The Western Main Line () is the main
state-owned
State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...
railway line between
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
and
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. Its construction began in 1856 and it opened for service in 1862.
Västra stambanan
Trafikverket
The Swedish Transport Administration () is a government agency in Sweden, government agency in Sweden, controlled by the Riksdag and the Government of Sweden. It is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning for transport: road, rail, ship ...
. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
Maintained by the Swedish Transport Administration
The Swedish Transport Administration () is a government agency in Sweden, controlled by the Riksdag and the Government of Sweden. It is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning for transport: road, rail, shipping and aviation. It owns, c ...
, the Western Main Line is electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...
and consists entirely of double track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Overview
In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...
, except the four-track sections between Gothenburg Central Station
Gothenburg Central Station () is the main railway station of Gothenburg and it is the oldest railway station in Sweden still in use. The station serves 27 million passengers per year, making it the second largest railway station in Sweden after S ...
and Olskroken (), in Järna Järna may refer to:
*Järna, Södertälje Municipality
Järna is a locality situated in Södertälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 6,377 inhabitants in 2010.
Järna has long been the centre of the anthroposophical movement in Swe ...
(), and south of Stockholm, between Flemingsberg
Flemingsberg is a southern suburb of Stockholm, Sweden that is located in Huddinge Municipality in the south-western part of the contiguous Stockholm urban area.
It is located approximately 15 minutes by Stockholm commuter rail from central Stoc ...
and Stockholm Södra station, about . The last section between Stockholm Södra station and Stockholm Central Station
Stockholm Central Station (), is the main Train station, railway station in Stockholm, and largest railway station in Sweden in terms of passenger numbers and train traffic. It is located in the Norrmalm district of central Stockholm on Vasagat ...
runs mainly on a two track bridge. Before the Stockholm City Line
The Stockholm City Line () is a railway tunnel beneath central Stockholm in Sweden which is used by the Stockholm commuter rail. The line is long, double track and electrified. It has two stations: Stockholm City station, which is connected ...
was opened in 2017, the bridge was a serious bottleneck, as all trains had to use the same tracks.
Operating speed
The maximum speed on the line is . This speed is only attained by the X 2000
X 2000, officially designated X2, is an electric high-speed tilting train operated by SJ in Sweden. It has a top commercial speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) and a top design speed of 210 km/h (130 mph) but has achieved a maximum speed of 276 k ...
tilting high-speed trains and some regional trains. The InterCity trains are limited to due to the rolling stock. A section of the line, between Skövde
Skövde () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland, Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central southern Sweden.
Skövde is situated around 150 k ...
and Töreboda
Töreboda is a locality and the seat of Töreboda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It bo ...
, is the longest straight section of railway in Sweden, with almost of track without a curve, and used in speed trials. The current Swedish speed record of was achieved here by a X50 "Regina" EMU. The line has always been known for its high speeds. As early as the 1950s, the Rapid engines travelled the route at .
Future plans
There are plans to build a high-speed line between Stockholm and Gothenburg, south of lake Vättern
Vättern ( , ) is the second-largest lake in Sweden, after Vänern, and the sixth-largest lake in Europe. It is a long, finger-shaped body of fresh water in south central Sweden, to the southeast of Vänern, pointing at the tip of Scandinavia. ...
, '' Götalandsbanan''. The route would be operational somewhere around the mid 21st century, and capable of speeds of more than . However, this would only cut the travel time by about 40 minutes (the fastest connection today is a non-stop X 2000 service which covers the in 2 hours and 52 minutes, at an average speed of ), but connect more large cities to the Stockholm–Gothenburg line (Borås
Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 114,556 inhabitants in 2024. It is widely known for being a textile city, home to worldwide brands and companie ...
, Jönköping
Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland.
The city is the seat o ...
, Linköping
Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...
, Norrköping
Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...
).
See also
* Southern Main Line
The Southern Main Line () is a long standard gauge electrified railway between Malmö and Katrineholm in Sweden. The trains continue further on to Stockholm Central Station along the Western Main Line and terminate there (at platforms 16–19). ...
References
External links
Järnväg.net page on Västra stambanan
{{Authority control
Railway lines in Sweden
Railway lines opened in 1856
1856 establishments in Sweden
Rail transport in Gothenburg
Rail transport in Stockholm