The conclusions of the 2022 report, published this week, come from a survey the Swedish Transport Agency conducts every two years.
According to the report, respondents have a positive attitude towards transporting goods by rail, especially for long-distance shipments of heavy and bulky goods.
Furthermore, the survey also showed that there is growing interest in rail freight for environmental reasons among other things.
However, the research also uncovered difficulties that exist in expanding rail freight capacity in Sweden. A lack of reliability, and poor punctuality, have been stated as problems too.
Jonathan Sundin, investigator at the Swedish Transport Agency, has described the findings as “worrying”. In his view, it is concerning to see rail freight in Sweden stagnate as rail freight’s competitiveness is lost compared to road transport.
The report refers to poor punctuality creating uncertainty about deliveries arriving on time, which is turn hampers planning and increases costs.
The research also warns that if the aforementioned issues are not addressed, logistics companies could snub rail freight.
To remedy the problems, increased maintenance, system upgrades, and the expansion of physical infrastructure, are all required, says the Swedish Transport Association.
Photo: Rob Dammers, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons