SWEDEN: Current operator SJ has been selected for the next contract to operate Västtågen regional passenger train services around Göteborg for 11 years from December 12 2027.
National operator SJ has been operating the services on behalf of the Västtrafik, Jönköpings Länstrafik and Hallandstrafiken transport authorities since May 2012, when it took over under a three-year emergency agreement after Denmark’s DSB pulled out in the face of mounting losses on a contract which had been intended to run to 2018. SJ formed local subsidiary SJ Götalandståg, which was awarded a long-term contract running for nine years from 2015 with an option for a three year extension which was then exercised
SJ was subsequently awarded the Kinnekulletågen contract running for a total of 11 years. Both sets of services have in practice been operated through SJ Götalandståg, and the new contract formally merges the two operations into one contract with a total value of SKr12bn over 11 years.
‘The agreement gives us the opportunity to continue developing the customer experience and traffic, as well as the daily collaboration with our regional partners’, said SJ Götalandståg CEO Helena Isaksson.
The contract period will see the delivery of new trains and the opening of the 8 km Västlänken cross-city tunnel in Göteborg, and a switch to HVO fuel on the Kinnekulle Line which is expected to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Pontus Gunnäs, Business Manager for Trains at Västtrafik, said ‘we look forward to continuing to develop the collaboration with SJ. As we invest in new trains and better travel options in train traffic, this agreement is an important piece of the puzzle that is now falling into place.’
