The Swedish Transport Administration has taken a step along the way. But the situation for train traffic is still unacceptable, says Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson (KD) after a crisis meeting with, among others, the Swedish Transport Administration and the train companies. The Swedish Transport Administration has recently received sharp criticism from several quarters. Among other things from freight companies, who received very late notice about when the trains can run. Sometimes notice has been given from one day to another and not 18 weeks in advance as they should, states Andreas Carlson after the crisis meeting. – The Swedish Transport Administration has announced today that they are now giving the train operators on the freight side at least two to three weeks notice. It is still not acceptable, but it is a step on the way, he says. Trouble with the system Corresponding criticism can be found from, among others, SJ, which was forced to release tickets late due to the problems. They are due, among other things, to the fact that a new digital planning system at the Swedish Transport Agency did not work as intended. Trafikverket’s secretary general Roberto Maiorana says that announcements about when the trains will run will be given with progressively better anticipation until December. Then the information must be given 18 weeks in advance. – We need to contribute to better collaboration than we have today. After today, we will sit down with the maintenance contractors to see how we can cooperate. “Smarter” maintenance At the same time, the maintenance of the railway must be carried out in a more efficient and smarter way, says Andreas Carlson. – I hope that this will now lead to a review, where everyone around the table jointly takes on the task and resolves the situation. It should not be such that before every summer we have to get together to see what we can do in the short term, he says.
t4-general