Sweden's already hard-pressed train passengers are being burdened with new burdens. Mälartåg is canceling virtually all departures between Uppsala and Gävle on Sunday due to holidays and sick leave. At the same time, the disruptions of recent days in Närke and Jämtland continue.
Usually one Mälartåg train per hour runs from Uppsala to Gävle, and vice versa. However, due to staff shortages, most of the trains are cancelled.
”"This is due to staff shortages due to holidays and illness. We don't have enough train drivers or train conductors on the routes," says Rebecca Lundin, a press spokesperson for train operator MTR.
At this point, she can only say with certainty that Sunday's traffic will be affected.
However, MTR has not yet made a decision on how to bring in more staff. Lundin says they are reviewing the options available.
”"We will try to solve next week's traffic, hopefully we will be in a better position then.".
TT: Could you bring in personnel from other parts of the country?
”"It's difficult to do it on short notice. It would only be relevant later in the week if the situation doesn't look better."”
Several of MTR's routes are also affected by staff shortages, although not to the same extent as the departures between Uppsala and Gävle.
The Norrköping–Nyköping–Stockholm and Örebro–Eskilstuna–Stockholm–Uppsala routes also had cancelled departures on Sunday. In total, over 20 trains within Mälartåg, which is operated by MTR, are affected.
MTR has deployed several replacement buses to cover for the cancelled trains.
Since then, the train service between Ånge and Duved has been replaced by a bus.
”"The night trains are cancelled overnight until Monday, and that's because we haven't been able to get replacement buses," says Leila Fogelholm at SJ's press service.
Norrtåg is also affected by the fault. On Sunday, the company stated on its website that three trains were completely cancelled on the route between Sundsvall and Storlien.
The Swedish Transport Administration estimates that the fault at Gällö will be fixed by Monday afternoon. If the fault persists, train traffic may be affected for longer than that.
In the middle of the week, electrical faults and accidents have caused traffic disruptions in various parts of the country, and several of those problems still persist.
Between Hallsberg and Örebro, an electrical fault has meant that trains have had to run at a lower speed - resulting in delays.
In addition, train traffic past Gällö in Jämtland has been suspended since last Friday, after a catenary was torn down. This in turn has meant that SJ's night trains between Gothenburg and Duved have been completely cancelled over the weekend.
Source: TT-DI.SE
