Over 100 billion euros will go to maintenance and upgrading of Swedish roads, railways, as well as maritime and aviation infrastructure, according to the Swedish Transport Administration’s national plan for transport infrastructure.
At the same time, the agency announces that it will take 25 years to catch up with railway maintenance – and that several planned investments will be scrapped.
It was last autumn that the Swedish government decided to upgrade Sweden’s infrastructure with the aim of, among other things, creating better conditions for efficient and sustainable transport. On Tuesday, the Swedish Transport Administration presented its proposals on how the money should be used.
A total of 100 billion euros will be divided up, with half of the money going to maintenance and half to development of new infrastructure.
The plan is to, among other things, catch up with deferred maintenance on both roads and railways. The forecast for when they will be caught up with the work is estimated to be 2037 for roads and 2050 for railways.
— It’s possible to do it faster, but then we can’t allow as much train traffic as we do today, says the Swedish Transport Administration’s Director-General Roberto Maiorana to public broadcaster SVT.
“Travel will become more efficient”
There will also be quite a few investments made to meet “Sweden’s future needs for efficient, sustainable and robust transport”. Furthermore, they will also scrap certain projects that have been active, including the expansion of double tracks in Maria–Helsingborg as well as Gävle–Kringlan, which are considered too expensive. This is being done to free up money for other projects that they consider to have greater benefit.
— Much of this plan is about better conditions for commuting, a more competitive business sector and strong total defense. Travel and transport will become more reliable, efficient and safer, says Maiorana.