Gothenburg-Trollhattan - Highway E45 and Double Track Railway

Expansion of the E45 to a four-lane highway and the Norway/Vanern Line to a two-track railway designed for 250 km/h trains between Gothenburg and Trollhattan, will improve environmental impact, safety and mobility.

The project involves the extension of both the railway, known as the Norway-Vanern Line, and highway E45 between Gothenburg and Trollhattan, which is about 70 km along the Swedish west coast. E45 is very busy with a lot of heavy traffic. There are many bottlenecks and the road and the railway are often flooded by the Gotha River. The previous single track and curved railroad meant that freight traffic had reached maximum capacity. The double track accommodates more trains at an increased speed of 250 km/h. A larger freight traffic capacity was required, particularly due to the increasing volume of goods transported to the Port of Gothenburg.

Services consisted of a feasibility study, preliminary design and detailed design for the major part of the project, including all necessary services, such as geotechnical investigations, soil and contaminated land investigations, design of all civil works, bridge design, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), project planning, project management, work supervision and quality assurance. The scope of services also includes risk analysis, landscape architecture, water and sewerage, land development, permanent way design, and power supply.

The geotechnical conditions presented us with considerable difficulties. It is always a great technical challenge to design and plan new infrastructure along major rivers. When the road and railway are located in areas where the ground is very soft clay and there is a need to fit around existing communities, there are even more parameters and challenges to consider.

Another major challenge has been to prepare large amounts of detailed design documents within short periods of time. We also had to make many adaptations to provide minimal disruption to residents as well as car, boat and train traffic.

There was a good working collaboration between all of the technical disciplines, which has allowed the project team to find common solutions.

Fostering Economic Growth

With the new double-track railway line, fast commuter trains and goods trains will be able to use it simultaneously. There will be more frequent services and journey times will be reduced by up to 20 minutes. This will open up the area for residents and enable local businesses to recruit more people.

The railway will also be able to accommodate greater volumes of freight traffic, meeting increasing demand from the harbour and minimizing pollution. 

The new four-lane highway will reduce congestion, providing improved air quality for local residents.