This summer, the former infrastructure minister Tomas Eneroth (S) presented a billion investment in a new train hub in Jönköping.

The money would go towards planning for the central parts between Linköping and Borås and Hässleholm respectively, via Jönköping.

On Friday, the newly appointed infrastructure minister and Mullsjö native Andreas Carlson (KD) announced that there will be no further planning for the high-speed railway. 

- The government wants the investments made in railways to primarily facilitate work commuting and freight traffic because it promotes jobs and growth.

Our approach is that the railway investments made should be more cost-effective than if the original plan for new trunk lines for high-speed trains had been carried out, says Andreas Carlson in a press release.

"A real slap in the face"

The decision upsets Ann-Marie Nilsson:

- It is remarkable that Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlsson, who comes from Mullsjö and until the election was a Member of Parliament for Jönköping county, is obviously so ignorant of the county's needs.

The government is not delivering a Christmas present to Jönköping County, but instead a real slap in the face, she says.

Ann-Marie Nilsson believes that there are major shortcomings in the railway system and that this is why the issue has been so important for a long time.

- It is of course positive for the big cities, but it will be at the expense of a region like Jönköping and the whole of Småland really.

Our infrastructure minister has previously written a motion to Sweden's Riksdag precisely about the need for new trunk lines for Jönköping County, but he seems to have forgotten that, she concludes.