This is a debate article. The opinions expressed are the writer’s own.
DEBATE. The Swedish Transport Administration does not stick to the facts and excludes magnetic trains as an investigation alternative for the investment in high-speed trains. But now there is a new impartial study that includes magnetic train alternatives, writes Rune Wigblad.
Politicians believe that when it comes to high-speed trains, the Swedish Transport Administration is responsible for technology issues. The Swedish Transport Administration’s strategic spokesperson Christer Löfving however, incorrectly claims in the magazine “Environment & Development” that they have investigated magnetic trains. But it was only an internal PM in 2014 that Löfving carried out and not a thorough investigation.
Technology development has improved the field of magnetic trains. In addition to high-speed magnetic trains, 500 km / h, the trains that in Sweden are called large-regional trains do not compete with China’s new “urban maglev trains” (commuter trains up to 200 km) with a design speed of 200 km / h. China has recently developed such an EMS magnetic train. Thanks to very good acceleration ability, these trains have better performance than Ostlänken’s high-speed trains for 250 km / h. The regions Linköping, Norrköping and Nyköping as well as Gothenburg, Landvetter and Borås would benefit from having magnetic trains when new trunk lines are built.
This Chinese technological development has not been thoroughly investigated in Sweden.
The internal PM at the Swedish Transport Administration about magnetic trains that I wrote (see Wigblad, “Modernize Sweden”, 2018, pp. 165-169) estimated between the thumb and forefinger the investment cost for magnetic trains in Sweden to “about SEK 400-500 million per kilometer”. At that time, the investment cost for High-Speed Trains was also estimated at about 200 million per kilometer.
In February 2021, the Swedish Transport Administration estimated the investment cost for the High Speed Train’s East Link, with a top speed of 250 km / h, at approximately SEK 520 million per kilometer. This amount increases as detailed planning progresses.
The valuation of magnetic trains is still not reconsidered by the Swedish Transport Administration. There is research that claims “track binding” in large infrastructure projects. This point indicates that there is no re-evaluation of the project’s technical content during the planning. However, this is not true of the high-speed train project because the Swedish Transport Administration has since the spring of 2021 devoted itself to investigating two different new technology alternatives, a Chinese version advocated by Skanska and a Japanese version, both high-speed trains on land bridges.
However, the Swedish Transport Administration did not investigate the land bridge alternative magnetic trains, despite the fact that EMS magnetic trains, according to DSMG’s assessment, have at least 50 percent less concrete in the bridge track. An investigation carried out by the Swedish Transport Administration in 2017 excluded magnetic train alternatives. The Swedish Transport Administration’s socio-economic calculation in 2018 also excluded magnetic train alternatives.
On 2 February 2022, an impartial scientific report was published, which was prepared without financial compensation, ie without external funding, “Fast Ground Transport for Sweden” by Henrik Ny, Blekinge Institute of Technology [BTH]). The BTH report is unconditionally based on a holistic perspective that includes magnetic trains. Then great advantages of magnetic trains emerge.
Initiating thorough investigations into new breakthrough technology is an issue that should not be handled by the Swedish Transport Administration. But, while waiting for Sweden to have a proper technology evaluation institution that can make impartial and objectively based investigations, like Statistics Sweden in the field of statistics, politicians must act so that we get all the facts on the table. The BTH report is a feasibility study that has shown the way and now requires an impartial and properly funded follow-up that thoroughly investigates high-speed trains. Based on the report from BTH, an assignment should be given to finance a thorough and impartial investigation.
Rune Wigbladprofessor of business administration specialization industrial economics at Strömstad Academy, lecturer at the University of Skövde
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