« What does cheap Arlanda ticket help if trains do not arrive? »
It was with cautious optimism that I took part in the new investigation into Arlanda’s availability (DN Debate 2/6). Finally, it seemed that someone took the issue seriously. But that hope was quickly replaced with frustration.
Has the coordinator ever tried to get to Arlanda with a tight work schedule? Do they have any experience of what it means to be dependent on functioning transport in order to do their job?
I travel in my work four to five times a week. It has become increasingly difficult. The trains are unreliable – so that on several occasions I was forced to take a taxi all the way from Stockholm to Karlstad to get to an important conference, planned for over a year, where I stand as the first speaker in front of 500 participants. I do not travel for pleasure. I travel because my work requires it, with times to take care and people to meet. With the current condition of the railway, it is not possible to trust that I even arrive.
The flight has been my rescue. Or rather: it was before Braathens disappeared from Bromma And SAS moved its entire domestic traffic to Arlanda. One million passengers then lost a fully functioning airport that was both smooth and accessible. An excellent relief for Arlanda and the opportunities to get there.
I have on several occasions been allowed to ride through small roads and forest trails with inventive taxi drivers to catch my flight at the last moment
The investigation states that access to Arlanda must be improved – where we agree with each other. But the focus is wrong. The problem is not the price of transfer. I have a hard time believing that a family that is going to Crete sets the trip because it is too expensive with a transfer?
The problem is reliability. What does a cheaper train help when it stands still in Rotebro for three hours without evacuation? For me it is a total job failure. What helps a lower ticket price when contact lines are torn down, people run on the tracks, when signal errors are everyday or when copper theft puts the whole system out of play?
The motorway? A stationary vehicle at the traffic area of joy and traffic corks again from Bergshamra. I have on several occasions been allowed to go through small roads and forest paths with inventive taxi drivers to catch my flight at the last moment and thus be able to do my work.
You can never be sure you are coming to Arlanda.
We who work And is dependent on functioning transport got our everyday lives and our conditions to arrive in time for assignments and jobs drastically deteriorated when Bromma was closed. A fully functioning, easily accessible airport, where one million passengers could get by car, bicycle or tram.
Since I started flying in the 2014 service, I have never got stuck on the way to Bromma. Today, when I am forced to Arlanda, every trip is associated with anxiety and a lump in my stomach. And ironically, I pass the sign to Bromma Airport every time.
