Turkey’s president recently approved Swedish NATO membership. It opens up new opportunities, says Marit Arnstad. She is a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the Storting. – This will mean a new type of defense planning in the Nordics. We will have a need for more integrated logistics, both in terms of material and personnel. She is then particularly thinking about road and rail between the countries. Arnstad believes that his own home county will be central in this context. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) said at the NATO summit in Vilnius last week that he will approve Swedish NATO membership. It is good news for the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (centre) and Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Photo: Nato Fact: The entire Nordic region becomes NATO member Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to a new debate about membership in the defense organization NATO in Sweden and Finland, and applications from both countries. Turkey made several demands before they would approve Finnish and Swedish membership. Finland became a member from 4 April 2023. Sweden will probably become a member later this year, after Turkey’s president said yes to Swedish NATO membership at the NATO summit in July. It remains for Turkey’s parliament to approve this in October. Norway, Denmark and Iceland have been NATO members since its creation in 1949. Source: news / NATO Rasutsatt For both the E14 and the Meråkerbanen bind Norway and Sweden together. – We have a short distance to Sweden. We have both rail and road, and we have the opportunity to contribute with the reception and transit of both material and personnel, she says. Work is now underway to electrify the Meråkerbanen, but neither the road nor the railway is built for particularly high speeds. The railway is prone to landslides and was closed at the latest this week due to this. Arnstad will advocate for upgrading both roads and railways, which Trøndelag County Council has also recommended. – I will take that with me in the further discussion. Both in connection with the long-term plan for the Armed Forces, as well as the National Transport Plan. Marit Arnstad advocates upgrading the transport corridors from Trøndelag to central Sweden. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news E14 and the Meråkerbanen run parallel from Trøndelag to Central Sweden. The Meråkerbanen is the only railway connection that crosses the border north of Kongsvinger and south of Narvik. Important shipping lines Arnstad receives support from defense analyst Per Erik Solli. He agrees that the connection between Central Norway and Sweden is very central. Both for Sweden, Finland and for cooperation within NATO. – If, for example, the Skagerrak or the Baltic Sea are closed to sea transport, Norway must receive allied reinforcements and material for our neighboring countries and ensure that it can be transported on. Solli works with security policy and military strategy at the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute (NUPI). In addition, he works with logistics, transport infrastructure and social security at Nord University. Clean-up after one of the many landslides over the Meråkerbanen. This from 4 December 2016. Photo: Morten Andersen / news Solli reminds that the Nordic defense chiefs have pointed to the Trondheimsfjorden and the Ofjotfjorden in Nordland as central areas for connections to central Sweden and on to Finland. In Trøndelag, the US has pre-stored material that can be taken out and used in all three countries. – If American personnel come and collect the material in a crisis or war, the Norwegian (and Swedish and Finnish) transport infrastructure must withstand military heavy transport. Important areas and axes for Nordic NATO cooperation When the Nordic defense chiefs gave advice to their respective governments last year on how to secure allied military reinforcements for the entire Nordic region, in crisis or war. The defense commanders pointed to four central areas and axes as important: The Ofotfjord in Nordland, which is important for both Norway, Sweden and Finland. Here there are several deep-water quays, an airport at Evenes, road connections further into northern Norway, and railways and roads from Narvik into Sweden. The Trondheimsfjord in Trøndelag, which is also important for both Norway, Sweden and Finland. Here there are several deep-water quays, airports on Ørland and Værnes, road and rail connections to the south and north in Norway, and road and rail connections to Sweden and further into Finland. Gothenburg region in the Skagerrak Esbjerg harbor in Denmark Source: Per Erik Solli Military needs – When you look at the map, it is obvious that you have to think west-east, says Ebbe Deraas. The defense coordinator in Trøndelag has previously been head of the Trøndelag Home Guard District (HV-12). – I really hope that when money is to be put in for infrastructure nationally, in addition to counting cars and road users, you can also factor in the Armed Forces’ operational needs and requirements for preparedness as part of the calculation. The upgrading of roads and railways should be started now in peacetime, Deraas believes. – It is too late to start developing such things when the crisis, or in the worst case, the war, is at the door. The Americans have several advance warehouses for military equipment in Trøndelag. This can be moved more quickly to other NATO countries with better road and rail connections. Photo: Torgeir Haugaard/Forsvaret – Win-win case Defense analyst Solli believes Deraas points to a key point. – The best strategy is to adapt roads, railways, ports and airports in peacetime. One of the reasons Ukraine has been able to defend itself is because they had an extensive and robust infrastructure when Russia attacked them last year. Solli believes that better roads and railways between east and west are also good for civil society and business. – This is a win-win case for the whole society, he states.
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Will upgrade the road and railway between Norway and Sweden – news Trøndelag
