Botniabanan

Västeraspby – Gimonäs

Route number :

28

Route length:

190 km

Gauge :

1435 mm ( standard gauge )

Power system :

15 kV 16.6 Hz overhead line ~

Maximum slope :

10 ‰

Minimum radius :

3200 m

Top speed:

modern passenger trains 250 km / h
other passenger trains 200 km / h
freight trains 120 km / h

Operating points and routes

Legend

		Vännäs – Holmsund railway line from Vännäs
	888.001	Umeå C
	890.017	Umeå Östra
	893.554	Gimmonäs
		to Holmsund
		Umeälv (1938 m)
	109.320	Sticks
	99.220	Norrmjöle
	90.987	Hössjön
	86.750	Hörnefors
	80.328	Ängersjö
	71.292	Håknäst Tunnel (590 m)
	69.690	Norrsjön
	63.497	North Maling
		Freight railway to the port of Rundvik (planned)
	58.613	Rundvik
	50.630	Avatar Tunnels (321 m)
	48,546	Salub oils
	37.080	Könsa
		Freight railway to Rågön
	32,446	Gammherrgårdsberget tunnel (234 m)
	31,995	Husums norra
	31.293	Husum
	31.053	Öbergstunneln (475 m)
	27,452	Gideåbacka
	26,813	Kasatunneln (153 m)
	21,286	Hjältatunneln (1258 m)
	19,036	Kalldal tunnel (1116 m)
	17.008	Högbysjön
	14.255	Stranneberg tunnel (1436 m)
	11.760	Arnäsvall
	8,620	Örnsköldsvik norra
	7,889	Åsbergstunneln (1019 m)
		according to Mellansel
		Paradiskullen
	6.240	Örnsköldsvik C
	5,614 551,655	Freight railway to Örnsköldsvik gamla and Alfredshem
	551,650	Varvsberg tunnel (2090 m)
		Veckefjärden (508 m)
	546.287	Gålnäs
	545,385	Gålnästunneln (385 m)
	539,951	Hällbergstunneln (615 m)
	538,450	Finnborg tunnel (432 m)
		Nätraån (1014 m)
	534.243	Bjästa
	521,364	Drömme
	519.180	Björnbölestunneln (5095 m)
	512,523	Hemrasviken
	509.986	Namntall tunnel (6001 m)
	498.979	Harasjön
		Offersjön (480 m)
	490.180	Solum
	488,592	Åskottunneln (3276 m)
		Ångermanälven (1035 m)
		Ådalsbanan to Långsele
	481.756	Vasteraspby
		Ådalsbanan to Sundsvall

Botniabanan ( German Botniabahn ) is a single-track Swedish railway line with a total length of 190 km; it leads from Västeraspby via Örnsköldsvik and Nordmaling to Gimonäs near Umeå . The route branches off from Ådalsbanan near the Kramfors - Sollefteå airfield , crosses a total of 140 bridges and leads through 25 km of tunnels. The maximum speed for passenger trains is 250 km / h and for freight trains 120 km / h with a maximum axle weight of 25 tons.

history

The Botniabana railway is the largest investment in Swedish rail transport since 1937. According to a press release from the Botniabana company on August 28, 2010, the railway was built around half a billion cheaper than planned with a construction cost of 15 billion crowns. Newspaper sources, however, spoke of overly optimistic assumptions, massive cost overruns and unachieved goals.

The construction of the line was decided by the Swedish Parliament in 1997; Construction began on August 14, 1999. With the 6,000-meter-long Namntall tunnel , Sweden's second longest railway tunnel is also on this route. For safety reasons, a service tunnel runs next to it, which is connected to the main tunnel every 500 meters by an escape tunnel. Overall, it is a 13 kilometer long tunnel system. On June 15, 2009, test drives took place at high speed south of Örnsköldsvik. The Swedish speed record was set in a single-lane tunnel in the Finnborgs tunnel at Bjästa with 289 km / h.

The 26-kilometer section between Örnsköldsvik and Husum and the four-kilometer freight train route to the pulp and paper mill M-real Husum were opened for freight traffic in October 2008, the opening of the entire route by the Swedish King Carl XVI. Gustaf took place on August 28, 2010. The route has been operated by Norrtåg AB since August 30, 2010 .

The Botniabahn is the first railway line in Sweden to be equipped with the European Train Control System . Initially, five pairs of trains ran between Umeå Ö and Örnsköldsvik C, Monday to Friday; railcars of the Bombardier Regina series with the series designation X52 were used. In 2011 these were replaced by new builds from the Alstom Coradia Nordic X62 series. Since August 2012, nine pairs of trains have been running the entire Umeå – Sundsvall route every day.