Trains and other things: Blekingebanan, Markarydsbanan, Halmstad

Today I'm travelling from Karlskrona to Halmstad along the Blekinge kustbanan, Skånebanan, and Markarydsbanan.

M/S Hansa at Karlskrona harbour. "M/S Hansa is built as a luxury riverboat during the 1960s in Budapest and has been moored at Karlskrona since 2015. The ship is newly renovated and opened in 2016 as smart and bright student dorms."

Blekinge kustbana is a 130km long railway between Karlskrona and Kristianstad. It was electrified during 2005-2007.

Nättraby

Johannishus

The line is operated by X31 trains from Karlskrona to Copenhagen

Ronneby

Between 1992 and until the electrification the railway was operated by "Kustpilen" Y2 (Swedish version of IC3 trains from Denmark) between Karlskrona and Malmö.

The railway is switching the side of the Ronnebyån river with this bridge.

Ronneby old water tower from 1902

Heliga Kors kyrka

Ronnebyån

Djupadal station

The old station house is not easy to spot

Bräkne-Hoby kyrka

Another X31 outside Bräkne-Hoby

Rapeseed field

Karlshamn station. During the 1950's when the railway changed from narrow to standard gauge, it was decided to relocated the station here in Karlshamn.

Green Cargo Td 381 built by Nohab in 1980 and Rd2 1117

700m long tunnel and the only railway tunnel in Blekinge

The old station house is located in the centre of Karlshamn

The station is now an office for a print company

Karlshamn castellum to the right

Port of Karlshamn if one of the largest in Sweden and is the largest and deepest in the south-east Sweden. The port is free of ice and unaffected by tides.

Visiting Mörrum and "Laxens hus" (the Salmon house).

Mörrum station

Skånetrafiken had painted five trains with colourful liveries in 2015, this is one of them.

Bromölla station and I've now changed from Blekinge to Skåne regions

New station in Bromölla opened 1999.

Bromölla station claims to have the smallest library in Sweden in this old phone booth, open 24h.

Old Bromölla station is located outside today's city centre.

Bäckaskog

No stop here anymore

Fjälkinge got a stop recently in 2013 when Pågatåg Nordost expanded.

The station is operated by Pågatåg trains only, Öresundståg does not stop here.

Kristianstad C

Svensk Tågkraft TMX 1042

The station is a terminus for all passenger trains, so it is necessary to change train direction here.

Exception is freight trains continuing to Åhus

Önnestad got a stop as well as Fjälkinge in 2013

Pågatåg X61 trains are operating this line with stops

Vinslöv

The line between Kristianstad and Hässleholm is called Skånebanan and it continues to Helsingborg.

I'm moving on to Markarydsbanan - the railway between Hässleholm and Halmstad, thus connecting Södra Stambanan and Västkustbanan.

I'm visiting some stops along Markarydsbanan, here is Bjärnum

There has been no regular passenger services since 1970's here, except for some through services (e.g. X2000 from Göteborg to Copenhagen). However, in 2013 new service between Hässleholm and Markaryd was introduced with two stops in between.

X61 train to Markaryd

"Pensionatsgäster" statue at Vittsjö

Old station is now a restaurant

End station today is Markaryd but there are plans to continue the line all the way to Halmstad.

I'm continuing along the line. If/when the Pågatåg line will continue to Halmstad, there will be two more stops, one here in Knäred and the other one in Veinge.