Since the big fire in Hässleholm broke out on Wednesday evening last week, the Swedish Transport Administration has worked around the clock to restore the railroad. The new forecast, which was announced on Monday morning, is to open the southern main line and the Blekinge coastal track for traffic overnight towards Wednesday. For Skånebanan and Markarydsbanan, the forecast is night to Saturday.
Annika Canaki, Head of Department for Maintenance at the Swedish Transport Administration, is very pleased that the work went so smoothly.
- The restoration work has gone extremely well. The whole industry has been involved and we have people who are struggling here around the clock, ”she says.
Extensive workIt has been an extensive work to restore the yard. Among other things, they have built a whole new contact line, changed 400 sleepers that are below the track, and changed thousands of meters of signal cable.
- This is almost like building a brand new yard. There are several different components and really the whole plant has been ruined. So it's a very big deal, says Annika Canaki.
Technical examination awaitsPolice still suspect that the fire is underway and are investigating the incident as a serious murder fire.
- We have no person suspected or arrested. But there is no natural cause of fire and we have received several tips from witnesses who made observations about unauthorized persons at the scene. Then we will see what emerges in the technical investigation, says Robert Loeffel, the police spokesperson in the South region.
The reason why the police have not yet done a technical investigation is because the fire place was too hot. The technical investigation will start on Tuesday.