About Skagerrakbanan
Today, the train journey between Oslo and Gothenburg takes three hours and forty minutes. But what if we could do the same trip in just one hour?
In 2020, six municipalities in Bohus County formed the Skagerrak Transport Corridor consortium. In recent years, five municipalities from Østfold County in Norway have also joined development efforts. The decision to form a consortium was founded on the desire of the municipalities to develop the region’s trade, industry and economic growth. Because they felt the Swedish government’s infrastructure efforts to be far too slow (shortening the travel time between Gothenburg and Oslo would not be considered for another 25 years), they decided to take matters into their own hands.
The plan was to build a 256 kilometre railway on viaducts rather than on the ground. A viaduct rail line costs just half as much as a railway at ground level, uses five times less excavated material and can be built five times faster. What’s more, there’s no need to re-route the road network. It’s possible to connect the viaduct to existing rail networks, thus creating good travel opportunities within and through the region.
Unimpeded rail traffic combined with modern rail technology will mean a top speed of 400 kilometres per hour. Thus a non-stop trip between Oslo and Gothenburg will take just one hour – unlike today’s journey time of three hours and forty minutes. Services that stop at all stations in between Oslo and Gothenburg will take around one hour 40 minutes. All stations along the Bohus Line and Østfold Line will enjoy shorter journey times in conjunction with Skagerrakbanan. For example, Lysekil–Uddevalla will take 30 minutes by train, Lysekil–Gothenburg 60 minutes and Lysekil–Oslo 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The Swedish municipalities forming parts of the Skagerrak Transport Corridor consortium are: Kungälv, Stenungsund, Uddevalla, Lysekil and Strömstad. The participating municipalities on the Norwegian side are Halden, Sarpsborg, Indre Østfold, Nordre Follo and Rakkestad.
The Skagerrakbanan construction project was launched in 2020. It is scheduled for completion and operation in 2030. Total repayment time for the Oslo-Gothenburg high-speed rail line is estimated to be around 25-30 years, after which the line will remain for at least 90 years, paid for and completed.