Kiruna

Pajala

Gällivare

Övertorneå

Överkalix Jokkmokk Haparanda Kalix n Polcirkel Boden Luleå Älvsbyn Arjeplog

Arvidsjaur Piteå

Transport policy platform for the region of Norrbotten

For increased accessibility and a competitive region I n t r o d u c t i o n

Politics for development and sustainability

The transport policy committee, which is compri- the county’s infrastructure in a broader context, sed of political representatives from this region, the results and benefits achieved can transcend is a forum for strategic discussions for increased regional and national borders. consensus on transport and infrastructure is- sues in Norrbotten County. The aim is to enable It is our ambition for this transport policy platform the county more forcefully to address transport to mark the start of long-term work in the county issues in dialogue with other regions, at both for a sustainable and effective infrastructure. national and EU level. Well-functioning freight and passenger transport, with improvements both to the road and rail network, as well as good sea and air connections, are crucial to our This document was produced in collaboration regional competitiveness both nationally and and was ratified by the Transport Policy Commit- internationally. Through a shared commitment to tee on 27 Sept. 2007

Karl Petersen Kent Ögren Chairman of Swedish Association of Local Chairman of Norrbotten County Council Authorities and Regions, Norrbotten

✳ Photos: Fredrik Broman, Human Spectra. Photo frontpage: Thomas Johansson, Banverket Map: ÅF Infraplan

Global perspective

Transport corridors are of major importance in a global perspective. Railway corridors in use today are marked in gren. The width of the field shows the quantity transported on the various routes:

Millions of net tonnes per track km < 1 1 5

Red arrows show planned transport routes. 0 50 100 150 200 250 km

Barents Sea

Harstad Murmansk Narvik

Bodö Kiruna Longer Kolahalvön Gällivare term Atlantic Ocean Mo i Rana Kirovsk Rovaniemi Ala- Salla Kurtti a Boden e S e it Kemi Gaining h Luleå flows W Trondheim Oulu Archangelsk Kostamus Belomorsk Severdovinsk Östersund Umeå Onega n Kokkola Kotskoma e Kajaani ik Ledm- v n e ozero tt o B Sundsvall

Petrozavodsk Kargopol Gävle Sortavala Onega

Kotka Ladoga

Stockholm Helsinki

Gothenburg St Petersburg

Baltic Sea p r i o r i t ie s ”We political representatives must work to develop the county infrastructure for increased accessibility and competitiveness...”

For effective infrastructure

We political representatives must work to develop the county infrastructure for increased accessibility and competitiveness, a goal which is to be achieved through the following strategic policies.

Act to move the North Bothnia Line to the top of the agenda. Secure the satisfactory air connections that are an important precondition for day commuting to, from and within Norrbotten. Invest in modern rolling stock and an increased number of passing stations between Kiruna and Luleå. Act for North Sweden Seaport to gain the status of prioritised national port. Invest in increasing the load capacity of the road network, adapted to the needs of business. Promote inter-regional connections and region enlargement for increased accessibility and attractive- ness to benefit all groups in the community. Support the Pan-European transport corridors (e.g. Northern Axis) for improved global competitiveness. Secure infrastructure investments for the extraction of raw materials in the whole county.

Northern Sweden’s seaports are among the busiest in Sweden by shipped volume. Ice- breakers make shipping possible all year round. s t r a t e g ie s ”We political representatives shall act vigorously for added resources at national and international level...”

This is how we do it!

We political representatives shall act vigorously for added resources at national and international level and for prioritised investments for better and more efficient utilisation.

work politically to find alternative financing options (OPS) to realise the North Bothnia Line project. act to further these political priorities as identified principle aims; – The North Bothnia Line – Airports (Luleå, Arvidsjaur, Kiruna, Gällivare, Pajala) – North Sweden Seaport – European highways – E 4 and E 10 influence the prioritising of investments in the Bothnian Corridor in the national infrastructure plan. operate in strategic alliances/networks for the Bothnian Corridor to be given priority in the EU Commission’s revision of TEN-T. Norrbotten is rich in set priorities for effective multimodality investments in the transport sys- natural resources such as tem to promote a competitive region. minerals and forests. investigate possibilities of corporate formation and the possibility to bring forward investments in the county road networks. lobby at national level for increased funding for infrastructure investments. Many industries in conti- Secure funding for increasing the load capacity of the road network. nental Europe are depen- dent on the rapid and re- liable transport of products from Northern Sweden. The North Bothnia Line is a new 270-km railway in Northern Sweden, impro- ving the European rail net- work by linking the Swedish and Finnish rail systems. It is an important part of the Bothnian Corridor.

Priority corridors Trans-national axis

Map: ÅF Infraplan v i s i o n

For a competitive region The vision is a political stance on how we are to work to achieve a competitive region

Develop a transport system providing long-term economic sustainability and creating conditions Norrbotten is Sweden´s for secure and effective freight and passenger northernmost county and transport by land, sea and air. also the biggest. A quarter of a million inhabitants have This means viable transport solutions where 99 000 sq km to themselves, railways, shipping and airways together form an area about the same size a functional transport system that is a factor in as Portugal. Norrbotten’s growth and competitiveness. The geographical location and the long distances both in and outside Sweden make high demands for economical transport producing a smaller energy Northern Sweden accounts and environmental footprint. for no less than 60 percent of the country´s rail trans- The cost-effective development of airports and air portation volume. traffic, as well as public transport, are required for people to be able to live and work in Norr- botten. Ongoing social developments through The backbone in larger regional units also pre-suppose large- Norrbotten´s road system is scale infrastructure investments in a democratic the European highways E4, perspective. E10 and E45. n o r r b o t t e n

