103

The experience of the SJ X2000 tilting train and its

effect on the market

B-L Nelldal
Centre for Research and Education in Railway Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: X2000 is a tilting train that was introduced as a new product by the Swedish State Railways (SJ)
on the 450 km line between Stockholm and Gothenburg in 1991. Travelling times have been reduced from
4 to 3 h or 25 per cent by the tilting device and increased top speed up to 200 km=h. Now rail can really
compete with air. The rail market share of the rail±air market between the Stockholm and Gothenburg
regions increased from 42 to 57 per cent between 1990 and 1996. The success of X2000 can, in addition to
the travelling times, also be explained by higher comfort, service and quality as well as by the image of
X2000 as a new product.

Keywords: economics, operating companies, mainline railways, passenger vehicles, speed, suspension

1 INTRODUCTION of trials in various conditions and severe weather and

From a political decision made by Sweden in 1988, new
conditions were created for the development of the railway.
Society assumed the economic responsibility for infrastruc-
ture and decided to make investments based on socio-
economic calculationsÐjust as the road system. Swedish
State Railways (SJ) as a transport company should be
managed completely on business lines and pay a traffic-
based charge for the utilization of the infrastructure.
Since the new SJ was formed, the service of passenger
traffic has rapidly increased. The rolling stock was
modernized and a new design programme was introduced.
A new sleeping-car of hotel standard was put into service
as well as movie cars and family cars with playing
facilities. Completely new products were developed, i.e. the
fast train X2000 and the regional train `the Coastal Arrow'
(Kustpilen). In both cases, service and comfort for the
customer are the primary concerns. Below, the X2000
development will be described in greater detail.
2 DEVELOPMENT OF THE TILTING TRAIN IN
SWEDEN
The development of the tilting train in Sweden began in 1968
with theoretical studies as well as experimental trials with
rebuilt trains (1). It was made by cooperation between the SJ
and ASEA (now called ADtranz). There had been many years
The MS was received on 19 August 1997 and was accepted for publication
on 23 March 1998.
F01997 # IMechE 1998
adjustments of the technique when SJ ordered the first 20
trains in 1986. The first train was delivered in 1989 and was
put into service in 1990. It was a locomotive-hauled five-
wagon unit train including a trailer car. Its technical name is
class X2, but as a product to the customer it is called X2000.
The train can use existing tracks raising speed by 25±30
per cent through curves compared with conventional trains.
It should be pointed out that it is not the tilting system itself
that allows higher speeds in the curves, but rather the
combination of the special bogies with radially self-
adjusting wheel axles which reduce the track forces and the
tilting system that reduces forces on the passengers.
The passenger cars are equipped with a hydraulic tilting
system to improve passenger comfort in curves. In each
bogie, there is a tilting mechanism containing a pendulum
system and hydraulic cylinders. The maximum effective tilt
is 6.58 with a maximum tilting speed of 48=s. The tilting
system for the whole train is controlled by accelerometers
in the leading bogie.
The delivery of the trains must be regarded as a system
where the original order also included necessary workshop
equipment, spare parts, training, etc. Furthermore, the
contractor, ADtranz, took full responsibility for contractual
demands for reliability, performance as well as operational
and maintenance costs according to the life cycle cost
model. For example, the maximum number of stopping
failures (stop on line more than 15 min) was stipulated to
be less than 12 per million kilometres. The actual number
is about 3 per million kilometres.
As with all other trains in Sweden, X2000 is fitted with
automatic train control (ATC). This safety system auto-
matically brakes the train if the driver fails to brake when
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part F
104 B-L NELLDAL

approaching a stop signal or if the train speed is too high.

The braking equipment consists of a regenerative brake
system in the engine for speed adjustments, an air-operated
disc brake system for normal braking and a magnetic track
brake system for emergency braking. Furthermore, there is
an antiskid device.
The climatic conditions in Sweden are severe; winter can
last for five months with snow and temperatures as low as
30 8C. In summer, temperatures can reach ‡30 8C. There-
fore, the bogies and the tilting mechanism have been
constructed to operate in this climate as well as the heating
and air-conditioning system. The car bodies have to be
designed to maintain an interior temperature of ‡20 8C at an
exterior temperature of 40 8C at a train speed of 175 km=h.

