffic in 2008, and all of the railway except the northern part from October 2009. The northern part, near Umeå, did not see operation until August 2010, due to a court battle over the placement of a bridge that crosses over environmentally sensitive areas at the Ume RiverUme River
The Ume River is one of the main rivers in northern Sweden. It is around long, and flows in a south-eastern direction from its source, the lake Överuman by the Norwegian border within the Scandinavian mountain range. For large parts, the European route E12, also known as Blå Vägen , follows its...
. These areas are protected as a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
and the process to approve its location was opposed by environmentalists and neighbors concerned about their properties. Other alternatives to the present location were deemed unacceptably close to the Umeå Airport for safety reasons, and a tunnel under the airport and river would have been much too expensive. A more southerly route would have lengthened the line and been more expensive. The crux of this debate was that the nature reserve was established some years after the railway line placement had been fixed.
There was no passenger traffic before all of the railway was finished, because the largest city, Umeå, was not connected to this line before then, though some freight traffic utilized the finished sections.
Times, distances and average speed
| Connection | Time | Distance | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Örnsköldsvik-Umeå | 0:40 | 112 km | 165 km/h (inter-city) |
| Kramfors-Örnsköldsvik | 0:35 | 86 km | 150 km/h (inter-city) |
| Sundsvall-Umeå | 2:20 | 300 km | 130 km/h |
| Örnsköldsvik-Umeå | 0:55 | 112 km | 120 km/h (regional) |
| Stockholm-Umeå | 5:40 | 680 km | 120 km/h |
The railway line itself allows 250 km/h. When the speed limit is raised above 200 km/h, it will be the fastest single-track railway in the world. The trains will run at 180–200 km/h for the first few years, with a speed increase in the future.
The Transitio leasing company owned by the counties signed a contract in October 2008 to buy Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
Coradia
Coradia (train)
The Alstom Coradia family range of Inter-city trains and regional trains includes multiple unit diesel or electric as well as double-decker trains that can carry up to 900 passengers. There are a number of variants of this series, used in several countries.-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom,...
trains. These trains will be delivered in 2011, and have a top speed of only 180 km/h. For long-distance trains from Stockholm, SJ
SJ AB
SJ is a government-owned passenger train operator in Sweden. SJ was created in 2000, out of the public transport division of Statens Järnvägar, when the former government agency was divided into six separate government-owned limited companies.-Overview:SJ's operations fall broadly into subsidised...
will run X55
Regina (train)
The Regina is a Swedish model of electric multiple unit passenger train, manufactured by Bombardier Transportation . It is used by the national passenger railway SJ along with numerous regional and private operators, in variants designated X50, X51, X52, X53, X54 and X55, and in two- and...
trains, with a top speed of 200 km/h. So far the suppliers cannot guarantee winter characteristics above 200 km/h, since there is no experience operating at such speeds in the Swedish climate. A research project "Gröna tåget" is investigating this.
The Bothnia Line will also be the first line in Sweden equipped with the signalling system ERTMS (Level 2) and has been tested at 289 km/h on the southern part of the Bothnia Line. Currently, Swedish signalling and its ATP safety system (ATC - Automatic Train Control
Automatic Train Control
Automatic Train Control is a train protection system for railways, ensuring the safe and smooth operation of trains on ATC-enabled lines. Its main advantages include making possible the use of cab signalling instead of track-side signals and the use of smooth deceleration patterns in lieu of the...
) is only validated up to 210 km/h.
As of October 16, 2008 parts of the railway are used by freight trains, but with manual train protection control.
No Alstom train was delivered for the traffic opening in August 2010, since the delivery time is at least two years. One train of the type Regina
Regina (train)
The Regina is a Swedish model of electric multiple unit passenger train, manufactured by Bombardier Transportation . It is used by the national passenger railway SJ along with numerous regional and private operators, in variants designated X50, X51, X52, X53, X54 and X55, and in two- and...
has been rented from southern Sweden for the Umeå-Örnsköldsvik traffic, with a top speed of 200 km/h. Traffic will not go to or from Sundsvall before autumn 2011. SJ runs the Stockholm-Narvik and Göteborg-Luleå night trains over Långsele-Mellansel-Örnsköldsvik-Umeå from August 2010, but they have often been rerouted along the old line because of ERTMS problems.
Stations
The trains are planned to stop at:On the Ådal Line:
- SundsvallSundsvall-External links:* - Official site from Nordisk Familjebok - Sundsvalls tourist information bureau. - The alternative guide to Sundsvall. - Blog with photos from Sundsvall....
Central - TimråTimråTimrå is a locality and the seat of Timrå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 10,199 inhabitants in 2005.It is located about 13 km north of Sundsvall , and could arguably be considered a satellite to that town.The two closest cities share one airport, Midlanda, that is geographically...
- HärnösandHärnösandHärnösand is a locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 18,003 inhabitants in 2005. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape rises just some miles north of Härnösand...
- KramforsKramforsKramfors is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 6,235 inhabitants in 2005.Geographically the town is situated on the western shore of the Ångerman River. This river was the reason that Kramfors was founded, because in the 19th century it was a...
- Kramfors AirportKramfors AirportKramfors Airport is an airport located between the towns of Kramfors and Sollefteå, Sweden .The number of passengers in 2007 was 26,111, dropping sharply from 62,000 in 2000...