A distance- spanning hotspot

Sweden’s mining and mineral sector with related is exported within the EU. Raw materials from the industries is currently experiencing extremely county thereby contribute to fulfilling the common strong growth. The extensive investments now Lisbon Strategy. being made in Norrbotten and in the entire Barents Region give major growth potential, The market for the forestry and timber industry in enabling Norrbotten in the future to develop into Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties in principle a successful part of Sweden and Europe. It is vital comprises the building trade and wood industry that the Bothnian Corridor, as it is called, be made in the whole world. There are urgent demands for a priority link in the European transport network functioning transport logistics, since 99 per cent of TEN-T, thereby acquiring a supranational link to customers are not only grouped in the south, they the Pan-European transport corridor Northern are also far away. Increased global competition Axis. Mining and related industries are of major means that companies today no longer hold inven- importance to Sweden’s GNP. tory as such. This makes them highly dependent on the reliability of deliveries, flexibility and short According to an estimate carried out in 2007 by lead times to be able to assure their own produc- Statistics Sweden and the consultants ÅF-infra- tion. In certain cases, the logistical aspects can be plan, the production value from the mining and deemed as important as the customer’s details extraction industry, steel and metal industry and and the sales price combined when assessing a the machine industry amounts to around 400,000 new transaction. mSEK (43,000 mEUR) a year. A large proportion, over 90 per cent, of the raw material production The logistical difficulties associated with transpor-

The European highways E4, E10 and E45 form the backbone of Norrbotten´s road network . tation from northernmost Sweden can thus have ting job, while companies gain access to a greater a direct inhibitive bearing on the involved com- pool of well-educated workers. The influx of new panies’ possibilities to develop and expand their knowledge and new people is vital to development markets. Priority investments in the railway net- and renewal, creating a vital and attractive region. work, shipping and roads, with strategic location of multimodal terminals will improve the efficiency Investments in a fully developed infrastructure of freight transport and increase companies’ create conditions for region enlargement, leading market share, at the same time as they reduce the not only to a bigger and more diversified labour environmental burden. market region, but also to increased specialisation of the business sector and education, and an im- Improved infrastructure usually means impro- proved workforce supply, something fundamental ved regional functions and better balance in the to the long-term competitiveness of the business population development. This enables better use sector. of existing public investments, at the same time reducing pressure on the major urban areas. Norrbotten has five airports Norrbotten’s geographical conditions and the distance to the major markets make high demands with scheduled domestic on multimodality, with air connections a crucial and international flights. factor. By improving conditions for commuting, it can be made easier for people to find an interes-

The North Bothnia Line will play a vital role for industri- al heavy freight transport. co mpe t it ive r e g i o n s

Global change

Economic development is characterised increa- Norrbotten is a major pro- singly by flexibility and computerised technology. ducer of hydropower. Strategic alliances are growing in number in both sectors and industries, between producers and consumers. Changes in the economy mean a gra- dual transition from volume production to quality Northern Sweden produ- production. ces 90 % of the EU´s iron ore, and makes a signi- Parallel with this development, the global features ficant contribution to the of the economy have been strengthened as a EU´s copper, zinc, gold, consequence of the liberalisation of the flow of silver and lead production. goods, services, people and capital across natio- nal borders. Through a higher degree of market integration, companies’ markets have in many cases grown, but so has competition. There is less scope for macroeconomic interventions influen- Norrbotten is in the cing the free market forces. The significance of middle of the Barents re- national and regional competitiveness as a means gion and is the European to achieve prosperity and economic development gateway to Northwest has therefore grown. The winners in the globalised Russia with its vast natural economy are those countries and regions that suc- resources. ceed in adapting to the new conditions by creating growth based on their own large-scale re-invest- ments in production capital, human resources, R&D and infrastructure. ba c k g r o u n d

Life and business in Norrbotten

Norrbotten is currently in an expansive period, and and paper industries, sawmills and heavy engi- business and industry are booming. One of the neering. Car testing operations, and other more factors most crucial to continued expansion and knowledge-intensive services are growing, and in growth is access to good infrastructure. Histori- the electronics industry there is a move towards cally, development shows that the availability of specialisations based on advanced skills. The in- functioning transportation has been decisive to a land area of northernmost Sweden has important region’s development and growth. industrial facilities in the form of mines and asso- ciated beneficiation plants and pelletising plants. An important base for regional development is All these operations generate large quantities of well-functioning infrastructure, where shipping, air freight in the many stages of the processing chain, transport roads and railways together form a co- from the raw materials to the consumer. herent and sustainable communications network. The long distances in our county and the remo- The need of bigger labour market regions, teness from the major markets both within and contributing towards a more mobile labour force outside Sweden put stringent demands on trans- and increased labour supply for the long-term port multimodality with regard both to people and competitiveness of the business sector, calls for freight. In an increasingly globalised market, good improved infrastructure. The role of Luleå Univer- transportation is of paramount importance to the sity of Technology as an intermediary for know- competitiveness of our businesses. This applies ledge, skills and research findings is manifestly in particular to regions such as Norrbotten where strengthened by improved accessibility. considerable added value is exported to distant markets. A well-functioning infrastructure is prerequisite to the ability of the business sector in Norrbotten to The coastal region around the Gulf of Bothnia continue to create jobs, generate export revenue and the Orefields contains a number of industrial and contribute toward the general level of prospe- plants that are of European significance.T he emp- rity. This greatly benefits the whole ofS weden and hasis is on mining, metals and foundries, the pulp means added value for Europe. www.plansju.se