Ystad Line

The Ystad Line (Swedish: Ystadbanan) is a 55-kilometer (34 mi) long railway line between Lockarp and Ystad in Scania, Sweden. At Lockarp, the line connects with the Continental Line towards Malmö, with the distance from Malmö Central Station to Ystad Station being 63 kilometers (39 mi). At Ystad, the line connects with the Österlen Line, which continues onwards to Simrishamn.

History

Plans for a railway between Malmö and Ystad were first launched in the 1860s, and in 1872 a railway company was established to build the line. Because the region was regarded as sufficiently wealthy to finance its own infrastructure, the line received no state grants. During part of the planning phase, the line was proposed to be narrow gauge, but this was changed to standard gauge after sufficient funding was granted by Julius Stjernblad.

Construction started in 1872 and the line was finished in December 1874. Because of the many nobles who had financed the line, it was originally known as the Count Line (Grevebanan). Because of the private financing, each manor received their own station, resulting in many stations and slow service. The original speed limit on the line was 30 kilometers per hour (19 mph), giving a travel time of three hours from Malmö to Ystad. At Ystad, the line connected to the Österlen Line, which had opened in 1965. The two lines were merged into a common operating company, Ystads Järnvägar.