Västlänken: The Most Expensive Train Project in Swedish History
Per kilomiter that is. The 8km train track is estimated to cost a whopping $2.5bn
I’m so excited to finally write about an infrastructure project in my home-city, Göteborg!
And it’s not any project, it’s the notorious Västlänken (West Link in English). It's the most debated infrastructure project in Sweden right now, and for good reason.
Västlänken is first and foremost a train extension project and the proposed train-tracks only stretches for 8km, but has a price tag of at least SEK 20bn (USD $2.5bn). That’s $313 million per km of train-track!
What is Västlänken?
Västlänken is a double-track railway connection that is under construction in central Göteborg. The railway connection will be 8 km long, of which 6 km will go through a tunnel. Three underground, 4-track stations are being built at the Göteborg central station, Hagakyrkan and Korsvägen.
The official start of construction took place in May 2018, but already in 2017, preparatory work began. The tunnel is expected to be completed in 2026.
Today, Göteborg Central Station is a so-called sack station, which means that all trains that are going on from the station must "turn" and drive out the same track as they came in.
With Västlänken, the trains that are planned to go through a tunnel and go straight through the station without having to "turn".
The train tunnel thus frees up tracks in the sack station where all long-distance trains and the remaining regional trains will also stop in the future.
This will enable a much higher through-put and can thus enable much higher numbers of daily commuters from quickly growing surrounding municipalities like Borås, Partille or Kungälv.
Why is Västlänken so Expensive?
Digging down tracks and creating tunnels for a fully-fledged train is always very expensive, but what makes Västlänken so astronomically expensive has to do with the city’s unfortunate foundation. Most of the city is built on mud…
In fact, most of central Göteborg is sinking, but luckily so slowly that we won’t have to deal with it in the next 100 years or so.
Out of the 8km of tunneling required for the project, careful planning has enabled over 6km to be built through a rock foundation. However, 2km will have to go trough the mud, and this will the most expensive part of the project!
Why Are They Building Västlänken?
The Göteborg Central Station was built in 1858 and was never designed for the capacity it is forced to deal with today, yet alone any modern train infrastructure. Many additions have been made to the station, but because of its “sack station” nature, its always been a bottleneck in the city’s train infrastructure.
In fact, as early as in 1967, plans to build train tunnels to ease congestion around the Central Station was proposed. Since then, everything from a separate subway system to an additional highway has been proposed, but the Västlänken idea was always the most feasible one, which is why it was finally approved by the Swedish government 50 years later, in 2017.
My Concluding Opinions
Yes, Västlänken is astronomically expensive for providing such a seemingly small benefit.
However, its less visible benefits will make a huge difference for the average train commuter.
The present Göteborg Central Station directs trains to different available tracks and station platforms every time it arrives with the help of switches. This enables more flexibility but takes a lot more space and decreases efficiency.
In perhaps the world’s most advanced train nation, Japan, major station tracks are dedicated to a line, so for example a train from Yokohama to Tokyo station will always use the same tracks and platform.
This enables a much higher through-put as no coordination of trains is needed when the trains reach the station. Also, because people know exactly which platform their train will arrive, it can depart much quicker.
The planned Västlänken will steer the Göteborg Central Station towards Japan’s thinking around train-tracks and thus, the actual benefit of just installing 4 additional tracks will be immensely felt across its train network.
As an added benefits, because the project will add two additional stations at Hagakyrkan and Korsvägen, it will decrease the congestion in the Central Station even further.
For a city growing at the rate of Göteborg, with more and more people commuting from surrounding municipalities, I think it is an absolutely necessary investment.
Sadly, the subtle benefits described above will only be recognized after the project is finished which is likely why it has been such a tough sell to the public.
As with all massive infrastructure projects, Västlänken will likely be delayed, have budget overruns and public opinion will be even less favorable before its finished.
However, when its all said and done, I believe Västlänken will usher in a new era of commuting; a greener, more comfortable and faster era, with trains as the main way to get in and out of my lovely hometown Göteborg.