Harsh winter fucks up Swedish transportation

[victor]

So, public transportation in Sweden is worse than ever this winter. In a country that's been populated for some 10,000 years (?) no one expected it to snow, apparently. It actually went so far as the local public transport operator in Stockholm (SL) declaring that if people could work from their homes today, they should (which I am doing). This is to me unacceptable in a country where harsh winters aren't exactly uncommon. Add to this the high cost of public transportation (about €300 for a student semester pass). I took the subway home on friday, and I barely got on the train. People were packed like sardines, and trains were 8 minutes apart. During rush hours. Can't have been very good from a fire safety point of view. We're actually starting to get hired officials who squeeze people into the trains and coordinate boarding, like in Tokyo.

The Left is blaming the Right, and vice versa. Maybe it's time to take this extremely practical problem out of the criminally incompetent politicians' hands and add some technocracy to the mix? You know, let qualified urban planners make the decisions?

What are the consequences of the winter weather on public transportation (and general road traffic) in your country?

 

[Patton89]

Let's see : Trains are having problems in the Southern Finland, in the capital area, snow has covered the railway switches so they have had problems with those. And thats it as far as i know.
Up here in the more north nothing unusual. Was pretty cold few days back though. -30 celsius or more. Hell, it was even -40 celsius in some parts.

 

[TheWesDude]

public transportation is good and helps energy conversation when you have a robust infrastructure.

when you do not have a very robust infrastructure or cannot handle even moderate increases in useage ( which would typically happen during "rush hour" ) it can cause severe issues.

i know its anti-environment, but it almost sounds like a good solution would be encouraging people to use their own vehicles so as to not over-tax the public infrastructure

 

[Patton89]

Or you know, ride bicycles or walk if they can. Or even better, make public transportation winter proof.
-13 celsius isnt that cold, as long as you wear decent winter clothing. I would call -21 or more celsius cold.

 

[victor]

i know its anti-environment, but it almost sounds like a good solution would be encouraging people to use their own vehicles so as to not over-tax the public infrastructure

That really isn't a solution in Sweden. Roads are as covered with snow as rails. And in the city, that would cause more problems. Our city roads are pretty small compared to American roads, you'd get massive congestions all over Stockholm, which would slow down buses, making public transportation even worse (I'm not sure it can be worse at this point). Not to mention not everyone here can afford a car, unlike the US, where it's pretty much a necessity if you want a job in some places.


It's not the cold, it's the snow. Cold has nothing to do with it. And the problem lies with people that live in the suburbs, and work in the city. Snow isn't exactly a new thing in Sweden.

 

[Patton89]

So you dont have enough snow plows ?
Even my hometown in ass end of nowhere in Kainuu had clear roads in winter.
What exactly is the problem ? Was the snowfall really heavy or is it more of a infrastructual problem ?

 

[Dead Guy]

As far as roads go I think the problem is more one of space than of plows. They have to transport snow out of stockholm or there'll be no sidewalks.
I don't think we've had this much snow since the 80's, but still, they should be pretty used to this you'd think. Apparently there's a group on facebook now entitled something like "If SJ (swedish railroad) had been in charge of the railways in nazi-germany, the holocaust would never have happened".

 

[Sicblades]

Or you know, ride bicycles or walk if they can. Or even better, make public transportation winter proof.
-13 celsius isnt that cold, as long as you wear decent winter clothing. I would call -21 or more celsius cold.

-21 or less.

 

[AskWazzup]

I'm sick of this winter! Parking a car is a major pain in the ass, as there is no free space left anywhere because of all the fucking snow. I'm also sick of seing white all winter long, getting my feet wet and not being able to visit certain places because of all the fucking snow.

Really now, has global warming suddenly stopped working?

 

[victor]

-21 or more celsius cold.

-21 or less.

Also, -21 degrees Celsius. It's not an absolute scale (eg kelvin)

 

[aenemic]

I got to stay at home and work today too. as I live in Hallunda and there is no traffic between Norsborg and Liljeholmen I'd first have to take a bus to Liljeholmen (which would take at least an hour) - then, as I work in Gamla Stan and no trains at all stop there, I'd have to get off a station before or after and take a walk.

anyways, there's something really fishy about this. today the sun was really shining and it hasn't been snowing at all. sure, there's lots of snow out, but they've had all night to clear the tracks. can't really see what the problem is.

 

[Lukus]

-21 or more celsius cold.

-21 or less.

Also, -21 degrees Celsius. It's not an absolute scale (eg kelvin)

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

 

[victor]

anyways, there's something really fishy about this. today the sun was really shining and it hasn't been snowing at all. sure, there's lots of snow out, but they've had all night to clear the tracks. can't really see what the problem is.

The problem is gross mismanagement and political corruption of what is a practical issue. Only in Sweden will you find that college degrees are required for snow shoveling jobs.

Seriously, a winter's "harshness" is in this case a measurement relative to nothing but the state of public infrastructure and organization. If things get fucked up, it means you're not prepared. Blame it on yourselves, not the fucking weather (refer to ancient shamans and religions for the whole "Blame it on the Gods" arguments).

 

[alec]

What are the consequences of the winter weather on public transportation (and general road traffic) in your country?

