SWECO to conduct study on Ostlänken – new railway shortens travel time between Stockholm and Gothenburg

SWECO will study the feasibility of building a new high-speed dual-track railway between Järna and Linköping, an improvement that will shorten the travel time between Stockholm and Gothenburg. The contract is worth nearly EUR 740,000.

”This is one in a series of infrastructure projects awarded to SWECO in the past year. Throughout Sweden, our specialist expertise is highly sought after in connection with planning of new roads and railways,” says Mats Påhlsson, Managing Director of SWECO VBB. The assignment will be carried out in close collaboration with the Swedish National Rail Administration, and includes assessment of three alternative corridors as a basis for National Rail Administration’s decision on the optimal location for railway construction. SWECO VBB has also been given responsibility for the design and placement of travel centres, as well as delivery of traffic, environmental and socioeconomic impact statements. The study will be completed in 2007. Once the government has granted an implementation permit, work on the railway will begin by determining the exact alignment. Construction is scheduled to begin during 2010 – 2015. Ostlänken is a link between the future Götaland line between Stockholm and Gothenburg via Jönköping and Borås. It is also the first stage of the so-called Nordic Triangle, which will join together the country’s three major metropolitan areas and intermediate sections of southern Sweden.