Rail freight has historically played a key role for the transport paper and forestry products in Sweden. However, with continuously increasing track access charges (TAC), many companies active in this sector fear that they will be forced to choose road transport for their logistics services.
The latest example is ScandFibre Logistics, the leader in Sweden in the transport of paper and packaging materials from Swedish paper mills to 50 destinations domestically and internationally. This fall, the company will have to decide who will take care of transport operations over the next five years. Choosing the railways might be a little more difficult this year, ScandFibre Logistics’ CEO Mats Erkén, said in an interview with Järnvägar.
Due to the constant rise in TAC, rail freight is now turning into a financially unsustainable option for operators in Sweden. For ScandFibre, they went from 3,8 million euros in 2024 to an expected 7 million euros in 2026, almost twice as much, making it difficult to remain committed to this modality. Erkén blamed it on politicians, which he accuses of putting obstacles in the way of rail freight.
Possible permanent shift to the road?
The company has relied on state-owned operator Green Cargo for rail transport since 2021. Before then, the task was carried out by Hector Rail. Now, instead of choosing which rail operator will collaborate with ScandFibre, the decision might leave rail freight out of the picture altogether.
Such a development would not only harm the forest industry and paper products. Once the trains unload their cargo at the terminals, they are reloaded with consumer goods which are then moved during the return journey. Roughly 2 million tonnes of freight is moved from the paper mills and 700,000 tonnes of return cargo are taken on the way back. If ScandFibre would choose to move its services from rail to road, the reverse modal shift would be quite significant.
In addition, Erkén pointed out that the impact of choosing trucks over trains might have a lasting impact. Currently, the infrastructure at the paper mills is very well-equipped in terms of rail connectivity. A shift to the road, however, might require adapting the infrastructure to better accommodate trucks, the CEO said. This might lead to a point of no return, where road overtakes rail and becomes the main modality for this kind of transport services.