Markarydsbanan

Markarydsbanan

Markarydsbanan is the Swedish Transport Administration's designation for the electrified railway Hässleholm - Eldsberga (- Halmstad).

Markarydsbanan History

When the Södra main line was planned in the mid-1850s, the route via Värnamo-Ljungby-Markaryd, where the main road ran (and still runs), was considered, but the line was drawn in a more easterly direction. The Skåne–Småland Railway was completed on this stretch in 1899.

It wasn't until more than 30 years later that two private railways began to be built, and in 1890 the Vittsjö-Hässleholms Railway (WHJ) was opened, while the continuation Vittsjö-Markaryds Railway ( WMaJ ) was inaugurated in 1892. The two companies merged in 1897 to form the Hässleholms-Markaryds Railway (HMJ). In 1899, the Markaryd-Veinge Railway ( MaVJ ) was opened. The two tracks shared traffic.

Veinge was on the Västkustbanan and Hässleholm on the Södra stambanan, so from 1899 Markaryd was connected with two main lines, as well as with Värnamo to the north and Helsingborg to the southwest.

In 1930, the tracks were nationalized and are then counted as a track. In 1935, the track was electrified. Until 1991, the Gothenburg-Malmö trains could not go via Helsingborg, and often went via Hässleholm-Markaryd instead. The track was also used when it was necessary to divert trains in the event of traffic disruptions and track work.

In the mid-1970s, the local passenger traffic was discontinued, but some long-distance trains continued to stop in Markaryd until 1992, when trains could start running (1991) via Helsingborg on the Gothenburg-Malmö route. Since then, the track has been used periodically for continuous passenger traffic. X2000 between Gothenburg and Copenhagen was changed by SJ to go via Hässleholm-Markaryd-Halmstad in the mid-2000s until 2012.

Markarydsbanan Today

The railway has today (2014) freight trains and since December 2013 passenger traffic with Pågatåg Hässleholm–Markaryd with stops in Bjärnum and Vittsjö. The freight trains along the west coast ran until 2015 largely along this line. From 2016, when the Hallandsås tunnel is finished, they will increasingly go along the Godsstråket through Skåne. Before that, the stretch between Ängelholm and Båstad over Hallandsås had limited capacity and steep slopes.

Markarydsbanan Overview

Markarydsbanan Place: Sweden
Markarydsbanan Stretch: Hässleholm — Eldsberga (- Halmstad )
Markarydsbanan Connecting Lines:
Södra main line
Skåne
line Västkust line
Markarydsbanan Opened:
Hässleholm-Vittsjö 1890
Vittsjö-Markaryd 1892
Markaryd-Veinge/Eldsberga 1899
Markarydsbanan Owner: The state
Markarydsbanan Infrastructure Manager: The Swedish Transport Administration
Markarydsbanan Traffic Operator: Skånetrafiken
Green Cargo
Markarydsbanan Ticket Operator: Skånetrafiken
Länstrafiken Kronoberg
Markarydsbanan Length: 79 kilometers
Markarydsbanan Number of Tracks: Single track with meeting track
(Except double track Eldsberga-Halmstad approx. 1 mile)
Markarydsbanan Gauge: 1435 millimeters (Normal track)
Markarydsbanan ATC: Yes
Markarydsbanan Remote Blocking: Yes
Markarydsbanan Top Speed: 130 km/h
Markarydsbanan Electrified: 1935