Botniabanan AB - Articles and news items

Bombardier delivers landmark technology for Sweden high speed line

Rail industry news / 27 August 2010 /

Bombardier will join Botniabanan AB tomorrow in celebrating the inauguration of the new high speed Botnia Line in Sweden – the first rail line in the Nordic area to be operating with ERTMS/ETCS Level 2 functionality. Bombardier has supplied its BOMBARDIER INTERFLO 450 rail control system for the ground-breaking new line, going into operation on the north-east coast of Sweden, running from Nyland to Gimonäs.

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The Bothnia Line is built for the future!

Issue 5 2009, Past issues / 26 September 2009 /

The Bothnia line consists of 190km of new railway, with 140 bridges and 25km of tunnels. Botniabanan AB has been commissioned by the Swedish government to build the Bothnia Line, a railway running from Nyland, north of Kramfors, via Örnsköldsvik to Umeå. Ground-breaking for the project took place on 14 August 1999 and the railway will become operational in autumn 2010. A big opening is planned to happen on 28 August 2010.

The Bothnia Line will link together a highly productive region, where a series of significant industrial locations are all situated along the Swedish coastline. (more…)

The imminent inauguration of the Bothnia Line

Issue 5 2008, Past issues / 27 September 2008 /

Building of the Bothnia Line began on a modest scale in 1999. In October 2008, Stage 1 is expected to be taken into operation – this is when a subsection is being opened for goods traffic. The entire line will be ready for goods and passenger services in autumn 2010.

Recent opinion polls show that people living in the vicinity of the line have never been more positive about the project. 81% give the thumbs up – a very high figure.

The Bothnia Line, an integral part of the European rail network, is a new railway in northern Sweden. Its building was prompted by the need for such a facility along the coast. The Bothnia Line aims to enable higher efficiency in goods transport and establish regional passenger services and high-speed inter-regional traffic. Functionally, the new railway and the old limited-capacity main line will form a double-track network. This will reduce the vulnerability of rail traffic. Furthermore, transport will be faster and safer. The arrival of the Bothnia Line also brings major environmental benefits.

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Botniabanan – a Swedish pioneer project

Issue 5 2006, Past issues / 15 September 2006 /

The goal of the Bothnia line in northern Sweden is to create a railway of national importance and which will be an integrated part of the European railway network. After seven years of construction, the project has reached the halfway point and could one day form the first phase of a new line all the way to Finland.

The existing trunk line section in the region is more than 100 years old and was, for defense reasons (i.e. the Russian bear threat), located approximately 40km off the coast. The old line has become unattractive for passenger traffic and is today used as a heavy load freight line. It has now reached it’s capacity limit, and as such become gradually less competitive. The curves and slopes of the old line prevent access of fast heavy freight trains.

The Bothnia line will enhance the efficiency of the whole transportation system to and from the northern half of Sweden for freight traffic, contribute to regional cooperation and balance through the introduction of passenger traffic in the densely populated coastal areas and bring environmental benefits by transferring transport work from road traffic. In the future, the project also opens up possibilities for transport exchange with western Russia. (more…)