Kolbäck-Ludvika Line (Bergslagspendeln)

Kolbäck-Ludvika Line (Bergslagspendeln)

The Kolbäck–Ludvika railway is a Swedish electrified, single-track, standard gauge railway line. It branches off from the line now known as Mälarbanan at Kolbäck and meets the Bergslagsbanan in Ludvika . The line is referred to by the Swedish transport authority Trafikverket as Bergslagspendeln . The northern part of the line, which originally ran to Vansbro, has been dismantled between Ludvika and Björbo, the Björbo–Vansbro section is now part of the Västerdalsbanan .

Bergslagspendeln History

In order to facilitate the arduous transport of iron ore, which was mined in abundance in the Bergslagen region, to the ports on Lake Mälaren, particularly in summer, the Strömsholm Canal was built in the 18th century and opened in 1795. This canal connected several lakes along the Kolbäcksån river and enabled transport by ship between Smedjebacken on Lake Barken and Lake Mälaren near Kolbäck . Above Smedjebacken the Kolbäcksån could no longer be made navigable. In order to better develop the higher regions, one of Sweden's first railway lines, the Wessman–Barkens Jernväg Narrow-Gauge railway with a track width of 1188 mm, was built between Ludvika and Smedjebacken in the 19th century and opened in 1860.

In 1857, it was decided to build the state-owned Västra stambanan railway line between Stockholm and Gothenburg not on the northern shore, but south of Lake Mälaren. With significant involvement from the cities of Stockholm and Västerås, the private railway company Stockholm-Westerås-Bergslagens Jernvägsaktiebolag (SWB, later SVB) was founded in 1871 to connect the cities north of Lake Mälaren with each other, with the Bergslagen region and with Stockholm . SWB chose the small town of Tillberga north of Västerås as the starting point for its routes, which quickly developed into a railway junction. In 1875, the Tillberga–Köping and Tillberga–Sala lines were opened.

Bergslagspendeln Route Construction

In 1876, the Tillberga–Ängelsberg section via Ramnäs was opened, at the same time as the Tillberga–Tomteboda line, which provided a connection to Stockholm via what was then known as the Norra stambanan line. In Ängelsberg, the line was connected to the former Narrow-Gauge Ängelsberg–Kärrgruvan railway line operated by Norbergs Nya Järnvägsaktiebolag, which was converted to standard gauge in 1876 .

In order to relieve the pressure on the Tillberga junction and to connect the important industrial towns of Surahammar and Hallstahammar at the time , a connecting line from Ramnäs to Kolbäck was opened in 1899. At the same time, construction was pushed northwards beyond Ängelsberg, and in 1900 the Bergslagsbana, which had been in existence since 1875, was reached in Ludvika. Between Smedjebacken and Ludvika, the standard-gauge SWB line ran almost parallel to the Narrow-Gauge Wessman-Barkens Järnväg. In 1903, SWB took over the Narrow-Gauge railway and then closed it down. In the following years, the line was extended beyond Ludvika via Nyhammar and Björbo to Vansbro . In 1922, SWB took over Norbergs Nya Järnvägsaktiebolag.

Bergslagspendeln Nationalization and Electrification

In 1944, the SWB was nationalized and one year later it was incorporated into the state railway company SJ. By 1956, the Tillberga–Ludvika line and the Ängelberg–Snyten branch line had been electrified. The Ramnäs–Kolbäck connecting line initially did not have a contact wire.

Bergslagspendeln Decommissioning

In the 1960s, all traffic on the Nyhammar–Björbo section and passenger traffic on the Ludvika–Nyhammar and Kolbäck–Ramnäs sections were closed. In 1985, freight traffic on the Ludvika–Nyhammar section was closed.

Bergslagspendeln Recommissioning as Bergslag Pendulums

In November 1991, passenger traffic between Ludvika and Västerås was resumed under the name Bergslagspendeln under the direction of the regional public transport company Västmanlands Lokaltrafik . The Ramnäs–Kolbäck section was electrified and the towns of Surahammar and Hallstahammar received passenger rail traffic for the first time since the 1960s. The trains initially had to turn around in Kolbäck until a new connecting curve east of Kolbäck was opened in 1993, which allowed trains to travel directly from Hallstahammar to Västerås.

Bergslagspendeln Current Operations

Since 2001, passenger transport has been organised by the regional railway company Tåg i Bergslagen. It uses both Bombardier Regina and SJ X12 railcars. On weekdays during the day, trains run every two hours between Ludvika and Fagersta, and every hour from Fagersta to Västerås. On weekends and public holidays, there are two-hourly services on the entire route. Freight traffic is mainly to the industrial plants along the route, but there are also occasional through freight trains, mostly via Ängelsberg–Snyten to or from Avesta Krylbo.

Bergslagspendeln Overview

Bergslagspendeln Route Length: 110 km
Bergslagspendeln Track Width: 1435 mm (standard gauge)
Bergslagspendeln Power System: 15 kV 16 2⁄3 Hz~

Bergslagspendeln Route Map

Västerdalsbanan from Vansbro
260.4   Bjorbo
Västerdalsbanan to Repbäcken
250.7   Saloon
245.7   Skallberget
243.7   Kybäcksheden
236.4   Nyhammar
232.8   Grangarde

228.9   Stensbo
219.9   Brunnsvik
217.7   Sörvik
Falun Mountain Railway
212.7   Ludvika
Bergslagsbanan to Vansbro
207.4   Norsbro
Nedra Hillen
203.0  Hagge
198.7  Morgårdshammar
196.4  Smedjebacken
191.9  Vanhäll
185.3  Söderbärke
181.9  Västerbyhytta
Södra Barken – swing bridge, 23 m movable
Span from 1899, fixed bridge since 1988
176.7  Vad (former station)
175     Finnish Hall
167.2  Sembla
166.1  Fagersta Norra
165.9  Fagersta Bruk (until 1947 Fagersta )
Godsstråket genom Bergslagen of Frövi
163.7  Fagersta C (until 1947 Västanfors )

Godsstråket genom Bergslagen according to Avesta Krylbo
158.1  Sunbo
Ängelsberg–Kärrgruvan railway line

150.9  Angelsberg
140.5  Virsbo (until 1891 Nordanö )
133.9  Seglingsberg
129.2
26.8    Brattheden (formerly Ramnäs / Ramnäs bruk / passenger stop)

Kolbäcksån , combined rail/road bridge
Ramnäs bruk
to Tillberga (until 1993)
24.0   Ramnäs (formerly Ramnäs kyrkby , from 1991)
17.1   Surahammar
Surahammar's Mill
13.3   Klingbo
~8.5   Bultenområdet
6.3     Hallstahammar
E18
Mälarbanan from Stockholm C
Vasteras C
Dingtuna

0.0
130.2 Kolbäck
Kolbäcksån
Kolbäck–Oxelösund railway line
Mälarbanan to Örebro