3 INTRODUCTION OF THE X2000 TRAIN ON

THE MARKET

The tilting-train technology permits the trains to run 25±30

per cent faster in curves than conventional trains do. At the Fig. 1 Travel time versus distances for competing modes in
same time as X2000 was introduced, the top speed on the 1989. Typical long-distance travel in Sweden
Swedish network was raised from 160 to 200 km=h. This
means that the travelling time on the largest Swedish long-
distance market, between Stockholm and Gothenburg, could
be reduced from 4 to 3 h for the fastest train. Within these
travelling times the market is very sensitive to changes.
In general, the travelling time by air from door to door is
approximately 3 h in Sweden, if you do not have to change
planes (2). With a travelling time of 3 h you can make a 1
day business trip and come back again in the evening. This
means that, if the train can reduce the travelling time
towards 3 h, it will be an alternative to air travel also for 1
day trips. The airlines have generated a large market for 1
day trips where they have been market leaders until the
high-speed trains were introduced.
In Sweden before X2000, the average speed for long-
distance trains on the main lines was 85 km=h (Fig. 1). At
this speed, the train was never the fastest mode. On shorter
distances, the private car was the fastest and on longer
distances the airlines were the fastest. By upgrading the
tracks and raising the speed the train will reach 120 km=h
on average in the year 2000 (Fig. 2). On the best lines and
with tilting trains it will reach 160 km=h on average. This
means that the railway will be the market leader on
distances up to 400 km with regard to travelling times, and Fig. 2 Travel time versus distances for competing modes in the
year 2000 with upgraded tracks and tilting trains. Typical
also on longer distances taking into consideration comfort,
long-distance travel in Sweden
frequency, price and service.
Even if the travelling times are competitive with air, it is
always hard to make customers change their habits. To go passengers are offered waiting service at their seats,
by air has been a kind of status symbol but to go by train newspapers and access to telephone and fax facilities. In
has not been as glamorous. Therefore SJ has made a great the trains there is also a bistro.
effort to develop a new service concept for the passengers The X2000 has been marketed as `faster than the train
and to market the new product. This service concept means and simpler than the airplane'. There has been an ambition
that SJ can offer business travellers considerably better to market X2000 as a product in itself and not as a train in
service and comfort than the airlines. The first-class general. Market surveys (3) also show that in almost every
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 THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SJ X2000 TILTING TRAIN AND ITS EFFECT ON THE MARKET 105

respect X2000 is valued higher than or almost as high as
the airlines and considerably higher than the conventional
trains (Fig. 3). Customers appreciate in particular the good
service and treatment that they receive from the personnel.
4 INCREASING THE MARKET SHARE FOR
THE TRAIN
An analysis has been made between the development of the
market shares by rail and air between the Stockholm and
Gothenburg regions in the years 1980±1996 (4, 5). The
development of the total market has also been estimated.
In the 1980s, the railway continuously lost market share
to airplanes. The railway's market share of the rail±air
market is calculated to have decreased from 67 per cent in
1980 to 42 per cent in 1990 (Fig. 4). The supply of rail was
not improved to a large extent. At the same time, the
airplane supply was improved and its market share in-
creased from 33 to 58 per cent.
In March 1991, the first regular X2000 service started
and since then the traffic has gradually been improved by
more departures and shorter travelling times (Fig. 5). The
rail±air market share increased from 42 per cent in 1990 to
57 per cent in 1996 and in the same period the airplane
market share decreased from 58 to 43 per cent. In 1996,
two-thirds of train passengers went by X2000 and one-third
by ordinary InterCity trains.
Calculations have been made of the total demand
between the Stockholm and Gothenburg regions by avail-
able statistics. Statistics for private cars and coaches are

