X5, X8 and X15 was a series of three or four car electric multiple units operated by

Statens Järnvägar The Swedish State Railways ( sv, Statens Järnvägar) or SJ, originally the Royal Railway Board ( sv, Kungl. Järnvägsstyrelsen), was the former government agency responsible for operating the state-owned railways in Sweden. It was created i ...

(SJ) of Sweden as

express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than local trains that stop at most or all of the stations alo ...

s. Eight units were built by

Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget ''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' (English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company. History ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås as ...

(ASEA) in 1947–48 and were in service until 1985.

History

The first delivery was of two four-car units to

Bergslagernas Järnvägar Bergslagernas Järnvägar was the largest private railroad company of Sweden with a main line from Gothenburg to Falun, in all 478 km. Bergslagernas Järnvägar (BJ) was founded in the 1870s to form a transportation system from Bergslage ...

(BJ) in 1947, designated X8, followed by the delivery of six three-car units to SJ in 1948, designated X5. By 1949 BJ was taken over by SJ, who operated all the units. They were used by BJ on the route

Göteborg 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 a p ...

–

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. It is also bordered by Norwa ...

– Gävle on the ''GDG Express''. SJ put their units into the main express routes, including ''Skandiapilen'' ( Köpenhamn–Helsingborg–Göteborg–

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

), ''Göteborgaren'' (Göteborg– Stockholm) and ''Mälardalen'' (Stockholm–

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås is the se ...

–

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

). During the 1970s the X5s and X8s were moved to regional services around Göteborg. Last regular traffic was in 1983 while one X5 remained as a reserve train until 1987. Two X5 units have been preserved, though neither are operational.

Variations

X5 was the second batch, with six units delivered to SJ, with three cars. X8 was the first batch, with two units delivered to BJ. The extra fourth car was a dining car. Neither have been preserved. X15 was a test unit for a new generation of high-speed trains, leading to the development of the X2. The X15 consisted of three converted X5 carriages with new motors, bogies and tilting technology, and later on one streamlined corrugated stainless steel carriage that could be described as a prototype of a typical X2 carriage was added. It reached the contemporary Swedish speed record of 238 km/h. The three converted X5 carriages were scrapped in 1990, while the prototype X2 carriage was used as a measuring car for a number of years until it was moved to Nykroppa and converted to a firefighting car in 2008.

References

External links

Järnväg.net on X5/X8/X15

{{Swedish railway stock X05 X05 SJ X05 1947 establishments in Sweden 1947 introductions