The East Coast Line ( sv, Ostkustbanan) is a long mainline railway in Sweden, linking the cities of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
,
Gävle
Gävle () is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 77,586 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the 13th most populated city in Sweden. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland (Swede ...
and
Sundsvall
Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population.
History
Th ...
, as well as the suburbs north of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
.
History
At the construction of the first Swedish mainline railway network 1856–1891 there was a principle to avoid the coasts. This was for military reasons (protect against attacks, airplanes did not exist) and to bring steam powered transport to areas without any. The coasts already had steamboats. The
Northern Main Line was built
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
–
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
–
Avesta
The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.
The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the litu ...
–
Storvik–
Ã…nge
Ånge is a locality and the seat of Ånge Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 2,872 inhabitants in 2010.
Ã…nge is a railway junction where the northern main line railway ('' Norra Stambanan'') connects with the central main line ...
. Gävle, Söderhamn and Sundsvall which today are located along the East Coast Line were then connected by branches from the mainline.
The first part of today's East Coast Line was the Stockholm–Uppsala part of the Northern Main Line, which opened on 20 September 1866. It was followed by the Uppsala–Gävle Railway, which was built by a private company and opened 1874. The railway Gävle–Sundsvall–Härnösand was opened 1927 after several years of debate. It was called the East Coast Line, and was built by a company mainly owned by the government and the cities along it. After a revision of the naming of railways in Sweden, the name East Coast Line was given to the railway Stockholm–Uppsala–Gävle–Sundsvall.
Electrification
The first part of the line was electrified in 1906–07 as a part of SJ's electrification trials. In 1926, the
Western Main Line
The Western Main Line ( sv, Västra stambanan) is the main state-owned railway line between Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden. Its construction began in 1856 and it opened for service in 1862.Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
was electrified. As Stockholm's main train depot is located in
Hagalund
Hagalund () is a residential area and railway yard in Solna Municipality, 5 km north of central Stockholm. It is known for the blue highrise buildings ''"Blåkulla"'' (Blue Hill or Blockula) which, against a rather strong and long-lasting opinion ...
, on the East Coast Line, this part was also electrified at the same time. The whole line was finally electrified in 1934. As all other lines in Sweden, East Coast Line is electrified with .
Improvements
The line was extended to double track between Stockholm and Uppsala as early as in 1906. Some curvy sections were rebuilt in the 70s and the 80s, but most of the improvements were done in the 90s, with the introduction of the tilting high-speed train
X2000. In the middle of the 90s, the line was completely overloaded with heavy commuter and long distance services north of Stockholm. In 1996, the work started on the
Arlanda Line
The Arlanda Line ( sv, Arlandabanan) is a long railway line which allows trains on the East Coast Line to reach Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sigtuna Municipality, Sweden. The Arlanda Line branches from the East Coast Line at Rosersberg and rejo ...
, a loop line which increased the distance with 3 km. With the introduction of 3 extra trains per hour between Stockholm and
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport
Stockholm Arlanda Airport is an international airport located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, north of Stockholm and nearly south-east of Uppsala. The airport is located within Stockholm County and the p ...
, the line was extended to four tracks between Stockholm and
Skavsta
Stockholm Skavsta Airport (Swedish: ''Stockholm Skavsta flygplats''), or Nyköping Airport is an international airport near Nyköping, Sweden, northwest of its urban area and approximately southwest of Stockholm. It is served by low-cost air ...
. This also resulted in increased speeds, from . In Skavsta, the old line, which goes over Märsta, diverges from the new line. Märsta serves as the terminus for most of the commuter services. It has been mentioned that the track might get upgraded to run up to 250 km/h but this has not been confirmed yet.
Traffic
Ostkustbanan is the busiest line in Sweden, with 60 trains per hour north of Stockholm. Here is a list of trains which use the line:
X2000: Stockholm –
Falun
Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabita ...
, Sundsvall,
Östersund
Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...
and
Härnösand
Härnösand () is a locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 17,556 inhabitants in 2010. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape just a few miles north of Hà ...
, via Arlanda.
InterCity: Stockholm - Mora, Falun and Östersund/Duved, via Arlanda.
Night Trains: Stockholm - Luleå, Kiruna/Narvik, Åre. Mostly over Märsta.
Regional Trains: Uppsalapendeln. Runs every half-hour between Stockholm - Uppsala. Calls at Märsta.
Commuter Trains: (Södertälje) - Stockholm - Märsta.
Freight trains: To all parts of middle and northern Sweden.
Operating speeds
The two express-tracks north of Stockholm permit running at the Swedish maximum of . The local tracks are limited to . The double-track section between Uppsala and Gävle also permits 200 km/h.
North of Gävle, the line consists of single track, mostly with lower speed. Apart from Ljusne-Enånger, around
Söderhamn
Söderhamn is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Söderhamn Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 11,761 inhabitants in 2010.
Sports
The biggest local sport is bandy. Broberg/Söderhamn Bandy play in the highest division E ...
where the old single track was replaced with 40 km new single track in the 1990s with a maximum speed of 200 km/h.
Branch Lines
There are a few branch lines.
*
Mälaren Line
The Mälaren Line ( sv, Mälarbanan) is a railway line from Stockholm via Västerås to Örebro in Sweden. The section from Stockholm to Kolbäck and from Valskog to Arboga has double track. The line was upgraded to high-speed in 2005. The line ...
, diverges directly after Stockholm Central.
*
Arlanda Line
The Arlanda Line ( sv, Arlandabanan) is a long railway line which allows trains on the East Coast Line to reach Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sigtuna Municipality, Sweden. The Arlanda Line branches from the East Coast Line at Rosersberg and rejo ...
is technically a branch, despite it has the most traffic.
*
Dala Line
The Dala Line ( sv, Dalabanan) is a single-track railway line in Sweden, linking the city of Uppsala to the towns of Sala, Avesta-Krylbo, Hedemora, Säter, Borlänge and Mora. In Uppsala, the line joins the East Coast Line, which goes south t ...
, the line to
Dalarna
Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales.
Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland
Värmland () also known a ...
, diverges directly after Uppsala.
*
Örbyhus–Hallstavik Line, a freight line which diverges in
Örbyhus
Örbyhus is a locality situated in Tierp Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 2,153 inhabitants in 2018.
Örbyhus Castle, located a few kilometers from the village, is where king Eric XIV of Sweden was imprisoned until his death from arsenic ...
.
References
East Coast Line Stockholm–Uppsala on Järnväg.netEast Coast Line Uppsala–Gävle on Järnväg.netEast Coast Line Gävle–Sundsvall on Järnväg.net
{{Authority control
Railway lines in Sweden
Unreferenced rail transport articles
Rail transport in Västernorrland County
Rail transport in Gävleborg County
Rail transport in Stockholm County
Stockholm (National Area)
Rail transport in Uppsala County
1927 establishments in Sweden
Railway lines opened in 1927