Fig. 3 Business customers' assessment of X2000. Result of a survey made in 1994 by SIFO for the SJ. Measure of
marks on a scale 1±5

Fig. 4 Trends in rail±air market share 1980±96 between the Stockholm and Gothenburg regions

F01997 # IMechE 1998 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part F
106
Fig. 5 Travelling time by rail between Stockholm and Gothen-
burg 1991±6
intermittent and the development has been calculated by
general trends (6, 7). The result is that there was an increase
in the total demand from approximately 2.8 to 4.0 million
journeys from 1980 to 1990, resulting in a ‡43 per cent
increase or in an average of 3.7 per cent per year (Fig. 6).
The largest part of the increase is derived from airline
traffic (3, 8) but also to some extent from the private car
while the train was at an approximately constant level
(Fig. 7).
The development in the 1990s has so far been the
opposite. The total demand has decreased, and up to 1996 it
has reached almost the same level as in 1990. This decrease
is due to the general economic development in Sweden
which has been negative or weak concerning private
Fig. 6 Number of journeys by different modes between the
Stockholm and Gothenburg regions in 1980±96
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part F
B-L NELLDAL
Fig. 7 Development of the total market between the Stockholm
and Gothenburg regions in 1980±96
consumption in combination with the general travel tax.
However, in this period the train has expanded, the airplane
has decreased and the private car has been approximately
constant. It is also remarkable that the market share of the
private car is far smaller in between these regions with
good supply of public transport: about 40 per cent com-
pared with 75 per cent in general for long-distance trips.
The situation in the 1990s, however, has also been
influenced by other factors. The most important is the
above-mentioned general travel tax and the deregulation of
the airlines. A general travel tax of 25 per cent was
introduced in 1991 on both rail and air services. The
consequence of this was a general decrease in demand for
both rail and air transportation; the airlines were also
affected by the Kuwait crisis. Later the general travel tax
was reduced to 12 per cent, a value which still applies, and
the general decrease in the market ceased in 1993.
In 1993, a new airline was opened between Stockholm
and Gothenburg as a consequence of the deregulation of
the airlines in Sweden. This airline terminated at the airport
of Bromma in the Stockholm area which is situated nearer
the city of Stockholm than Arlanda. The introduction of the
new airline at first seems to have stopped the railway's
increase in market share, but after the introduction the
railway continued to expand. Instead, the new airline has
taken market shares from other airlines and airports.
Market surveys show that X2000 has won many new
customers to the train; six out of ten business travellers
come from the airlines (3).
As a consequence of the general downturn in develop-
ment, all long-distance travel by rail and air decreased
between 1990 and 1996. The decrease was, however, larger
for the airlines with 23 per cent in passenger kilometres
in general and somewhat more for traffic between the
Stockholm and Gothenburg regions. For rail travel between
the Stockholm and Gothenburg regions, there was an
increase of 25 per cent, but for all other long-distance rail
travel there was a general decrease of 11 per cent.
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 THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SJ X2000 TILTING TRAIN AND ITS EFFECT ON THE MARKET 107
Fig. 8 Development of the X2000 train concept: implemented plans and future plans
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108 B-L NELLDAL
Compared with the general decrease on lines with conven-
tional trains there has been a real increase of about 40 per
cent between Stockholm and Gothenburg (125=89) which
can only be explained by the introduction of X2000.
As a conclusion, the success of X2000 between Stock-
holm and Gothenburg is mainly due to the following
factors:
(a) reduction in the travelling times by 25 per cent due to
the tilting device and increased top speed;
(b) more departures;
(c) higher comfort, service and quality;
(d) a better image: X2000 as a new product.
5 FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TILTING-
TRAIN CONCEPT IN SWEDEN
During the introduction phase, the offer has mainly been
directed at the requirements of business travellers but,
