Swedish operator BLS Rail declared bankruptcy after reportedly not receiving compensation from the railway administrations of Sweden and Norway. This development follows the closure of BLS’ Norwegian subsidiary last summer.
The CEO of the company founded in 2009, Anders Brunberg, claimed that the Swedish Railway Administration (Trafikverket) did not pay out environmental compensation for 2025, according to Swedish media Jarnvagar. For the situation in Norway, the unpaid compensation is for the forced route diversions related to the collapse of a bridge along the Dovre Line.
However, things had started to change for the worse already towards the end of 2023, for BLS Rail. Back then, one of the main users of BLS’ service, First Row, also went bankrupt. This had a significant impact on BLS Rail, which had invested in leasing a locomotive that ended up being largely underutilised and causing a financial loss. “The authorities were against us”, Brunberg was quoted as saying.