Ostkustbanan
| East Coast Line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Native name | Ostkustbanan |
| Termini | Stockholm C Sundsvall C |
| Operation | |
| Operator(s) | SJ AB, X-trafik, UL, SL, Arlanda Express, Green Cargo |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Electrification | 15 kV 16 2⁄3 Hz |
| Operating speed | 200 km/h (120 mph) |
The East Coast Line (Swedish: Ostkustbanan) is a 402-kilometre (250 mi) long mainline railway in Sweden, linking the cities of , Uppsala, Gävle and Sundsvall, as well as the suburbs north of .
At the construction of the first Swedish mainline railway network 1856-1891 there was a principle to avoid the coasts. This was for military reasons (protect against attacks, airplanes didn't exist) and to bring steam powered transport to areas without any. The coasts already had steamboats. The Northern Main Line was built –Uppsala–Avesta–Storvik–Ånge. Gävle, Söderhamn and Sundsvall which today are located along the East Coast Line were then connected by branches from the mainline.
The first part of today's East Coast Line was the Uppsala–Gävle Railway, which was built by a private company and opened 1874. The railway Gävle–Sundsvall–Härnösand was opened 1927 after several years of debate. It was called the East Coast Line, and was built by a company mainly owned by the government and the cities along it. After a revision of the naming of railways in Sweden, the name East Coast Line was given to the railway Stockholm–Uppsala–Gävle–Sundsvall.
The first part of the line was electrified in 1906–07 as a part of SJ's electrification trials. In 1926, the Western Main Line between Stockholm and Gothenburg was electrified. As Stockholm's main train depot is located in Hagalund, on the East Coast Line, this part was also electrified at the same time. The whole line was finally electrified in 1934. As all other lines in Sweden, East Coast Line is electrified with 15 kV 16 2⁄3 Hz AC.
The line was extended to double track between Stockholm and Uppsala as early as in 1906. Some curvy sections was rebuilt in the 70's and the 80's, but most of the improvements were done in the 90's, with the introduction of the tilting high-speed train X2000. In the middle of the 90's, the line was completely overloaded with heavy commuter and long distance services north of Stockholm. In 1996, the work started on the Arlanda Line, a loop line which increased the distance with 3 km. With the introduction of 3 extra trains per hour between Stockholm and , the line was extended to four tracks between Stockholm and Skavstaby. This also resulted in increased speeds, from 160 to 200 kilometres per hour (99 to 124 mph). In Skavstaby, the old line, which goes over Märsta, diverges from the new line. Märsta serves as the terminus for most of the commuter services.
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