 The Botniabanan- a future investment?In the north of Sweden a big building project has just started. A railway which will run along a part of the northern coast in Sweden will soon be reality. The Botniabanan is planned to be in use in the year of 2005 or 2006. With this new, promising and successful idea a lot of possibilities for people and companies will emerge. Things like faster trans-ports, openings and an environment friendly way of travelling are to be waited. But of course there are some complications with the new railway. The expenses are extremely high and several people are forced to give up their domains.The purposes and advantages of Botniabananmain purpose with the project is that it will become a very modern railway for the convey-ance of goods in the next century. Nowadays trunk lines, that were built almost 200 years ago have not got the requirements for that kind of transports, while they are single-tracked. The single-tracked trunk lines have few meeting places which is due to ineffective and energy ardu-ous traffic. Companies along the northern coast produce products for 70 million Swedish crowns a year. The share of the export is for many of the companies over 80%. Botniabanan is in that way a big help for them when its ready.Another purpose with the new trains is that they will except for the transporting of goods also give the people in the surroundings the opportunity to travel in a faster way, in a speed of 250 km/h. To travel a distance of 270 km (between Sundsvall and Umeå) by bus, which is the most com-mon way of travelling, takes about four hours. But with the Botniabanan the same trip will be reduced to two and a half hours. This way of travelling is favourable for students and commut-ers. For example a student who is studying in Umeå can still live in Övik without spending so much time by travelling. The new opportunities to commute do also create assumptions for business journing,which leads to a higher competence among workers in our district. The trains have a quite low energy consumption, flexible energy supplying and of course a less negative effect on the environment. In a few years, environmental demands probably will in-crease considerably. A consequence will be higher costs for transport for those that are using fuels which are harmful to the environment. Botniabanan offers many openings. During the construction of the truck lines, 8000 jobs will be created in direct connection to the building of the railway. Another 8000 jobs are also to be expected. For example building of stations, works at under suppliers and all openings in new companies and expanding companies. DisadvantagesBotniabanan is a great investment for the industry, but of course it has its disadvantages. The whole project costs about 10 billion Swedish crowns. Money that perhaps could be placed in other useful fields, like health care, school or care for the elderly.Many people who live close to the new railway are in some way influenced by this. During the construction, people are forced to stand explosions and vibrations and when the project finally is finished, things like boisterous traffic will constantly going to disturb the surroundings. People also have to give up their properties like woods and fields, where the track is going to extend. The Botniabanan or not. What do you think?The advantages are many, but do they really make up for the disadvantages, which always are a constantly frequent elements, when an extensive project is going to be carried out. Is the Botniabanan worth the sacrifices. What do you think?
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