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According to a bill, temporary ID checks must be able to be introduced on buses, trains and ships. According to SJ, the proposal is “completely unreasonable” and would mean a great risk that the high-speed trains between Malmö and Copenhagen would have to end.
This summer, the government sent out its proposal for a law on temporary bans on transporting people without valid identity documents to Sweden for referral.
A similar law was introduced in connection with the refugee crisis in 2015, but it was temporary and expired in 2018. The government has considered that there is a need for a permanent law.
Express train service may cease
The referral period for the proposal expired on Sunday and one player who is strongly critical is SJ.
“Unfortunately, we have to state that the risk is very high that we will be forced to stop our high-speed train service between Copenhagen and Malmö if this law becomes a reality and begins to be applied. It may also apply to SJ’s traffic to and from Oslo,” says the train company’s CEO Monica Lingegård in a comment.
The idea is that the ban should only be introduced if there is a serious danger to public order or internal security due to many migrants making their way to Sweden.
According to Monica Lingegård, SJ understands that special measures may be required.
Penalty fees for carriers
“But the proposal is based on the fact that it is our on-board staff who will carry out the checks – that is, a pure exercise of authority. It is completely unreasonable that we should have to take on such responsibility without having the education and training required for the task,” she says.
According to the proposal, transport companies that violate a prohibition according to the law and do not check their passengers’ ID documents must be punished with penalty fees of a minimum of SEK 30,000 and a maximum of SEK 250,000.
The idea is that the law should apply on March 1, 2024.