Sweden. SJ AB
| Date of agreement: | 01 Oct 2020 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Sweden |
| Customer: | SJ AB |
| Amount in SEK: | SEK 1,500 million |
| Amount in EUR: | EUR 144 million |
| Maturity: | 13 years |
| NACE sector / loan type: | Transport via railways |
Financing from NIB Environmental Bond proceeds
NEB-eligible share: 100%
NEB category: Clean transport solutions
Amount disbursed: EUR 144.7 million
Note: For loans in other currencies than EUR, the equivalent in EUR is based on the exchange rate effective for the disbursement. Read more about the NIB Environmental Bonds
Project
The EUR 144 million (SEK 1.5 billion) loan will finance Swedish railway operator SJ AB’s purchase of 30 premium high-speed trains. The new train fleet will provide new capacity and enable more frequent departures, operating between the largest urban areas within Sweden and between the Scandinavian capitals of Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo.
Fulfilment of NIB's mandate
Productivity:
The expansion of SJ’s rolling stock provides new capacity and enables more frequent departures. The project will further increase SJ’s substantial market share of long-distance traffic. It is expected that the new train fleet will provide excess capacity during the first few years going forward but will meet demand in the future due to population growth and urbanisation.
The new trains will also benefit labour mobility and integration of the largest urban areas in Sweden and the Scandinavian capitals. Rail infrastructure is critical to the economy overall, especially around the largest urban areas and cities, and seen as a key enabler for growth.
A large share of rail infrastructure in Sweden is outdated and upgrades are ongoing. Therefore, the full potential of the new trains will materialise once the East Link Project, that is building a high-speed railway, is completed in 2035, raising the potential top seed of the trains substantially.
Environment:
Electric passenger trains are a clean and energy efficient mode of transportation. The 30 additional trains are added capacity and no existing trains are to be replaced. The new fleet will have a capacity to carry out 2.3 billion person-kilometres per year.
Sustainability summary
Rail travel is considered to be one of the most sustainable ways to carry out large passenger volumes since it causes considerably lower emissions per person-kilometre in comparison to road and air travel. SJ’s long-distance routes are expected to shift passengers from air and road travel to railway travel and, hence, the project can be expected to indirectly result in a decrease of CO2 emissions.
