Practice
Swedish High Speed Rail and National Negotiations: Linking ambitions for vital networks, provision of housing, economy and urban conditions.
Sweden has the ambition for a High Speed Train network between Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. The current National Government renewed the ambition for the entire high-speed network. Together with other ambitions such as housing, public transport in metropolitan areas, jobs, etc. These ambitions are discussed with the regions and local municipalities after which binding agreements are to be made (National Negotiations). The Swedish Government wants to strengthen long-term capacity and robustness in the rail transport system while also facilitating the construction of new homes. Conditions for growth, business and the environment are expected to be improved by means of these investments. Major challenges will lie in the linkage between the scales and the different time horizons. Some of the most crucial seem to be: the national perspective on the economic spatial structure and the role of the High Speed Network for connecting and stimulating contacts and exchanges within and between cities and regions and to provide alternatives to air and car travel. How can the new high-speed rail enhance the development in various regions and cities, and how can the station structure be designed in order to facilitate interplay in between cities and regions? The first section of this network, The Eastern Link (see case further) started planning 22 years ago. This section has to speed up travel time to allow for faster trips to and from Stockholm. In the past period especially the passage of Linköping has been discussed intensively. It seemed that the spatial ambition of the municipality could only be met when tracks are put in a tunnel. This tunnel is not financially covered and alternative models are developed. This project originates from the wish to expand the Daily Urban System of Stockholm. Since it has become a part of a larger High Speed Rail ambition one has to balance the ambition of the entire High Speed Rail (Stockholm-Gothenburg-Malmö) and this section (DUS Stockholm).
Issues
Corridor level:
Link long term spatial and economic structures – connect metropolitan regions and scientific centres in Sweden (and Scandinavia)
Link European networks
Linkage to airport network
Maximum number of stops
Regional / DUS level:
What is the right order: First DUS optimisation, or first high speed corridor?
Link to other modalities (bus, car, bike, …)
Local level:
Bike and pedestrians as local feeder system for the nodes
Optimum location for station
Bridge barriers to allow a denser urban development and additional housing
NUVIT themes
The following themes are to be considered:
- What is the optimum relation with the national and international perpectives?
- A strategy in which short term (optimisation of DUS, maintenance current system, improve capacity and robustness in existing fast regional and inter-city travel system) and longer term (entire High Speed Rail,) are combined in a single approach
- Optimum cooperation between airport, national rail and metropolitan (DUS Stockholm, DUS Gothenburg, DUS Malmö and inter-city) mobility
Stakeholders
- Sverigeförhandlingens
- Trafikverket
- Rail Operators
- Jernhusen
- Real estate owners and stakeholders
- Stockholm County Council
- Region Sörmland
- Region Skåne
- Västra Götalandsregionen
- Region Östergötland
- Region Jönköping
- Region Kronoberg
- Many local municipalities (more than 70? Incl City of Stockholm, City of Göteborg and the cities of Malmö and Lund)
- Association of Swedish municipalities and regions