“The best year” – this is how the Swedish Transport Administration would like to describe the pandemic year 2020.
At least when it comes to the punctuality of Swedish trains, which broke new records when fewer people chose to travel.
A total of 93.5 percent of all train departures arrived on time at their final destination in 2020. This is the best figure so far since 2013, when the Swedish Transport Administration introduced a new way of calculating the matter.
– 2020 is the best year and if you break it down, it was also the best months, says Traffic Director Roberto Maiorana at the Swedish Transport Administration.
And the corona pandemic has of course played a role. Although Roberto Maiorana also highlights the Swedish Transport Administration's long-term work, including more efficiently planned maintenance work and a better quality of the tracks as a result, there have been fewer people on the tracks than usual.
“Of course, there will be more air in the system. Fewer passengers help make stops run more smoothly. When a train stops at a station, it is much faster to get on and off,” he continues.
However, the traffic director points out that more trains have run than one might think. A total of 958,990 compared to 1,030,611 departures the previous year.
– Metropolitan traffic, which makes up about half of all train traffic, has been running as planned to avoid congestion.
Source: TT