from 1996, X2000 has increasingly been adjusted to the
requirements of private passengers. This also means that
the number of departures has increased, which will
benefit both business travellers and private passengers.
X2000 will replace the InterCity trains on the main lines
and will take a larger part of the basic traffic on long
distances.
The initial order for 20 five-wagon trains has been
followed by an order for 14 three-wagon units for Inter-
Regio trains which were delivered in 1994±5. To raise
capacity, the first five-wagon trains have been expanded to
six-wagon units with a total capacity of 320 seats (Fig. 8).
Also the three-wagon units are going to be expanded to
four-wagon trains because of increasing demand. The SJ
has also ordered seven four-wagon trains to be put into
service on some new lines in 1997. Including some reserve
units, the SJ will in 1997 have 43 tilting X2000 trains in
service.
The experience of these trains in daily service, some of
them for 6 years, is so far very positive, even under difficult
conditions. The X2000 train has been tested at 275 km=h,
still with low track forces and high comfort. The SJ is
planning to increase the speed to 220 km=h and it will be
possible to upgrade the X2000 trains to 250 km=h. In the
year 2000, the permanent connection over the Sound
between Sweden and Denmark should be ready. For this, a
dual-electric-system train will be necessary and the first
unit has already been ordered. The SJ is also planning to
acquire smaller tilting EMU (electric multiple unit) trains
for regional traffic.
With the fixed link over the Sound, completely new train
systems can be built up. With the X2000 trains the first
EuroCity Express connections to Copenhagen and the
Continent will be created. A new hotel train system might
be developed for the continental traffic. To make night
trains more efficient and profitable, it is necessary to build
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part F
flexible trains which can be converted from sleeping trains
to day trains.
The Swedish parliament has agreed to an extensive
investment programme for the railway network amounting
to 40 billion SEK 1994±2003 which is proposed to be
prolonged to the year 2007 at almost the same yearly level.
This means that the SJ will have access to a partly new
track network in the future. New tracks will be constructed
for conventional trains with a speed of at least 200 km=h.
This means that tilting trains can use them at 250 km=h or
more.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Tilting trains are already more common around the
world. They are used to raise speed not only on old
tracks but also in combinations of high-speed network
and conventional lines. Tilting trains are used to reduce
costs for building new lines as well as to raise speed
even more on existing high-speed lines. Tilting trains will
probably not be so exclusive in the future; a tilting
device on a train will be as ABS (advanced braking
system) brakes on a car. In Sweden, our experience of
tilting trains, both from operation and from the market, is
very satisfactory.
It is evident that the railway is the means of transport
that has the largest development potential. It can be made
faster and more comfortable with better service and it is the
means of transport that is most environment friendly. The
railways can become the market leader in the future and
attain profitability from the viewpoint of both business as
well as national economics.
REFERENCES
1 The Development of High Speed Tilting Trains in Sweden, SJ
Headquarters, Stockholm, 1995.
2 Nelldal, B.-L. TaÊgtrafikens moÈjligheter paÊ den framtida
resemarknaden. Report 96/11, Royal Institute of Technology,
Traffic and Transport Planning, 1996.
3 SIFO Market Surveys for SJ, 1994.
4 Swedish Airport Administration (Luftfartsverket) Statistics for
travel between Arlanda/Bromma and Landvetter/TrollhaÈttan/
JoÈnkoÈping excluding share of transfers, 1980±96.
5 SJ Statistics, ticket sales and booked places between Stock-
holm/Uppsala/Sthlm Syd/SoÈdertaÈlje and Gothenburg/AlingsaÊs/
Herrljunga, 1980±96.
6 Statistics from a national travel survey by Statistics Sweden in
1978, 1984 and 1995, evaluated by Swedish Institute for
Communication Analyses (SIKA), in 1997.
7 Wajsman, J. Statistics of passenger-mileage for private-
cars from Swedish Board of Transport for 1980±9, completed
on 1990±6 (SJ).
8 EngstroÈm, M. Flyg och snabbtaÊg i trafiksystem. Swedish
Transport and Communications Research Board (KFB) Report
1997:10, 1997.
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