The FINANCIAL — NIB and the Swedish passenger train operator SJ AB have agreed on a SEK 770 million (EUR 81 million) loan for the technological upgrade of X2000 trains.
The 10-year loan will finance the modernisation of 36 train sets of this type taken into use twenty years ago. The project is expected be completed by 2019. The upgrade of SJ’s rolling stock is likely to result in improved productivity and service quality, shorter travel times and increased security, as well as more efficient use of energy, according to NIB.
“Making travelling by train more attractive will eventually help reduce the segments of less environment-friendly means of passenger transport, particularly air travel and cars. This makes this project eligible for a loan from NIB”, says Henrik Normann, NIB President & CEO.
It is expected that travel by train between Stockholm and Gothenburg/Malmö, the routes the X2000 trains operate on, will keep increasing at an annual growth rate of about 5–6 per cent in the coming years. Travellers frequently indicate environmental concerns and comfort as the main reasons for choosing trains over air travel or cars, with travel time being almost as important.
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