SVT has taken part in new statistics from the Swedish Transport Administration, which shows that on average, more than 200 errors were reported per day on the Swedish railway last year. In 2018 alone, more errors have been reported since the authority was formed in 2010.
– This is due to increased traffic volume, an aged plant and increased load, says Jon Sundh, head of rail maintenance the Swedish Transport Administration.
Right now, a great work is underway to replace one hundred -year -old posts along the western main line, which also means that train traffic is affected for a long period. But the need is great in many places.
– The railway is not feeling well. It is sick, there is much that is neglected and that should have been replaced a long time ago, says Håkan Englund, chairman of the trade union Seko for railway workers within Infranord.
The risk of acute errors increases
In total, the Swedish Transport Administration estimates that almost 40 percent of the contact management facility has passed its technical life and that “a radical change” is required to break the negative trend. The Swedish Transport Administration itself states in its reports that the neglected maintenance increases the risk of acute errors and unforeseen stops.
– We are in a phase where the plant is broken down at an ever faster rate, says Jon Sundh.
Despite promises: Maintenance debt increases
The shortcomings of the railway have been debated for decades and the Swedish Transport Administration has repeatedly said that it will be better. Twelve years ago, 2013, the then Director General said that the maintenance debt would be rectified within seven to ten years. But since then, the neglected maintenance has instead increased – now the cost of restoring the railway is landing at SEK 91 billion.
How can you make that assessment then, and then land at 91 billion?
– If you look at the assessment that was made then and what the Swedish Transport Administration communicated, it was a greater maintenance need than the funding that was awarded, says Jon Sundh.
From resetting it, it has instead increased to SEK 91 billion?
– Yes, says Jon Sundh.
For some time now, the Swedish Transport Administration has received more money for maintenance, but they themselves believe that it will take a long time to catch up.
– The big challenge is to find the balance between measures and traffic, says Jon Sundh.