Latest news with #SwedishTransportAdministration
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Veidekke acquires tunnel construction contract for Gothenburg's West Link Project
Veidekke has received a contract from the Swedish Transport Administration to build the Stora Hamnkanalen tunnel, a component of the West Link Project in central Gothenburg. With an initial contract value of Skr280m ($29.3m), the project involves the creation of a tunnel comprising both concrete and rock sections, measuring approximately 54m and 16m in length, respectively. This tunnel will traverse the Stora Hamnkanalen near its outlet into the Göta älv. The commencement of the project is immediate, with an anticipated completion date set for mid-2029. The Stora Hamnkanalen tunnel represents the final construction contract within the Haga stage of the West Link Project, which aims to establish a strong commuter and regional railway network for the city of Gothenburg. Veidekke has also received a commission from OBOS, a Nordic cooperative building association, for the rehabilitation of its former head office at Hammersborg Torg in Oslo, Norway. This turnkey contract is valued at around Nkr300m, excluding VAT. With OBOS having recently relocated to Construction City at Ulven, the collaboration with Veidekke will focus on upgrading the old head office to align with contemporary standards and the expectations of new tenants. The renovation project encompasses an interior overhaul of around 17,500m² of office space, spread across two buildings of 12 and four floors, a reception building, and shared basements on three levels. The refurbished premises will feature reduced energy consumption, new technical installations, modern office spaces, meeting rooms, a canteen, a training room, and changing facilities. Furthermore, the existing underground parking garage will be rehabilitated while new bicycle parking facilities will be introduced. With construction work starting immediately, the handover of the renovated premises is scheduled for the second and third quarters of 2026. Veidekke's recent projects also include the construction of the multipurpose Bjarg Arena in Bergen, Norway, for the Bjarg Sports Club. "Veidekke acquires tunnel construction contract for Gothenburg's West Link Project" was originally created and published by World Construction Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Local Sweden
05-08-2025
- Climate
- Local Sweden
What impact is Storm Floris having on Sweden?
Storm Floris arrived on the coast of Bohuslän, north of Gothenburg, on Tuesday morning, with winds recorded of 23 m/s (80km/h) and rail lines closed to traffic. Here's how it is affecting transport and other infrastructure. Advertisement "It's started to get blowy already on the coast," Fredrik Cronvall, a meteorologist for Sweden's public weather forecaster SMHI, told the TT newswire at 7.30am. "Out on the coast of Bohuslän we're expecting the winds to peak before lunch. It is unusual to have such powerful winds in the summertime." The rescue services in Strömstad on the affected coastline said at 9am that they had not so far been called out to any emergencies. SMHI is warning residents in the affected areas to tie up any loose objects and prepare for delays to traffic on road and rail. The agency issued six yellow weather warnings on Tuesday night, covering the coastal areas north and south of Gothenburg, inland around Lake Vänern and right up towards Värmland north of Karlstad, and five sections of the Baltic Sea: around and between Öland and Gotland, and four in the Gulf of Bothnia from Gävle and northwards. "On the northern coast of Bohuslän and parts of Lake Vänern, storm gusts of over 25 m/s are likely," SMHI wrote in the warning, which is valid until 8pm. Advertisement On Tuesday morning, power cuts affected nearly 4,000 households in the Västra Götaland region around Gothenburg, and ferries had been cancelled on routes between Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The ferry between Sandefjord and Strömstad has also stopped running. The Swedish Transport Administration decided on Wednesday to close the Kinnekullebanan rail route between Håkantorp and Gårdsjö via Lidköping and Mariestad, with the route closed from midnight on Monday until midnight on Tuesday. Mats Eliasson, a press officer for the municipality in Uddevalla, said that the municipality was not expecting any dramatic disruptions. "We are used to wind on the west coast and the way it looks now, it's not going to be anything too extreme," he said.
Local Sweden
04-08-2025
- Climate
- Local Sweden
Swedish agencies hold emergency meeting ahead of Storm Floris
Sweden's road and weather agencies held an emergency meeting on Monday to prepare a response to Storm Floris, which is expected to slam into the west coast north and south of Gothenburg on Monday night. Advertisement Meteorologists from Sweden's public weather forecaster, SMHI, met on Monday with representatives of the Swedish Transport Authority to plan the agencies' response. The transport agency is considering closing at least two bridges in Gothenburg, the Uddevallabron and Älvsborgsbron, and is also stopping rail traffic on certain lines, to protect against winds of more then 24 m/s. Peter Jonsson, press officer at the Swedish Transport Administration, said there were several ways that Sweden could prepare for the storm's arrival. "One is to ensure that we have more people on standby who are prepared to carry out operations where needed. An alternative is to close certain routes. Those are the things we can do, but at the moment no such decisions have been taken." READ ALSO: What do Sweden's weather warnings actually mean? The storm swept through Scotland and Northern Ireland on Monday, leading to the cancellation of flights from Glasgow to the Scottish islands, and to a ban on some vehicles on most of Scotland's major bridges, and trees being blown over onto roads and houses. Edinburgh Castle has had to close due to the gales. Advertisement READ ALSO: How can you protect your Swedish home against downpours? SMHI has issued yellow warnings for the whole Skagerrak and Kattegat seas, covering the entire west coast from Oslo to just north of Helsingborg. A yellow warning is the third highest in SMHI's traffic-light system and means that the weather "may have consequences for society", with buildings potentially damaged and roads potentially blocked.
