Swedish Franchisees Have Mixed Fortunes.

Just over a decade after the first steps towards deregulation, the Swedish rail market has become a mosaic of companies.

SWEDISH State Railways (SJ), which retained a monopoly on long-distance passenger services, now provides only 40% of journeys, but is responsible for 75% of passenger-km. Other operators, freight and passenger, have experienced very mixed fortunes ranging from bankruptcy to profitable expansion.

The 1988 decision to shift responsibility for infrastructure from SJ to the then new Banverket rail administration marked the start of not only Sw