Tramways gaining ground in Nordic region

"We lag behind the other Nordic nations, partly because the framework for financing is so unclear. For us it’s always about special negotiations for regions and municipalities, and every project is a unique result of lobbying, negotiations and discussions. There’s simply no direct route to take," says PG Andersson, Vice President at Trivector Traffic, a consulting firm in sustainable transportation.

Historically, Sweden has been a forerunner in tramways as a public transport network in many of our main cities, certainly in the early 20th century at least. Sweden has had 13 tram cities, while Denmark has had three, Norway three and Finland two (or three counting Viipuri, lost to the Soviet Union in World War II). However increased road traffic, the changeover to driving on the right, and old carriages that were never replaced or modernised were obstacles that gradually put an end to tramways in many cities. Now only Norrköping and the Stockholm and Gothenburg regions have tramways.

Comfort and capacity
The many benefits of tramways make them a new winner for the future. Comfort, capacity and a smart use of city space are some of them, while others include reliable operation and opportunities for new combinations with other rail-bound modes of transport. Discussions are under way in at least seven Swedish cities to extend or build new tramway networks, and some of these discussions have been ongoing for several years.

The Nordic plans and strategies will be discussed jointly in a seminar at Elmia Nordic Rail on Tuesday 6 October. The panel includes representatives from Norway, Denmark and Finland, and Trivector Traffic of Sweden. Since our Nordic neighbours have taken the lead in the region, PG Andersson says there is a lot to talk about, but also a lot to learn.

"You might easily wonder why we in Sweden have been talking about trams for 10-15 years, while Denmark has four funded tram projects opening in the next ten years. A lot of it is of course because financing and subsidies are regarded and dealt with differently in other countries," says Andersson.

The seminar on tramways takes place on Tuesday 6 October at 13:00-14:30 in Rydbergssalen.