June 8th marked the start of Strukton Rail’s third ‘building season’ for the Bothnia Line, a new railway line in the northeast of Sweden, along the Gulf of Bothnia. Strukton is laying approximately 95 kilometres of track in three years time. The project is going according to plan. Due to the climate in this part of Sweden, the short summer period is the only season in which the railway line can be constructed. Strukton constructed ca. 50 kilometres of track in 2007 and 25 kilometres in 2008. The last 25 kilometres are to be constructed in the coming months. Strukton will reach the most northerly part of the line in Umeå by the end of the summer of 2009.

Strukton is working on this project from a small site in Rundvik; the office was moved to Umeå for the 2009 construction period. No less than 2,000 metres are constructed every day. Strukton Rail has developed a special construction method for this Swedish project, combining the Donelli cranes with sleeper wagons that have been converted especially for this aim.

Bothnia line
The Bothnia Line is a 190 km long new railway line along the east coast of Sweden, running from the university town of Umeå south towards Örnsköldsvik and then inland towards Nyland. The single-track railway line goes through 15 tunnels with a total length of 25 kilometers. The railway line will be used mainly for goods with a maximum load of 25 tons, but will also be made suitable for passenger transport at 250 kilometres per hour. The new line is planned to be taken into operation in the autumn of 2010.