Our mission

Last update 29 May 2023

Mälardalstrafik's mission is to contribute to a coherent transport system and sustainable development in a growing Stockholm-Mälaren region through an efficient transport offer and attractive services. Mälardalstrafik is owned by the regions of Stockholm, Sörmland, Uppsala, Västmanland, Örebro County and Östergötland.

Travelling by public transport in the Stockholm-Mälardalen region should be attractive and easy. It is important for residents commuting to work and for study, for businesses, for universities and the hospitality industry. Modern regional trains with many departures and on-board conveniences for working or resting, which can be combined with other public transport, link the region together.

That's why Mälardalstrafik exists. We are responsible for Mälartåg and its five publicly funded regional train lines and the Movingo period ticket. We are also developing public transport together with our owner regions to create a continued viable and growing region.

Why does Stockholm-Mälardalen need good regional train services?

Mälardalstrafik is part of a larger initiative to improve commuting and other travel opportunities. The Stockholm-Mälaren region is experiencing strong growth, particularly in the larger cities, where more and more people are seeing the opportunity to commute for work and study. At the same time, increased car use leads to problems of congestion and emissions. For longer distances, travel time often makes trains the only option. Regional rail services are therefore the backbone of the regional transport system and have become increasingly necessary both for those who travel and for the surrounding community.

How do we work?

Mälardalstrafik uses either contracted subcontractors or resources provided by our owners. Mälartåg services are operated by MTR. In addition to our own channels, the Movingo period ticket is also sold via SJ. We rent our trains, the majority of which are new double-deckers, from AB Transitio and our new workshop depot has been built by the Eskilstuna municipality. The Sörmland region is responsible for providing customer service for Mälartåg and Movingo.

How are we financed?

Today, Mälardalstrafik is owned and financed by the Stockholm region, Sörmland region, Uppsala region, Västmanland region, Örebro län region and the Östergötland region. Mälardalstrafik's mission is regulated in a cooperation agreement between the company and its owners, which in turn is based on a decision on public service obligations. Politically elected representatives of the six owners sit on the company's board. The chairman is Kristoffer Tamsons (M), member of the Stockholm Regional Transport Council.

Now and then

1991 The company Mälardalstrafik, originally called Tåg i Mälardalen AB, was formed with the task of examining joint ownership of train services in the Stockholm-Mälaren region. The background was that the Mälarbanan and Svealandsbanan were to be expanded during the 1990s.

1995-2016 When new railway lines had been built around Mälardalen, an agreement was made with SJ, the TiM agreement, to establish a regional train traffic system on the new lines. SJ was responsible for regional train services and the county transport companies were responsible for services within their respective counties and created connections to and from SJ's train services. The TiM collaboration and its combined tickets were a precursor to today's Movingo.

2016 New timetables with more departures on the Mälartåg lines were introduced.

2017 The Movingo period ticket was launched - and was quickly appreciated by commuters.

2018 The new depot for maintenance of Mälartåg's new train fleet was completed.

2019 The first of a total of 45 new double-deckers were purchased in mid-December, with many new departures from Örebro to Eskilstuna and Stockholm.

2020 More departures on Norrköping-Nyköping-Stockholm and Sala-Västerås-Eskilstuna-Katrineholm-Norrköping were introduced.

2021 A new negotiated service contract came into force, with MTR as the new operator. At the same time, the service was expanded with many new departures. Mälardalstrafik took over responsibility for prices and tickets and Mälartåg's coordinated customer service opened

2022 The Upptaget service and trains was integrated with Mälartåg on the 12th of June 2022. A total of 62 trains now run on five Mälaren lines: 53 new Mälaren trains and 9 other regional trains.