In a letter to the government, the forest company SCA points out the problems that Norrland’s railways and especially the cross tracks between Forsmo and Hoting and Hällnäs and Storuman are currently facing. SCA hopes for better planning, upgrading and electrification
– There are derailments, problems with switches and contact lines, explains Magnus Svensson, purchasing and logistics director SCA.
Canceled trains – thousands of trucks
At the same time that the railways that connect the inland with the coast are in poor condition, the traffic is administered with a system called MPK – market-oriented capacity planning. The system works poorly with canceled trains as a result. According to SCA, the problems mean that the trains are replaced with thousands of climate-impacting trucks annually.
– How does it rhyme with your climate goals?
– Of course it doesn’t at all, says Magnus Svensson.
Unsustainable situation
For SCA, which is Europe’s largest private forest owner, this means costs in addition to climate impact. Magnus Svensson believes that step one is to make the planning of train traffic work and that the current situation is unsustainable.
– Letting the business have such big problems while fixing IT systems is not sustainable, he says and believes that the planning of the traffic must be resolved and that the railways must then be equipped in a second step.
No answer
SCA has so far received no response from the government.
SVT has asked the Minister of Infrastructure and also the Swedish Transport Administration for a comment on the criticism but has not received a reply.
In the video in the player above, SCA comments on the situation.