Göteborgs hamnbana

Göteborgs hamnbana (Gothenburg Harbor Railway)

Hamnbanan or Göteborgs hamnbana, formerly Norra hamnbanan, is a 9 kilometer long freight railway at Hisingen in Gothenburg.

It stretches between Bohusbanan at Marieholmsbron and Skandiahamnen. The railway is single-track and was electrified in 2004. Before that, the freight trains had to switch to diesel locomotives at Sävenäs marshalling yard, which caused pollution in the nearby residential areas. Nowadays, most freight trains go straight to the harbor with electric locomotives. In 2006, the line accounted for around 30% of land-bound freight traffic to and from the Port of Gothenburg, the rest was by truck.

There are non-electrified sidings to, among other things, Oljehamnen, Arendal and Volvo Torslandaverken.

Göteborgs hamnbana Railway History

It originates from the Gothenburg–Tingstad–Sannegården railway, which was opened in 1914 in connection with the creation of Sannegårdshamnen.

The harbor line was previously owned by the Port of Gothenburg before it was taken over by Banverket, now Trafikverket, in 1999, just before it was electrified.

In 2016, the southern Marieholm Bridge was opened, i.e. another bridge over the Göta River in addition to the old Marieholm Bridge. They serve both the Bohusbanan and the harbor line. Traffic along both lines has increased continuously and is expected to continue to increase. There has been concern that the openable Marieholm bridge would fail, which would, for example, be a disaster for Stora's SECU traffic.

Gothenburg Harbor Railway Future

The harbor line is running with major capacity problems and the load is also expected to double in the next 10-15 years. It is important for Sweden's freight traffic and has the most freight trains in Sweden (in contrast, the Malmbanan has a larger freight volume). The track runs through old harbor areas on Norra Älvstranden, which are gradually being converted into primarily residential areas. There are therefore plans to rebuild it, and Banverket decided in December 2008 that a future expansion should take place in or near the existing route and that this route should be investigated further. A railway tunnel from Aröd i Backa to Biskopsgården was another option, or a line from Bohusbanan via Säve.

The harbor railway is facing an increase in capacity through expansion to double tracks according to a proposal from the Swedish Transport Administration. However, there are several groups that question the expansion, which is claimed to quadruple train traffic per day through densely built-up areas.

The plans have been adapted so that the railway will be covered over or built in a tunnel where there are homes close by, i.e. everything east of the Älvsborg Bridge. However, it will make construction so expensive that the section east of Eriksbergsmotet will be postponed until an undetermined time after 2020. The section Eriksberg – Skandiahamnen is planned to start construction in 2018.

Göteborgs hamnbana Route Map

connection to Bohusbanan, with the Marieholm bridge

Sannegård tunnel 99 m
Bridge at Eriksberg

The oil port (Non-passenger end station)
Skandiahamnen (Straight track Non-passenger end station)
Volvo Torslanda (Non-passenger end station)