Minister: "I want more rail for the money"

On Monday, the Swedish Transport Administration presented four proposals on how the planned trunk lines could be drawn to fit within the agreed budget.

To push up prices, the stations have therefore been reduced in number and placed outside the cities, which would cost between SEK 150 and 235 billion instead of the current proposal of SEK 295 billion.

Minister of Infrastructure Tomas Eneroth (S) does not rule out that the number of stations may need to be reduced, but emphasizes that the new high-speed lines must take regional needs into account.

- It is important to squeeze costs.

I want more rail for the money, says Tomas Eneroth (S) to TT.

"Must be easily accessible"

He is hesitant to place many of the stations outside the cities.

- The railway must be easily accessible, not least to be able to increase commuting to and from work.

Then it is important to find locations in connection with where people live, says the Minister of Infrastructure, who emphasizes that a dialogue must be conducted with the municipalities and regions concerned, he tells TT.

The proposals will now be analyzed.

"Large investments needed"

Maria Stockhaus, the Moderates' spokesperson for infrastructure issues, believes that a first step should be to review how the existing systems can be supplemented before new ones are built.

- We see just like the government that large investments are needed in infrastructure in Sweden.

But given the price tag on this, we believe that better things can be done to ensure that people can get to work and move within Sweden, says Maria Stockhaus.

Among other things, she wants to see an upgrade of the existing railway network.

- We have a large maintenance debt, it is too poor quality.

And that applies to both road and rails.

It is important that we fix the errors and put gunpowder on it.

It can make a big difference, she says.

"Contrary to developments in all other countries"

Maria Stockhaus is also critical of the fact that stations may need to be removed and that the investment risks being delayed.

Something that in turn, she says, can affect the environmental benefits of moving from plane to train.

At the same time, she questions the fact that no stations are planned at the airports.

- Here they talk about removing the stations that are located at the airports, which is contrary to the development in all other countries, she says.