TheÅdalen Line (Swedish:Ådalsbanan) is a 184-kilometre (114 mi)railway line betweenSundsvall andLångsele inSweden. At Sundsvall, the line intersects with theCentral Line and theEast Coast Line. At Långsele, the line intersects with theMain Line Through Upper Norrland. It also connects to theBothnia Line.
The Ådalen Line follows, and is named for, theÅdalen river valley.
Railway stations with stops for passenger trains are (as of 2018):
Traditionally the line now known as the Ådalen Line consisting of three sections. The connection from Sollefteå and Långsele was built by theSwedish State Railways and opened in 1886, at the same time as the northern part of the Main Line Through Upper Norrland from Ragunda to Långsele. The private Härnösand–Sollefteå Railway (Härnösand-Sollefteå Järnväg) received aconcession for a private railway in 1888, and opened in 1893. The section from Härnösand to Sundsvall was originally built as part of the East Coast Line and opened in 1925, two years before the line was completed toGävle. The Härnösand–Sollefteå Railway wasnationalized in 1932 and electrified in 1958 at15 kV 16.7 Hz AC.[1]
TheSwedish Transport Administration upgraded 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the line, and built 30 kilometres (19 mi) of new track, from Sundsvall to the connection with the new high-speedBothnia Line north ofNyland. The upgrades both include renewal of existing track, and two new section of track. The upgraded line has a maximum permitted axle load of 25 tonnes (25 long tons; 28 short tons), allow 1,400 tonnes (1,400 long tons; 1,500 short tons) trains and have the newEuropean Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). Along with theBothnia Line and the East Coast Line, the Ådalen Line is the new high-speed main line along the East Coast of Sweden, fromStockholm toUmeå.[2]
21 kilometres (13 mi) of newright-of-way was built; 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) betweenHärnösand and Veda, and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) betweenBollstabruk and the connection to the Bothnia Line. This section has eight new tunnels, totaling 14 kilometres (8.7 mi).[3]
The upgrades were completed in September 2012.[4]
