During 2023 and 2024, an argument has returned in the train debate: In Ukraine, more departures are on time than in Sweden – despite the war.
When SJ’s CEO was called to the traffic committee a few days ago, the comparison was up.
“We have a situation where the trains in Ukraine, which are literally bombed and shelled, have higher punctuality than the seriously lagging Swedish railway”wrote member Linus Lakso (MP), according to Omni.
Snow covered train tracks in Verknitvoretsk, Ukraine.
Photo: NICLAS HAMMARSTRÖM
But already in the summer of 2023, the same criticism came.
“In Ukraine, railway tracks and stations are bombed, but the trains continue to run and are usually on time. In Sweden, fortunately, we don’t have aerial bombings, but we do have signal errors, track errors, gear errors, sun curves, leaves on the tracks and snow on the tracks“, wrote Martina Molander on Tuesday 23 August.
Even in Norway, train traffic has compared to Ukraine’s, for example here in Aftenposten.
The numbers are correct – but…
It is true that Ukrainian trains usually arrive on time. So says Anders Peterson, assistant professor of traffic systems at Linköping University.
But Sweden and Ukraine cannot be directly compared, he says.
It is about personnel, technology, digitization and how many trips you run.
But above all: The ticket cost.
If we take it from the beginning, Swedish railways are digitized.
– We can change a gear by sitting and pressing a button, while the Ukrainians have to go out and physically change it.
– It has many advantages. You can see how it looks several stations ahead.
It is true that Ukrainian trains usually arrive on time. So says Anders Peterson, assistant professor of traffic systems at Linköping University.
Photo: THOR BALKHED and JEPPE GUSTAFSSON / SHUTTERSTOCK
The disadvantage is that the repairers are in fewer places and have to be called in.
– When there is a problem, it is easier if there is an old man at the signal, than if you have to send a car out.
Ukraine has between five and ten times as many personnel on the railways. Smooth in case of train chaos – expensive when the ticket price has to be calculated.
– Either the state or the passenger has to pay, notes Anders Peterson.
Congestion at the central station in Stockholm in connection with train chaos.
Photo: SVEN LINDWALL
Therefore, there will be a “vehicle shortage”
Ukraine runs longer trains but few departures, that is also an explanation for the punctuality, says Anders Peterson. Swedish railways are much more heavily utilised, and then it becomes more difficult to maintain.
Today’s Swedish trains are also entire trains that are not shared. This means that SJ and other companies sometimes suffer from “vehicle shortages” and cancel. During December and January, 11,000 trains were canceled in Sweden, of which 1,900 were SJ trains.
– In the past, a train consisted of a locomotive and a lot of wagons. If one broke, it could be replaced. Today, there are large units that sit together. Either it works, or it doesn’t.
Why do you choose such trains?
– It has become more expensive with personnel. If you want to “break the trains apart”, then there must be a changer at that station who handles it.
– Ukraine has a few high-speed trains, but mainly trains of the older type, a locomotive and a lot of wagons.
Several people will be evacuated from Kiev by train in the spring of 2022.
Photo: ROMAN PILIPEY / EPA
Swedish train companies use every train extremely efficiently. There are not that many reserve trains waiting, fully serviced, just in case. Vulnerable, yes, but it saves money.
– Margins have shrunk. Maybe you should think about that. But it would show directly in the ticket cost, says Anders Peterson.
“It’s ridiculous”
Anders Peterson believes that Sweden is still in the upper half of Europe when it comes to the delivery of train traffic.
– There are lots of ways to count. We may not be at the top, but definitely in the upper half, he says.
– What sets us apart from other European countries is that we have long distances. Somewhere it was said that Switzerland and Luxembourg have better punctuality. But if we’re talking long-distance trains in Luxembourg, it’s like sitting on the Roslagsbanan! It’s ridiculous.
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