SL needs to expand the capacity in its bus depots. Now the place on the right in the picture, in the still undeveloped areas of Stäket’s area of operation, has been pointed out as a good place.
Henrik Lindstedt
The municipality hopes that a new bus depot can provide better public transport to the growing area. But first they have to solve the issue of Bonäsbäcken.
Today it is a forest grove where the Rotebroleden meets the E18. In a few years, the site may have been transformed into a workplace for 250 people. Recently, Järfälla’s municipal board and SL signed a letter of intent to build a bus depot for 50 buses on the site.
Dike was stream
But it is still very early in the process, points out Anne-Marie Engman-Ott, project manager at the municipality’s development department.
– Unfortunately, it will take some time. The first thing we have to do is fix Bonäsbäcken.
That the watercourse is precisely a stream became a painful realization during the expansion of Stäket’s area of operation in 2020. The municipality thought it was a ditch and had time to start diverting the water before the mistake was discovered, which ended with a verdict of environmental crime and a 50,000 kroner fine.
This is how the municipality plans to redraw Bonäsbäcken to make room for a bus depot.
Järfälla municipality
To be able to divert the water, a water judgment from the Land and Environment Court is first required. If it succeeds, you can move on with the project.
Full in the depots
Several of SL’s depots in the region are currently full and therefore more places are needed in both the short and long term. The region’s hope was first to expand the existing depot in Kallhäll, but the municipality thought otherwise.
– We don’t want large facilities in Kallhäll, they are quite bulky and generate a lot of traffic, says Eva Olsson, exploitation strategist.
However, the Kallhälls depot is expected to remain, perhaps as a slightly smaller depot.
The criticism: Attractive location
The municipality hopes that a depot can provide more public transport for travellers. Therefore, preparations have been made for a bus stop at Allmänningsvägen.
– When there are more workplaces in the area, we hope that the basis will be sufficient for more public transport.
The opposition party Liberals are critical of the depot plans.
“The plot in question in Stäket has an attractive and well-exposed location that we would have liked to see could be used for something that could add added value to the area,” they write in a separate statement to the municipal board.
250 workplaces
The agreement between the Transport Administration in Region Stockholm (SL) and Järfälla municipality is a reservation of the land and a declaration of intent to investigate the possibilities of building a bus depot in Stäket’s area of operation.
SL’s vision is a modern depot for an electrified vehicle fleet. They expect 50 buses and 250 workplaces.
In 2025, the parties expect that an application for a water judgment regarding Bonäsbäcken can be submitted. Only at the end of 2027 can a land transfer be completed, according to the schedule.
Source: Land reservation and declaration of intent regarding a bus depot within Stäket’s area of operation
