The concept is not necessarily new. There have been similar ideas put forward in the UK. As previously reported, enterprise trains have been proposed as a scheduled service in the UK. Although these would be solely for goods, they would convey consignments for multiple customers, just as proposed in Sweden. Other operators, such as Royal Mail, use electric multiple unit stock, similar in design to passenger units. Start up company Varamis Rail is proposing to run light goods over long distances in converted passenger stock.
Mixed trains, conveying passengers and goods, are part of a funded trial in Sweden. A trio of stakeholders, made up of multinational tech firm SilverRail, passenger rail operator Snälltåget, and logistics company Airmee, will share in a one million Swedish Krona (100,000 euros) seed funding package to deliver a modern version of the passenger-goods mixed train on a route between Stockholm and Malmö.
Backing for the project comes from Vinnovia, the Swedish government agency that funds innovation for industry. The funding is part of a package of measures deigned to quickly introduce new ways of working that will help the Swedish economy rebound from the coronavirus crisis.
Delivering high value light goods
Sweden, like everywhere else, has seen passenger numbers drop significantly since the pandemic struck. The project partners in this consortium plan to use that vacated spare capacity on passenger trains to deliver high value light goods.
Although not on the rails yet, the trial project will connect Stockholm and Malmö, the largest and third-largest settlements in the country. Stockholm as the capital is an obvious choice, and Malmö benefits from a vibrant economy and proximity to the Copenhagen market in neighbouring Denmark.