Dead horses. Broken carriages. The usual. And our one and only steam engined train was out of service for about a week because the water in the kettle froze and the pipes bursted. The rest was pretty normal, we're used to travel via dog sled or zeppelin anyway, so harsh winters barely affect us.



Nah, seriously: more accidents on the road and Belgium was out of salt when it was still snowing and freezing. That were a couple of slippery days.

 

[Sander]

So, public transportation in Sweden is worse than ever this winter. In a country that's been populated for some 10,000 years (?) no one expected it to snow, apparently. It actually went so far as the local public transport operator in Stockholm (SL) declaring that if people could work from their homes today, they should (which I am doing). This is to me unacceptable in a country where harsh winters aren't exactly uncommon. Add to this the high cost of public transportation (about €300 for a student semester pass). I took the subway home on friday, and I barely got on the train. People were packed like sardines, and trains were 8 minutes apart. During rush hours. Can't have been very good from a fire safety point of view. We're actually starting to get hired officials who squeeze people into the trains and coordinate boarding, like in Tokyo.

The Left is blaming the Right, and vice versa. Maybe it's time to take this extremely practical problem out of the criminally incompetent politicians' hands and add some technocracy to the mix? You know, let qualified urban planners make the decisions?

What are the consequences of the winter weather on public transportation (and general road traffic) in your country?

Same story bro.

I like how the trains stopped working in Sweden, though, as Sweden and Norway were said to have trains and rails in much better condition than our network and that we should learn from that. Hah!

We have some excuses, though. Mostly that our train network is the most heavily used train network in Europe with thousands of railroad switches (most common item to break down).

 

[Sicblades]

I don't understand why you'd take a train anywhere when you could be stuck on the highway for 3 hours in your own car idling.

 

[victor]

Sweden and Norway were said to have trains and rails in much better condition than our network and that we should learn from that. Hah!

Hehe, where did you get that idea? We must have one of the worst railway systems in Western Europe. I hear it's the same in Norway, but at least they have mountains as an excuse.

You see, Sweden is probably the closest you get to an ideal rail transport model. It's flat and pretty one-dimensional. Yet we have an extremely underdeveloped railway system. Our "fast" trains are actually pretty slow because of old tracks, the rest of the routes are served by ancient trains from the 1960's (it takes 14 hours from Stockholm to Luleå, roughly half the country's length. In comparison it takes about 10 hours by car). If any place is great to build long train connections, it's Sweden. But no. Every politician seems to want to increase air and car travel instead.

Not to mention we have some of the highest taxes in the world (I think we just re-broke that record, much to the pride of the media, that wants to put Sweden on the map even if it would be for crimes against Humanity), so there's really no excuse to not have a well-functioning transportation infrastructure both in and out of urban areas. No matter the weather: haven't our societies evolved far enough that natural events are no longer a significant factor?

 

[Zeal]

The Left is blaming the Right, and vice versa. Maybe it's time to take this extremely practical problem out of the criminally incompetent politicians' hands and add some technocracy to the mix? You know, let qualified urban planners make the decisions?

And who decides who is qualified?

You would be replacing an oligarchy for.. the same thing!

power corrupts, we dont need elites saying what is good or bad for us, be them burocrats or tecnocrats.

We need more culture, education, knowledge, then we will have responsability, that is what is lacking.

Playing the "chair game" will lead us nowhere i think...

Anyway, due to the "global warming" phenomenon i think no european country was expecting such a hard winter, thus no one was prepared.

 

[aenemic]

Sweden and Norway were said to have trains and rails in much better condition than our network and that we should learn from that. Hah!

Hehe, where did you get that idea? We must have one of the worst railway systems in Western Europe. I hear it's the same in Norway, but at least they have mountains as an excuse.

You see, Sweden is probably the closest you get to an ideal rail transport model. It's flat and pretty one-dimensional. Yet we have an extremely underdeveloped railway system. Our "fast" trains are actually pretty slow because of old tracks, the rest of the routes are served by ancient trains from the 1960's (it takes 14 hours from Stockholm to Luleå, roughly half the country's length. In comparison it takes about 10 hours by car). If any place is great to build long train connections, it's Sweden. But no. Every politician seems to want to increase air and car travel instead.

Not to mention we have some of the highest taxes in the world (I think we just re-broke that record, much to the pride of the media, that wants to put Sweden on the map even if it would be for crimes against Humanity), so there's really no excuse to not have a well-functioning transportation infrastructure both in and out of urban areas. No matter the weather: haven't our societies evolved far enough that natural events are no longer a significant factor?

not to mention that SJ almost has complete monopoly and do whatever pleases them without really caring about their services. ticket prices are constantly moving upwards, trains get delayed all the time for no obvious reasons, the train cars are often in bad shape (no working toilets, for example) and so on. a classic is also that they sell too many tickets for one train so the train is completely packed and they have to ask people to wait for the next one, and even though you paid extra for a seat, there's no chance in hell you're ever gonna see your damn seat.

 

[Sander]

I don't understand why you'd take a train anywhere when you could be stuck on the highway for 3 hours in your own car idling.

You need a car and a driver's license to do that.

Hehe, where did you get that idea? We must have one of the worst railway systems in Western Europe. I hear it's the same in Norway, but at least they have mountains as an excuse.

Whiny media were claiming this to condemn the Dutch rail system.