Åmål – Årjängs Järnvägsaktiebolag

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Åmål – Årjängs Järnvägsaktiebolag
legal form Aktiebolag
founding April 8, 1916
resolution September 1, 1937
Seat SwedenSweden
Branch Railway companies

The Amal-Årjängs Järnvägsaktiebolag (ÅmÅJ) was a Swedish corporation .

history

The company was founded on April 8, 1916 to build the Åmål – Årjäng railway. Years of discussions about the route preceded the establishment. The connection of Åmål to the railway network was discussed for the first time in the late 1880s .

A few years later the narrow-gauge railway Uddevalla – Lelångens Järnväg (ULB) was to be extended from Bengtsfors to Nordvästra stambanan to Åmotsfors. The concession for this proposal was applied for on June 9, 1906, but there was no response from the King. Further suggestions have been made over the years:

  • Proposal of June 9, 1906: Bengtsfors – Fölsbyn – Åmotfors, narrow gauge - proposal from interest groups who favored the connection to the Lelångenbanan.
  • Proposal of April 23, 1910: Åmål – Stömne – Ottebol or Arvika , standard gauge - proposal from interest groups, including from Glava, Säffle and Åmål.
  • Proposal of September 9, 1911: Bengtsfors – Fölsbyn – Arvika, narrow gauge - proposal from interested parties from Arvika who wanted the end point in Arvika instead of Åmotfors.
  • Proposal of December 18, 1911: Åmål – Arjang – Arvika, standard gauge - proposal from interest groups in Åmål and Sillerud. This proposal was ultimately carried out.
  • Proposal of June 5, 1912: Bengtsfors – Arjang – Åmotfors or Arvika, narrow-gauge - proposal by interest groups from the two previous proposals.
  • Proposal of April 15, 1912: Mellerud –Arjang – Arvika, standard gauge - proposal from interested parties who built Dal – Västra Värmlands Järnväg.

After an investigation that lasted almost a year, a statement on the various proposals was issued on October 11, 1913. A standard-gauge line Mellerud – Årjäng – Arvika with a branch line to Töcksfors was recommended. At the same time, a proposal for a standard gauge railway Åmål – Årjäng – Arvika was approved with the stipulation that the line may only be built between Åmål and Arjang. On February 1, 1916, an estimate of 4.25 million crowns was submitted. This figure did not include vehicle costs because it was assumed that Bergslagernas Järnvägar (BJ) would operate the route with their vehicles. It was also expected that the BJ would pay 20,000 crowns for the connection at Åmål station .

Compared to the original route between Hallanda and Norane, the first draft had been deviated from. In response to inquiries from Långserud , the branch line from Hallanda to Kättilsbyn was also included in the plans because of the track radii and the difference in height. This meant that the planned crossing point Myrås could not be realized. In addition, a route from Kättilsbyn in a north-westerly direction to Glafsfjorden was planned for the future. This increased the distance to be built from 68.89 km to 72.42 km.

It soon became apparent, however, that the BJ was not interested in connecting the ÅmÅJ at Åmål station. Therefore, changes to the planning were necessary again: The railway should cross the route of the BJ 500 meters south of the BJ station. A separate train station - Åmål Östra - had to be planned and built. Furthermore, a locomotive shed , a turntable and a water tower were necessary because BJ did not want to provide the vehicles for the future route. A stop in Kroppa with a branch line to Forsbacka kronopark was also planned. This also increased the previously estimated total costs considerably. The new calculation amount was 4,365,000 crowns. For this, the company received a state loan of 3,273,750 million crowns. The money was taken from the so-called Bibane Fund (branch line fund).

The construction of the railway began very slowly, but the line was to be opened to general traffic on October 1, 1919. During the First World War it was difficult to obtain capital and so that deadline passed. In the following years prices rose, and it was not until 1921 that the state helped with the construction through a labor market project, which was then called emergency work (nödhjälpsarbeten). Johan Hallmén became the company's director and site manager in 1922. In 1928, when the railway was opened, he was also appointed traffic director.

The approved plan to run the line via Kättilsbyn could not be realized due to the enormous additional costs that this would entail. Therefore, an application was made to return to the original plan and, after the modified concession of July 11, 1924, the line between Hallanda and Norane was built. However, this permit required a four-kilometer branch line between Hallanda and Kättilsbyn.

Since it was initially thought that BJ would provide the vehicles for the route, in view of the imminent opening of a section of the route, there were no vehicles and no money for procurement. Therefore, a new loan of 175,000 crowns had to be taken out for the purchase of vehicles. Between November 22, 1927 and December 2, 1928 the line was opened in sections. Another loan of 183,000 kroner was taken out for the port railway between Åmål and Örnäs. Negotiations on this section had already started in 1909, the license applied for on April 8, 1927 and the loan amount were approved on April 12, 1929, and on April 19, 1929 the king ordered that the line should be operated from ÅmÅJ. These were opened on December 22, 1930.

The calculations now showed that the costs planned by ÅmÅJ of 4,365 million kroner after eleven years of construction had been significantly exceeded with the 7,693,296 kroner and 69 ore spent. Now it became clear that the railway could never be operated profitably and that the loan could not be repaid.

The bankruptcy was inevitable, on 1 July 1932, the company had its insolvency login. In May 1932 the first discussions with the SJ regarding a takeover had already been held. The auction negotiations were scheduled for January 23, 1933. In the meantime, passenger traffic on the Hallanda – Kättilsbyn section was suspended on September 5, 1932. In November 1932, the SJ announced that they would not take over ÅmÅJ. Negotiations were then carried out with Bergslagernas Järnvägar (BJ) to secure a takeover. A three-year contract was concluded with the BJ, as a result of which it took over freight transport. Although the neighboring communities made great efforts to ensure that the passenger traffic is also taken over by BJ, this did not succeed. From April 20, 1933, BJ operated freight traffic on the ÅmÅJ route. Up to November 1, 1936 there was no passenger traffic by rail.

In the summer of 1933, the presidents of the Swedish Railway Union and the Swedish Train Drivers Union, Carl August Ehrlin and Carl Viksten, examined the prerequisites for resuming all traffic. On October 22, 1933, they presented the report on possible traffic on the Åmål – Årjäng route, which was based on the establishment of a new company.

During the current three-year period, the Public Debt Office negotiated again with the FOJ. These discussions ended with the result that the BJ took over ÅmÅJ on January 1, 1937 for the price of 438,000 crowns. BJ resumed all traffic on November 1, 1936. For this purpose, the two diesel multiple units BJ 52 and BJ 53 were procured from Nydqvist & Holm in Trollhättan .

ÅmÅJ and Dal – Västra Värmlands Järnvägsaktiebolag (DVVJ) were transferred to a new subsidiary of BJ, Järnvägsaktiebolaget Dal – Västra Värmland (DVVJ), with effect from September 1, 1937 . With that, ÅmÅJ practically became part of Järnvägsaktiebolaget Dal – Västra Värmland .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Report by Svenska Järnvägsmannaförbundet and Sveriges Lokomotivmannaförbund

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