Rail freight traffic between northern Sweden and the Port of Gothenburg continues to grow. Two rail terminals in the far north of Sweden, in the region of Norrbotten, are key drivers behind the volume increase that made 2025 the best year ever for container transport between the Port of Gothenburg and inland rail terminals across northern Sweden.

“This is a development that hardly anyone dared to hope for just a few years ago. In just the past five years, we have seen a doubling in the number of containers from northern Sweden. It is clear evidence of the region’s growing importance as a driving force of Sweden’s export industry,” says Johan Ehn, Senior Market Development Manager at the Port of Gothenburg.

Northern region leading the growth
In northern Sweden’s northernmost region, Norrbotten, two rail terminals located in Haparanda and Piteå, have played a central role in this growth. Together, they handled 13,412 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2025, representing a 16 percent increase compared with the previous year.

The rail terminal in Piteå is owned by Stenvalls Trä and was originally established to meet the company’s own transport needs. Most of the southbound cargo consists of sawn and planed timber products from the company’s four sawmills in the region. Over time, however, more companies from a range of industries have started using the terminal, which has led to increased volumes and a more diversified cargo mix.

“We and our customers need to get our products to export markets around the world quickly and efficiently, with a low climate impact. Gothenburg is home to the largest port in the Nordic region, with an extensive network of shipping lines and efficient transshipment from rail to vessel. Establishing these high-frequency rail connections to the port for onward global transport has proven important not only for us, but for large parts of our region as well,” says Roger Bergman, Market Manager at Stenvalls Trä.

A reliable alternative in challenging conditions
According to Roger Bergman, reliability and continuity are key to the success of the rail solution. Increasingly, companies are turning to rail—especially during winter months, when ice conditions can limit vessel access to ports in the northern part of the Baltic Sea.

“This has led to further shifts of cargo to our rail shuttles, operated by TFK Logistics. It’s very positive that we can step in and provide a reliable alternative with high delivery precision in a challenging situation. The trains always run – week in, week out, regardless of the season,” says Roger Bergman.

Efficient access to global markets via gothenburg
When the trains arrive in Gothenburg, containers are transferred directly to the port’s container terminal, operated by APM Terminals. From there, they are loaded onto ocean-going vessels for global distribution. The trains are then reloaded with import cargo for transport back to northern Sweden.

A total of 19 container trains operate weekly between northern Sweden and the Port of Gothenburg, connecting multiple inland terminals to the port. These services are part of Railport Scandinavia, the Port of Gothenburg’s rail network linking around 30 inland terminals across Sweden. In 2025, more than 72,000 TEU were transported on these northern rail connections.

Fact file: Northern Sweden (Norrland)

• Northern Sweden (known as Norrland in Swedish) covers over half of the country’s land area but has a relatively small population.
• The region is rich in natural resources and plays a key role in Sweden’s export economy, particularly in forestry, mining, and energy.
• Norrbotten, Sweden’s northernmost county, is home to major industrial investments and growing logistics flows.
• Due to long distances and harsh winter conditions, rail transport is a crucial and reliable link between inland production sites and global markets via ports such as Gothenburg.
  Source: Port of Gothenburg