Verdict: Sweden needs her train ferries
The Swedish Transport Administration has deemed the train-ferry route between Trelleborg and Rostock to be an essential part of Sweden’s transport infrastructure and must be retained
By Marc Allen, Maritime Direct UK.
Trafikverket, Sweden’s Transport Administration, has judged that the only remaining train-ferry link between Sweden and Germany must be retained. A route between Trelleborg and Sassnitz was discontinued in the spring of last year and traffic between Ystad and Swinoujscie is on hold due to construction work on the Polish side, leaving Trelleborg-Rostock the only working route.
Stena Line operates the route with ferries Skåne and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the world’s largest train ferries, with over a kilometre of track each. In the report, Trafikverket says the number of rail carriages crossing the Baltic have dropped from 200,000 at the end of the ’90s to only 20,000 at present.
90% of Sweden’s freight travels via the Öresund Bridge and Stena Line says that for the train ferries to be profitable, rail-freight volume via ferry must be increased significantly.
Analysts at the Administration say that the train ferries are a vital alternative to the vulnerable road route and an essential component in the country’s strategic infrastructure and state of preparedness.
