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Gothenburg commuter rail

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Göteborgs pendeltåg
Overview
LocaleGothenburg Metropolitan Area
Transit typeCommuter rail
Number of lines3 with 3 services
Number of stations25
Websitehttp://vasttrafik.se
Operation
Began operation1960
Operator(s)SJ on behalf of Västtrafik
Technical
System length104 km (65 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)
Top speed160 km/h (99 mph)
System map

Gothenburg commuter rail (Swedish: Göteborgs pendeltåg) is the commuter rail system associated with Gothenburg, Sweden. The trains use the main-line tracks, shared with long-distance trains and freight trains. They are operated with X11 and X61 electric multiple units.

Services

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There are three services in the Gothenburg commuter rail system. The first service was introduced in 1960, to Alingsås. In 1992 the service to Kungsbacka commenced operations after the railway line had been rebuilt as double track. The railway to Trollhättan was being rebuilt as a double track railway and completed in 2012, with both a third commuter rail connection to Älvängen and a denser regional schedule to Trollhättan introduced.

Line Stretch Length Stations
Alependeln Göteborg CÄlvängen 31 km 7
Alingsåspendeln Göteborg CLerumFlodaAlingsås 45 km 12
Kungsbackapendeln Göteborg CMölndalKungsbacka 28 km 8
Gothenburg commuter rail network
Älvängen
Local- and Long-distance train
Nol
Nödinge
Bohus
Local- and Long-distance train
Surte
Gamlestaden
Tram Long-distance train
Alingsås
Local- and Long-distance train
Västra Bodarna
Norsesund
Floda
Stenkullen
Lerum
Aspedalen
Aspen
Jonsered
Partille
Sävenäs
Göteborg C
TramLocal- and Long-distance train
Liseberg
Tram Local train
Mölndal
Tram Long-distance train
Kållered
Lindome
Anneberg
Hede
Kungsbacka
Long-distance train
An X61 at Gothenburg Central Station
An X11 at Gothenburg Central Station

Regional rail services

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In addition there are some regional rail services, going to cities further away, with a higher speed and more sparse stops.

Line Stretch Length Stations
Vänersborgståget Gothenburg Central Station - Trollhättan - Vänersborg 86 km 4
Boråståget Gothenburg Central Station - Borås 71 km 7
Bohuståget Gothenburg Central Station - Stenungsund - Uddevalla - Strömstad 180 km 17
Skövdetåget Gothenburg Central Station - Alingsås - Skövde 144 km 8

In contrast to Stockholm, Västtrafik monthly tickets (of course within the geographic area the ticket covers) can be used on SJ inter-city trains as well (but not X_2000 and some other fast trains). Since 2010 all Västtrafik regional trains are part of the Västtrafik pay-per-ride ticket system.

The regional trains to Borås, Vänersborg and Skövde run in addition to the long-distance trains, filling up gaps between them, to create one-hour schedule. The trains to Strömstad are kind of long-distance train by themselves, but the county authorities has responsibility, since it was inside one county also before the county reform 1998. The railways to Borås and Strömstad are single track, which makes it hard to have denser schedule than once per hour, without having too many slow train meetings, and there are freight trains as well. The Gothenburg-Stenungsund line has extra departures creating half-hour schedule in rush hour. To Vänersborg there is from 2012 double track and sometimes two trains per hour.

A fifth rail line that can be counted as a regional rail line is the Öresundståg GothenburgMalmöCopenhagen (360 km). Västtrafik monthly passes are valid to Kungsbacka, but this is not usually considered a Västtrafik line.

The most used connection on these lines is the connection to Borås, if including the about 60 daily buses that go since the railway can't support the demand. There are plans to build a new railway here, as part of Götalandsbanan, which is going to be a super-highspeed railway (max 320 km/h). The first part, Mölnlycke-Bollebygd, is planned to be opened around 2020-2025, and later extended to Stockholm.