Götaland Line (Götalandsbanan)(Planned)

Götaland Line (Götalandsbanan)(Planned)

In a little more distant future, a new railway connecting Linköping-Göteborg via Jönköping is planned, called Götalandsbanan. Together, the Ostlänken and Götalandsbanan railways would allow trains to travel between Stockholm-Göteborg in under two hours.

Götaland Line (Götalandsbanan)

The Götaland Line is a planned railway that the Swedish Transport Administration investigated along the Gothenburg–Jönköping–Linköping–Stockholm section, estimated to be approximately 440 kilometres in length. The planned railway Ostlänken, the Linköping–Järna section (–Stockholm) was part of the Götaland Line. Under the responsibility of the Swedish Rail Administration, there was the vision that the entire project would be completed by 2030. In the national plan for the transport system 2010–2021, which the government has decided on, there are no funds set aside for continued planning of the Götaland Line, which led to the Swedish Transport Administration cancelling the project.

The new line was intended to be built for very high speeds, up to 320 km/h with curve radii of at least 4700 meters (3200 for 250 km/h). The line would, with the proposed route, have gradients of up to 35 per thousand.

The line was not planned to be intended for freight trains, mainly because they do not fit into the traffic rhythm but also because they are too heavy, which leads to wear and tear, and that slopes as steep as 35 per thousand are not suitable for heavy freight traffic. Ordinary freight trains were planned to be relegated to using existing lines, for example the Gothenburg–Växjö section (Coast to Coast Line) or to run via Herrljunga if the Coast to Coast line on the route were to be discontinued.

The Götaland Line was planned in stages, and the line was planned in detail on the section (Gothenburg–)Almedal–Mölnlycke–Landvetter Airport–Bollebygd–Borås. At the completion of the section to Jönköping, it would have been possible for long-distance trains to start running directly from Gothenburg to Östergötland. With the Götaland Line, the Gothenburg-Linköping section could be covered in 1 hour 30 minutes, while Gothenburg-Stockholm could be completed in a time of 2 hours 15 minutes. In order to manage the travel time of 2 hours 15 minutes between Gothenburg and Stockholm, it is assumed that the trains only stop at 2-3 stations between Stockholm and Gothenburg. The travel time with the X2000 for the same route in 2010 was 3 hours 5 minutes. According to the Swedish Rail Administration's project manager, ticket prices will be higher than for regular trains.

Götalandsbanan History

The Götaland Line project has been discussed since 1987, including in the Swedish Parliament. Some of the reasons why the project has been delayed several times are the difficulties in justifying the very high and runaway investment costs, the fact that the project is highly socio-economically unprofitable, difficulties in convincing the municipalities concerned along the route, which is planned to be without a central station location, that emission reductions will be minimal compared to other investments and that many other infrastructure projects show better economics.

Gothenburg–Borås

60 km of double-track high-speed railway for high-speed trains and fast regional trains between Västra Götaland County's two largest cities. The goal is smoother commuting to work and increased accessibility to Landvetter Airport. According to the Swedish Transport Administration, construction is planned to start on the Gothenburg-Borås section in 2025-2027.

With a travel time of about 20–35 minutes (depending on the number of stops) after expansion, these two municipalities will be more integrated in terms of the labour market. Many people already commute, but it takes an hour by public transport, primarily by bus, and 45 minutes by car.

The high-speed trains are estimated to take about 15 minutes to the airport from both Gothenburg and Borås.

The old Coast to Coast line west of Borås is planned to continue to be in operation, mainly for freight transport (they do not want them Gothenburg-Alingsås), but perhaps also for local trains to towns along the line.

In order to maintain a high average speed, high-speed trains must be allowed to run long distances without stopping. In addition to time, high-speed trains also waste a lot of electrical energy on accelerating up to cruising speed. This is one of the reasons to keep the number of stations down. This is to keep up the average speed of regional trains, as there must not be too much difference in average speed between different trains, it reduces the number of possible trains (they catch up with each other and are the way for each other if they go too close). West of the airport, all trains are allowed to run at a lower speed, as the stops become more frequent.

Götalandsbanan Sections

The Swedish Transport Administration (formerly the Swedish Rail Administration) has decided on one of three parts of the route between Gothenburg and Borås, namely between Mölnlycke and Bollebygd. A railway investigation for the other two sections is ongoing.

Götaland Line Planned Route

The East Link towards Stockholm

Linköping
New route probably
parallel to the Southern Main Line
Tranås

Southern Main Line
Jönköping
European Railway to Malmö
Älvsborgsbanan
Borås
Coast-to-coast railway

Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport

Connection to Mölnlycke
for commuter trains

West Coast Line
Gothenburg