(bus transfer to the airport because of the 1-2 km road distance)
On the Bothnia Line:
- ÖrnsköldsvikÖrnsköldsvikÖrnsköldsvik is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 28,617 inhabitants in 2005.Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the High Coast area. It is well known as an exporter of paper products...
Central - ÖrnsköldsvikÖrnsköldsvikÖrnsköldsvik is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 28,617 inhabitants in 2005.Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the High Coast area. It is well known as an exporter of paper products...
North - HusumHusum, SwedenHusum is a locality situated in Örnsköldsvik Municipality, Västernorrland County, Sweden with 1,709 inhabitants in 2005.It is located close to the northern entrance to the High Coast...
- NordmalingNordmalingNordmaling is a locality and the seat of Nordmaling Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden with 2,619 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
- HörneforsHörneforsHörnefors is a locality situated in Umeå Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden with 2,573 inhabitants in 2005....
- Umeå East StationUmeå East StationUmeå East Station is a railway station in Umeå, Sweden. The station was inaugurated on 28 August 2010, but it was put to use already on 7 August when Umeå Central Station was turned off for renovation. It was built in connection with the construction of the Bothnia Line to Umeå....
- Umeå Central StationUmeå Central StationUmeå Central Station is a railway station in Umeå, Sweden.The station was designed by architect Folke Zettervall and built between 1895-96. In 2001, it was declared a byggnadsminne. Redevelopment of the area began in July 2010...
Some trains will be prioritised and only stop at the biggest stations.
The most used station is forecasted to be Umeå East, since it is within walking distance to the university
Umeå University
Umeå University is a university in Umeå in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present borders....
and the main hospital for this part of Sweden. Umeå Central is closed 2010-2011 for rebuilding.
Ådalsbanan
The Bothnia Line ends near the Kramfors AirportKramfors Airport
Kramfors Airport is an airport located between the towns of Kramfors and Sollefteå, Sweden .The number of passengers in 2007 was 26,111, dropping sharply from 62,000 in 2000...
at the existing Ådalsbanan railway line, which goes Långsele
Långsele
Långsele is a locality situated in Sollefteå Municipality, Västernorrland County, Sweden with 1,620 inhabitants in 2005....
–Kramfors
Kramfors
Kramfors is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 6,235 inhabitants in 2005.Geographically the town is situated on the western shore of the Ångerman River. This river was the reason that Kramfors was founded, because in the 19th century it was a...
–Härnösand
Härnösand
Härnösand is a locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 18,003 inhabitants in 2005. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape rises just some miles north of Härnösand...
–Sundsvall
Sundsvall
-External links:* - Official site from Nordisk Familjebok - Sundsvalls tourist information bureau. - The alternative guide to Sundsvall. - Blog with photos from Sundsvall....
. The distance from the connection to Sundsvall is 101 km. This railway was built from 1890–1925, and is rather curvy and in poor condition. It carries mostly freight, and has very little passenger traffic today. The Ådalsbanan will be improved along the existing route to allow higher speeds than today, in the range of 100–160 km/h. The improvements will include new rails, new catenary, a new signalling system (ERTMS) and better and fewer road crossings. A few parts of it north of Härnösand (totalling 29 km) will be replaced with a new route, built to the same standard as the Bothnia Line. This will be finished in 2011. The reason for keeping most of the existing embankment is that the advantage of building a new railway is smaller when there already is a railway, but the costs for a new railway would be the same as if there was no railway, which is the case along the Bothnia Line. The improvement cost for Ådalsbanan will be up to 6 billion SEK
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
.
Old main line
The old main railway to far northern Sweden (BräckeBräcke
Bräcke is a locality and the seat of Bräcke Municipality in Jämtland County, Sweden with 1,566 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
–Boden
Boden, Sweden
Boden is a locality and the seat of Boden Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 18,680 inhabitants in 2005.- History :The town of Boden started as a railway junction where the Northern Line met with the Ore Line from the rich iron ore fields in northern Sweden.The town experienced...
, "Stambanan genom övre Norrland
Stambanan genom övre Norrland
The Main Line Through Upper Norrland is a long railway line between Bräcke, Jämtland County and Luleå, Norrbotten County in Sweden. For military and regional policy reasons, it was built in very sparsely populated areas, far away from the more densely populated coast...
") was built during the period 1880–1895, about 30–100 km from the coast to protect it from military attacks (airplanes did not exist at all then). It is very curvy and has relatively steep grades. It will remain in use by freight traffic, and probably partly for some passenger traffic, such as Östersund-Bräcke-Långsele-Kramfors Airport-Umeå.
North Bothnia Line
The North Bothnia Line (Norrbotniabanan) is a planned extension of the Bothnia Line north of Umeå to LuleåLuleå
- Transportation :Local buses are run by .A passenger train service is available from Luleå Centralstation on Sweden's national SJ railway service northbound to Narvik on the Norwegian coast, or southbound to Stockholm. See Rail transport in Sweden....
. The distance is about 270 km, longer than the Bothnia Line. The preliminary decision to build it has been made, and detailed planning is being done, including the choice of a route. Construction is planned to begin around 2020. There is no go-ahead decision and it may be delayed.
Both the North Bothnia Line and the Bothnia Line will have the advantage of immediately reducing the cost of the frequent and heavy freight traffic when finished. They will provide large travel time reductions for passengers compared to buses; for example, travel time from Sundsvall-Umeå will be reduced by at least 1½ hours.