The East Link/Ostlanken project is a planned 150km, double-track, high-speed railway line between Jarna locality, Stockholm County and Linkoping, Sweden. It will be the first high-speed rail line in Sweden designed for trains travelling at speeds up to 320km/h.
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The project is a key part of a Sweden’s future high-speed rail project from Stockholm-Gothenburg/Malmo via Jonkoping. The line will also connect with the existing main railway line network in Jarna, Norrkoping and Linkoping.
East Link will significantly reduce the travel time between the connecting cities and make the journey faster, safer and smoother. It will also increase capacity for more trains, enable economic growth in the regions by creating opportunities and increase freight transport on the existing railways.
Construction works are scheduled to take place between 2017 and 2021, and the line is expected to become fully operational by 2028.
currently preparing the permissibility application for the project, the Swedish Transport Administration is investing Skr35.5bn ($4.25bn) on the project.
Benefits of Sweden’s first rail line
The East Line will provide new travel opportunities and create a more direct route, unlike the existing rail lines. The journey between Stockholm to Linkoping may reduce to one hour and from Stockholm to Nykoping is expected to take 45 minutes, while the journey time between Stockholm and Malmo will reduce by 30 minutes for long-distance travellers.
It will also free-up space on existing lines and reduce congestion for other trains. Besides passenger services, it will create more capacity for freight.
Ostlanken high-speed rail line infrastructure
The 150km double-track line will be built with 155 bridges (126 railway bridges and 29 road bridges over a length of 10km) and 27 tunnels. The tunnels will stretch over a length of 20km and will comprise 12 single-track tunnels and 15 double-track tunnels. The shortest tunnel will have a length of 100m, while the longest will be roughly 6km.
All the crossings between road and railway will be separated and the line will be installed with traffic control without optical signals.
Line route and station details
The high-speed rail will pass through three counties between Jarna and Linkoping, which include Stockholm, Sodermanland and Ostergotland. It will include five stations at Vagnharad, Nykoping, Skavsta airport, Norrkoping and Linkoping. All the stations will be new except the one at Nykoping, where an existing building will be developed and renovated.
Contractors involved
The Swedish Transport Administration planned to split the project into 15 construction contracts to be awarded to both foreign and Swedish companies.
According to the plan, all the construction work within the same geographical area will be considered into a single contract. However, the works that do not include construction, such as electrical, signals engineering and telecommunication engineering, will be procured under separate contracts.
The development of a 65km stretch was awarded to COWI, a Danish consulting firm, and SYSTRA, an engineering and consulting group specialising in rail and public transport.
The contractual scope includes installation of rail systems from Sillekrog to Stacsjo with a link to Nykoping and construction of a new station at Skavsta Airport.
