MTR operated commuter train traffic for SL and Region Stockholm for several years. Due to deficiencies in that operation, the agreement was broken with MTR prematurely and SJ took over in March 2024.
The plan was for SJ to operate the commuter trains until next year while the region procured new operator. SJ has not been interested in managing the commuter trains in the long term as they believe that economic risks are too large.
Only one company showed interest in running commuter trains
And the same thinking seems to apply to other possible operators. Six companies first showed interest but all but one jumped off. Although the only tender that came in fulfilled the requirements for the procurement, the lack of competition means that the traffic committee in the Stockholm region does not consider it possible to guarantee long -term stability.
To the newspaper in the middle of says Traffic Region Council Anton Fendertert (MP) that the traffic management must now analyze what the assignment looks like to make it more attractive for transport companies to submit tenders to take over the operation.
– The fact that five of the operators withdraw from the procurement is a clear signal that we must take seriously, Fendert told the newspaper.
Opposition Critical: Requirements Unrealistic
Other parties are critical of the procurement. The Left Party thinks that SL should run the commuter trains themselves, instead of posting the assignment on a company. The Swedish Democrats, for their part, believe that the requirements in the procurement are unrealistic and distorted.
– Time and again we see that large agreements are run at the bottom, and now we are without a new operator for commuter train traffic. Region Stockholm must get out of this pattern and create procurement that actually works, says Samuel Stephan, traffic policy spokesperson for SD in the region, To the middle.
If no operator is in place next year, it is possible to extend the emergency agreement to SJ for one or two more years. Then with more favorable conditions for SJ.