There is a brand new port near Stockholm, in Sweden, where rail and multimodality could play a key role, but do not: the port of Norvik. Inaugurated only five years ago for container and ro-ro traffic, most of the volumes continue to be moved by road despite a solid rail connection, with interested parties blaming each other.
The port of Norvik is the nearest one to Stockholm, located less than 60 kilometres away. For this reason and given the connection to the rail network, expectations were high for rail freight to become a prominent contributor. However, reality says otherwise and everyone seems to have a different opinion on why this is the case.
Pointing fingers
For example, members of the Swedish Liberal Party, including Stockholm’s mayor Jan Jönsson, criticised state-owned operator Green Cargo for not holding up its part of the deal in an article on SVD. On the other hand, representatives of the company pointed out that the port just does not handle enough volumes to make rail freight service financially viable. Moreover, the presence of ports with well-established rail freight flows located both north (Gävle) and south (Norrköping) of Norvik further complicates the situation.
Another problem regarding the Norvik port concerns the fee system implemented by the Swedish Maritime Administration, according to Mayor Jönsson and his co-author and partymate Peter Öberg. Said system makes short-sea shipping less attractive, further strengthening the position of the road freight sector. Thus, the two politicians asked for the introduction of eco-incentives for those who choose sea transport over trucks and a temporary reduction of port fees in Norvik.
The port of Norvik
Built between 2016 and 2020 for almost 340 million euros (3,8 billion SEK), the port of Norvik is part of the Stockholm Ports, which also include Stockholm, Nynashamn and Kapellskar. In these three, rail does not play a prominent role, as Kapellskar is not connected to the rail network. The movement of goods in the Stockholm Ports is thus dominated by trucks. The new port of Norvik wanted to change that with a 4.4-kilometre electrified section creating a direct link to Green Cargo’s network, but things are not going as well as hoped.