The European Corridor – a sustainable development project for the future of Sweden Oslo Land- vetter Göteborg Vårgårda Borås Ulricehamn Helsingör Linköping Arlanda Norrköping Jönköping Mjölby Helsingborg Värnamo Nyköping Ljungby Vaggeryd KKöpen-öpen- Stockholm Høje hahamnmn ÖrkelljungÅstorp a Taastrup Kastr Åstorp NykNykøbingøbing F u Hamburg p Lund MalMalmömö Lübeck The European Corridor region consists = Götalandsbanan of all existing infrastructure in South and = Europabanan Central Sweden as a whole, with the addition of the new high speed railways, the European Line and the = Southern Main Line Götaland Line. = Regionals lines and other line s = European roads AFIKBYRÅN GR NSKA SVE www.europakorridoren.se Reduce the size of the regions – expand the European Corridor There are numerous examples of how THE EUROPEAN CORRIDOR is the region Fundamentally, this concerns the investments in better communications, that extends from Mälardalen and Stockholm competitiveness of Sweden and the rest of including roads, railways, ports and IT, have through Jönköping and Gothenburg to the Nordic countries – in a world with an provided people and businesses with better Copenhagen and Hamburg. increasingly internationalised economy. accessibility. To jobs and education, to larger This is where two new railways – the The European Corridor means that towns, markets and new business opportunities. European Line and the Götaland Line – are municipalities and regions throughout the This is how we are creating an important going to be the arteries in a transport system elongated corridor will come closer to each prerequisite for increased growth. that will link together Sweden, the Nordic other – as a result of the considerable time region and continental Europe. A transport savings delivered by high speed trains and a We are not able to influence the geographic system that will shrink distances and thereby properly integrated modern transport system. distance. The 500 kilometres between, say, provide access to new opportunities to Stockholm and Gothenburg will remain 500 work and study, new markets and new In several places the Swedish railway system kilometres, whatever we do. preconditions for development. is already considerably undersized. This However, distance should be measured in At the same time the expansion entails a diminishes the opportunities for both people time, not in kilometres. In terms of time the drastic reduction in the environmental impact and businesses – and in practice moves heavy regions will become smaller with a modern of traffic – we will obtain a transport system traffic from rail to road transport. transport system, and thereby more accessible. that is also sustainable in the long-term from We feel that what is required now are And as the distances shrink, cities and an environmental perspective. political decisions, based on an overall countries on the European continent will get perspective. A collected will to create a closer. High speed trains (which travel at speeds of up modern transport system for Sweden. to 350 km/h) are of central significance for the In the process we – in Sweden 33 Investment in a modern transport system is new transport system. However, in addition municipalities, regions and counties, and in also a key to a lasting and sustainable society. the existing infrastructure must be renewed Denmark and Germany, regions and towns An unchecked increase in road transport – and and strengthened. – have both visions and knowledge to offer. primarily heavy traffic – risks exacerbating the In Southern Sweden it is the European greenhouse effect and increasing the pollution Line, the Götaland Line and the Southern Welcome to the European Corridor! of air, earth and water. Main Line that will form the corridor’s backbone, facilitate efficient traffic distribution and deliver drastically reduced journey times. Göran Johansson Gunnar Sibbmark Chairman of MD of the European the European Corridor Corridor 3 A European high speed network is emerging – is Sweden going to be part of it? New lines for high speed trains between Denmark and Germany. This is going also run on existing railways at lower speed, conditions for this forthcoming high are being constructed throughout to be of crucial significance for Sweden too. thus achieving complete compatibility between speed line are very similar to those that Europe that link together regions and The bridge represents a fixed connection different types of trains and tracks. prevail for the European Line between countries and bring people closer to between the Nordic region and the continent. Stockholm and Copenhagen. each other. A high speed network for There are now no obstacles to effective cross- Spain There are both strong terminal speeds of 300-350 km/h is emerging, border international passenger and goods traffic. Spain is similar to Sweden in a number of ways: markets and a number of larger on newly built or refurbished tracks. There is a relatively low population base and towns all along the route that create a This is delivering substantial Planning for the bridge is already at an advanced urban areas are spread out. The large distances substantial market for regional travel. reductions in journey times and stage – the aim is for it to be open as early as and long journey times by train meant that The distance between the two lines’ stronger regional integration. 2016. domestic flights had long enjoyed an advantage. terminal points is almost the same. A bonus is improved conditions for Several countries in Europe have already The arrival of high speed trains consequently In common with Sweden, Spain is transporting freight by train. Within invested in high speed trains, and have achieved produced a springboard effect, raising the profile located on the fringes of Europe and it the EU an ambitious programme extremely good results, France, Germany and of both the railway and Spain. has a similar handicap in the form of has been adopted to expand the Spain for example. long distances to important destinations Trans-European Transport Network Large sums are being invested in these and Services on the 470 km long stretch between in Central Europe. There are also major (TEN-T). several other countries in new or upgraded Madrid – Seville commenced as long ago as similarities in the population base and railways. 1992. The research report “The European traffic structure, with large distances Sweden is highly dependent on close Corridor – A broadband for physical between the population centres. contact with the large European France transportation”, published by the KTH Railway markets. Our geographic position, France has had an extensive high speed train Group in 2003, reveals that travel on the route In the long-term the Spanish network involving long transport times, argues service since 1981, now at speeds of just over has been continuously increasing. After all will be linked to the French one and unequivocally in favour of us being 300 km/h. The French TGV network is being this time the increase in demand has still not thereby to the rest of the high speed part of the European network. continually expanded and there is cross-border declined. network in Europe. However, construction of the traffic to Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Thanks to the rapid connections the The European Corridor could be European high speed network is Britain (via the channel tunnel), Germany and railway has increased its share of the market. connected to Hamburg in the same already fully underway, and there are Switzerland. The aim of the major Spanish investments way. already more than 3000 kilometres of Next on the French expansion programme is in high speed railways is to achieve positive high speed track on the continent. a 320 km long track eastwards from Paris. From regional development, to increase the railway’s When is Sweden going to 2007 this will bring a number of important competitive strength in relation to road and air, proceed from ambitions and high- cities closer to the capital region. Among other and in the long-term to become closer to Europe. flown words to decisions and action? towns Strasbourg will be connected to the TGV network. By 2010 these TGV trains will The extension of the railway between Madrid Fehmarn Belt also cross the border to Germany, stopping in and Barcelona is in progress. A 600 km long In our immediate vicinity a bridge is Frankfurt am Main and thereby contributing stretch is currently under construction for being prepared over Fehmarn Belt, yet another link to the European high speed high speed trains to travel at 350 km/h. The in other words, a fixed connection network. The European high speed trains can 4 5 The European Corridor is a sustainable development project Fast communications are a means – not an end Better possibilities for commuting produce on coordinated social planning and traffic in themselves. better conditions for development and growth. planning for the Borås – Jönköping – Linköping Speed creates proximity. Fast trains offer us Studies by the International Business School stretch of the Götaland Line. A study of ideas the possibility of shaping the future society we show that it is towns and villages that are and proposals was submitted to the National are all going to live and work in. A society that situated within an hour’s commuting distance Rail Administration in 2007. corresponds to people’s requirements for work, from high speed railways that benefit the most. housing, quality of life and mobility within This insight provides a basis for the idea of the However, to achieve the major benefits Sweden and in the world around us. A society European Corridor as a region. a coherent railway system is required – a that generates the conditions for sustainable and sustainable development perspective and an lasting growth. Size and density are significant in creating the overall conception. best possible conditions for growth and regional For it is namely the case that railways have a key Sweden does not lack positive, up-to-date development.