The new system is called MPK (market-adapted planning and capacity) and should provide more efficient planning and make it easier for the train operators to apply for train positions and track works. The Swedish Transport Administration has described the change as completely necessary and a paradigm shift.
However, the system change does not work satisfactorily for freight transport, and if there are problems, other traffic will also be affected because the system is interconnected, says Pierre Sandberg, chairman of the trade association Tågföretagen.
– It is a coherent system and if a freight train stops, all traffic behind that train will have to stop, says Pierre Sandberg.
Should have waited
The reason for the system change is that the previous way of planning did not work satisfactorily. On Friday, a meeting was held between the freight transport company Green Cargo and the Swedish Transport Administration to find a solution for the entire freight transport industry.
– Sometimes freight trains need to be rerouted. But a challenge with the new system has been that if you want to move on a train, you move the planning for all other trains forward and the train schedules are republished, says Sandberg.
The train companies have previously raised warning flags because the time to test the new system has been too short. Pierre Sandberg believes that perhaps one should have waited a year to implement the system.
– We need sufficient time to test the system.
Only a part is used
The new system consists of several different parts, and according to the Swedish Transport Administration, only a part of it will be put into use tomorrow to avoid too much new technology for the train staff.
– We don’t start all things at the same time, we run one thing at a time and if one thing works, we add the next, says Bengt Olsson, press manager at the Swedish Transport Administration.