Inlandsbanan – befintliga spår, ny trafik : Förutsättningar för regional spårtrafik i glesbebyggda områden

When the car dependency grew under many decades in Sweden parts of the rail network was shutdown or got reduced traffic due to the diminishing demand for rail travel. The railway lines affectedwere primarily those in rural areas with an already low number of travellers. One of these linesthreatened to be shut down was the line called Inlandsbanan (Inland line). Inlandsbanan was savedby the municipalities located along the line who now manage the railway by a co-owned company.Since the railway became managed by the co-owned company the railway has mostly been used fortourist-oriented traffic and freight traffic.Today the conditions are different, the demand for rail travel has increased due to a general highertransport demand and an increased environmental awareness. This study has been carried out tofind out if there is possibility to re-establish regional rail traffic for passengers on Inlandsbanan.The study has been carried out using statistics of current travel volumes and inhabitants in thepopulation centres along the line. This data has been analysed with support from earlier studiesregarding regional rail traffic and public transport in rural areas. As an extra tool in the study asimulation program has been used to estimate the travel demand for the line.The study found that the current low speed on Inlandsbanan is the biggest obstacle for implementingan attractive regional rail service on the line. The train is too slow in comparison to the car andtherefore it is not able to gain any considerable share of the total amount of travellers. It is possibleto replace regional bus service at some parts of the line since the train has some minor time gaincompared to the current bus service and the train could also offer a higher level of comfort