Local Sweden
28-05-2025
- Local Sweden
What you need to know about summer travel in Sweden in 2025
From summer activity tips to rail disruptions, here's what to consider when planning a trip to Sweden this summer. Advertisement What's the weather going to be like? Sweden is (usually) the perfect country to visit in summer – long, warm days that never really turn into night, but not as suffocatingly hot as southern Europe. It's hard to know whether that will be the case this year, as long-term weather forecasts can be unpredictable, but hopefully the weather will improve after the cold and wet end to May. If you're planning on visiting Sweden over the next few months, you can keep up-to-date with the weather forecast, and other weather alerts via Sweden's meteorological office SMHI, which also includes details of any flood alerts or wildfire warnings. You can also keep up to date with any fire bans here (in Swedish, any areas in green have no ban in place). A standard fire ban means that you're not allowed to light fires in the wild, but you may still light a fire at designated spots for grilling. This could even be upgraded to a total fire ban – no fires permitted at all – if temperatures get too hot. You should also keep an eye on local hosepipe bans or appeals to save water. These are issued by municipalities, so check the website of wherever you're staying for more details. Even if a hosepipe ban is in place, you can always use water for food, drink and personal hygiene. Bear in mind that you can help avert a water shortage by having shorter showers and not letting the tap run longer than needed. Advertisement Restaurant closures and empty cities Swedes take long summer holidays, with most full-time workers legally entitled to four consecutive weeks off in June, July or August. If you're planning a city break, be aware that a lot of shops and restaurants close for several weeks – often for the whole of July – as Swedes leave the cities and head to their countryside summer houses. You will still find some places open, though. Travel disruptions If you're travelling by train, be aware that several parts of the rail network are being upgraded this summer, so you should expect altered routes and replacement buses. Here's a list and map of planned construction work. The rail service between Malmö and Copenhagen is running on a reduced service and is likely to do so into the beginning of June. Advertisement You can also keep up-to-date with transport information via the Swedish Transport Administration's website. Click here and scroll down to trafikinformation, where you can choose train (tåg), road (väg) or car ferry (vägfärja). There's a list of planned roadworks available at this link. If you're driving, the speed limit in Sweden is usually 30-50 km/h in villages, towns and cities, 70 km/h in the countryside and 110 km/h on the motorways, but it does vary and there are nearly always signs stating the speed limit. Not sure what to do in Sweden this summer? Check out this guide from our readers. We also have a list of some of Sweden's best beaches, and this selection of summer bucket list activities.
TimesLIVE
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Why charging while driving could lead to cheaper EVs and zero range anxiety
As electric vehicle (EV) sales continue to grow around the world, the technology to keep them powered is progressing too, including the concept of 'electric roads' with wireless charging. The idea is not new and faces several challenges, but charging while driving could lead to smaller car batteries and thus cheaper electric vehicles. It could also help eliminate the other big hurdle that has turned consumers off adopting EVs: range anxiety. Much like the wireless charging of smartphones, the system uses inductive coils embedded beneath the road. EVs designed to use the roads are charged as they drive by an electromagnetic field generated by the coils. Vehicles continuously charge on the go so they don't need to stop to juice up the EV's battery, which takes much longer than filling up a petrol or diesel car. While EV battery capacity and range have improved, innovative charging solutions are key to making them more viable for widespread use and helping reduce air pollution. The concept of 'electric roads' has been around for decades with traditional trolleybus systems, but inductive charging eliminates the need for overhead power lines. Charging while driving could reduce the reliance on large, heavy and expensive batteries in trucks too. This could lead to lighter lorries with increased payload capacity and reduced energy consumption. Wireless charging roads could integrate with autonomous driving technology, allowing for continuous operation without human intervention for charging. Pilot projects of electric roads are under way in various parts of the world, with trials focusing on passenger and commercial vehicles. In Norway, a stretch of road near a bus depot in Trondheim has been equipped with inductive charging technology for electric buses. It allows buses to be charged wirelessly while they are parked or moving slowly, eliminating the need for physical connectors and reducing downtime for charging. There are drawbacks too, however, which is why the widespread implementation of electric roads with dynamic wireless charging is still in the testing phase in various parts of the world. One of the main stumbling blocks is expensive infrastructure, as building and maintaining electric roads infrastructure on a large scale would require significant investment. An Israeli company called Electreon that is piloting wireless charging technology has installed magnetic inductive coils in roads at nearly $2m (R37m) per 1.6km. Trials have been conducted in several countries seeking a national electric road network, including a 2022 UK dynamic wireless power transfer feasibility study, dubbed DynaCoV, which found that dynamic wireless charging was three to 10 times more expensive than conductive charging and is not financially feasible. The Swedish Transport Administration electric road programme in 2024 similarly recommended against funding a national electric road network in that country as it would not be cost-effective. Ensuring efficient and high-power transfer to vehicles moving at highway speeds is also a technological challenge, while the charging infrastructure embedded in the road needs to be robust enough to withstand heavy traffic and varying weather conditions — and easy to maintain. The French government's 2023-2027 study of electric roads found that in-road inductive charging infrastructure caused excessive strain for road surfaces using standard road materials. Ensuring the safety of road users from electromagnetic fields is another major consideration, as is establishing industry-wide standards for wireless charging technology and road infrastructure, which would be necessary for interoperability between different vehicle manufacturers. These are major challenges, but as EV sales gain traction around the world, convenient charging solutions are becoming increasingly critical, and the exploration of electric roads with wireless charging is a potentially transformative step.
