– I’m tired. I have to stand in line for at least an hour every time, says Pontus Larsson. At least three times a week, the professional driver crosses the border to Sweden at Svinesund. Together with several other lorry drivers, he has to wait in kilometer-long queues on the bridge to enter the Swedish customs station. Pontus Larsson has worked as a professional driver for over ten years. He and several colleagues have grown tired of long queues at Svinesund. Photo: Amalie Fagerhaug Evjen / news – There are too few parking spaces at the station and there are no people at work. Sometimes I wonder where the employees are, says Larsson. The border crossing at Svinesund is the busiest in the country. Around 2,000 trucks pass the border crossing every day. Concerned for the drivers All consignments from Norway into Sweden must be declared and checked. But insufficient staffing and too few parking spaces at the Swedish customs station lead to long waiting times and queues. In addition, the trucks can only drive in the left lane on the bridge due to maintenance work that will last until the autumn. – The drivers are very tired. We receive daily messages of frustration from drivers who say that something has to happen now, says Kristian Bjerke, regional manager of the Norwegian Lorry Association. He believes the queue is problematic and is worried about the drivers having to spend hours in queues. Regional manager of the Norwegian Truck Owners Association, Kristian Bjerke, hopes that better cooperation with the Swedish authorities will improve the situation on the Svinesund bridge. Photo: Amalie Fagerhaug Evjen / news – For the transporters, this means that they have problems with deliveries and driving and rest time. If they break the rest period, it will be both expensive and they will receive a warning from the Swedish Road Administration or the Swedish Traffic Agency, says Bjerke. The Swedes are working to solve the problem Tullvärket believes that the traffic over the border crossing before the pandemic cannot be compared to today’s volume. The trucks have become more numerous and come more frequently. Henrik Sjökvist, head of the control department in Tullvärket, admits that the current solution at the station is too bad. – We have too few parking spaces and too few employees. The station is not sized for the current traffic volume. It is a big process to build out the customs station, then we have to blow up mountains. Henrik Sjökvist, head of the inspection department in the Swedish Customs Administration, promises to take measures by 2023 to reduce the waiting time at the customs station. Photo: Amalie Fagerhaug Evjen / news By 2023, the station will hire more people to increase capacity. In addition, the plan is to rebuild the structure inside the customs station to get a better flow. – We see the Norwegian customs station as a good example. But they have a better area. In the long term, we want to digitize ourselves, it will be able to solve many of today’s problems, says Sjökvist. Photo: Amalie Fagerhaug Evjen / news Fears for traffic safety The political organization Svinesund Committee believes it is urgent to put measures in place. Last week, they arranged a meeting with the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association and the Customs Administration. It has opened up a good dialogue between the neighboring countries, believes Chair of the Svinesund Committee Cecilia Nilsson. She is particularly concerned about road safety. – If you have a lane on the E6 blocked for several kilometres, the emergency services will not arrive if there is a traffic accident. It can cost lives, says Nilsson. Chair of the Svinesund Committee, Cecilia Nilsson, believes that long queues can be dangerous because it can prevent the emergency services from arriving if an accident occurs. Photo: Amalie Fagerhaug Evjen / news She also emphasizes that it is a big cost issue. – When the trucks stand still for several hours, it costs NOK 1,000 per hour. There are large sums of money that ultimately end up with the companies. But finally the Swedish Customs Service has shown a commitment, so we hope they understand the importance of this and we will follow up on this.
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Trucks must stand in kilometer-long queues at Svinesund – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
