North Bothnia Line
The North Bothnia Line is a new 270 km coastal railway line between Umeå and Luleå. It will shorten travel times, enable safer transportation, and reduce climate impact, greatly increasing the ability to travel and transport goods throughout Sweden.
Planning and construction is underway for the North Bothnia Line, a new 270-kilometre railway line between Umeå and Luleå. The North Bothnia Line is intended to strengthen the country’s rail freight traffic and enable passenger traffic between the cities along the Norrland coast. Studies are currently in progress for the various subsections of the line.
The positive effects will be considerable. It will be possible to cut transport costs of freight traffic by 30 percent and to halve travelling times for passengers, which will make conditions for commuting to work much better than they are today.
The assessment is that the North Bothnia Line will create the conditions for sustainable economic development, improved competitiveness for industry and trade, and positive regional development for the benefit of the entire country. The new railway line is expected to lead to considerable climate and environmental benefits – CO2 emissions, for example, are estimated to be reduced by about 80 000 tons per year.
The present situation
All railway studies have been completed. The Swedish Transport Administration is currently working on developing railway plans for the section between Umeå and Skellefteå. In 2018, construction began between Umeå and Dåva. In 2021, the Swedish Transport Administration was commissioned by the government to commence planning for the Skellefteå–Luleå section.