Since the national freight transport strategy was presented at the beginning of this summer, the government is now committing different authorities to start working with the strategy. Among other things, the Swedish Transport Administration is tasked with promoting better conditions for rail and rail freight transport, as well as establishing a national coordinator for domestic shipping and short sea shipping.

In the instructions, the government writes, among other things, that the Swedish Transport Administration shall find measures that can be taken to create the conditions for more freight transport by rail and vessels, thereby leading to a shift of freight transport by road to rail and sea.

National Coordinator for six years
The national coordinator for domestic shipping and short sea shipping, it is a time-limited mission that lasts over six years. The coordinator shall:

• Promote well functioning and efficient domestic shipping and short sea shipping and improve the conditions for the transfer of freight by road.
• Initiate and promote cooperation between stakeholders, including European actors, and provide a forum for dialogue and cooperation, both between actors and government and between actors.
• In dialogue with stakeholders, prepare and contribute to implementing an action plan that promotes domestic shipping and short sea shipping, which also promotes energy efficient solutions with low emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants to both air and water.
• Have a knowledge-spreading function and engage in dialogue with transporters, freight forwarders, ports, municipalities, shipping companies, transport companies and other relevant actors about the possibilities to stimulate a shift in freight transport from land to sea transport in different ways, thus contributing to reduced emissions of air pollution.
• Make stakeholders' efforts to promote domestic shipping and short sea shipping visible, challenging and inspiring to others and encourage more actors to contribute to the work. This includes summarizing and describing the actors' work and identifying good examples.
• Analyze how dry docks and transhipment vessels for inland waterways, including quays in the urban environment, can be developed to contribute to increased shipping, increased port capacity and productivity, reduced congestion, reduced climate and environmental impact and regional development, and which actors are responsible for possible measures proposed. The analysis should also include the link to infrastructure investments. Any actions may not be the proposals of new major investments.

The Transport Analysis Authority is tasked with continuously monitoring and evaluating the work of implementing the national freight transport strategy.Related content: https://www.regeringen.se/regeringsuppdrag/2018/08/uppdrag-att-verka-for-battre-forutsattningar-for-godstransporter-pa-jarnvag-o