The subway operator MTR Nordic has won the tender for Mälardalstrafiken, a deal worth four billion Swedish kronor. SJ will consequently lose out in the area for the first time.
Transport agreements valid for eight years with the possibility of a one-year extension, with services commencing on 12 December 2021, Mälardalstrafik announced on Wednesday.
The agreement covers five train lines:
Örebro – Eskilstuna – Stockholm – Uppsala
• Norrköping – Nyköping – Stockholm
Hallsberg – Katrineholm – Stockholm
• Uppsala – Sala – Västerås – Eskilstuna – Katrineholm – Linköping
• Uppsala – Gävle
The agreement also covers responsibility for traffic operations, onboard customer service, operational management and disruption management, vehicle maintenance, vehicle cleaning, and replacement services, Mälardalstrafik writes.
Since 1995, Tåg i Mälardalen, now Mälardalstrafik, has had an agreement with SJ concerning regional train services in Mälardalen. For SJ, this means losing out in an important area where they previously held a monopoly.
However, the company will still be active in the area with the lines Stockholm-Västerås-Örebro-Gothenburg, Stockholm-Uppsala, and Linköping-Stockholm-Gävle.
”Our ambition is to develop and expand traffic in Mälardalen by purchasing completely new regional trains while refurbishing existing double-deckers. Together with the traffic that Mälardalstrafik procures, we can jointly offer commuters and other travellers in Mälardalen comfortable and climate-smart train journeys, both within the region but also to and from Mälardalen,” says Jan Kyrk, business manager at SJ, in a comment to the website Järnvägsnyheter.
Source: di.se
