Sweden selects lower-cost Norrbotniabanan route as budget tightens

SWEDEN: Trafikverket has picked the lowest cost of the routes it studied for part of Norrbotniabanan, a missing link in the EU’s core rail network along the northern Baltic coast, three months after the government ordered it to rein in costs on the line’s unbuilt northern section.

The Swedish transport administration has selected a preferred alignment for the Norrbotniabanan between Öjebyn and Rosviksbodarna, north of the coastal town of Piteå, marking another step in planning of the 270 km railway. The line will extend the existing Bothnia Line north from Umeå to Luleå, the iron ore and steel port near the top of the Gulf of Bothnia.

The proposed route follows the E4 motorway for much of its length, allowing the railway and road to share a corridor rather than creating an additional route. Trafikverket considers the alignment less expensive than the alternatives assessed, while also taking account of construction feasibility, environmental impacts and effects on local communities.

A regional station could be built at Norrfjärden, west of the E4, though its location and design are undecided. Around 30 residential properties could be affected.

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