During 1988, Banverket was created, its functions having been previously carried out by the Swedish State Railways. The Administration set about introducing competition on Sweden's railways; Swedish regional authorities were able to issue competitive
tenders to operate their local railway networks. Starting in 1998, Banverket initiated a continuous programme of joint punctuality improvement work between itself and the major railway companies based in the Swedish rail sector. During 1997, the Administration launched the
Swedish International Railway radio (SIR) project, being the first railway organisation in the world to do so and thus played a pioneering role in the field. In the early 2000s, the Administration adopted a new strategic solution for the grinding of across many of Sweden's conventional lines after successful use of
railgrinders on a preventative basis on the
Malmbanan. New funding models and griding profiles were adopted with largely positive results, such as the extension of track life in places as well as improved comfort levels for the travelling public. In
Easter of 2008, the Administration undertook the largest ever signal replacement scheme in Sweden was undertaken at Stockholm Central Station. During May 2008, the Administration signed contracts with several companies, including
Bombardier Transportation,
Balfour Beatty, and
Ansaldo for the roll-out of the
European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS). Under these contracts, two pilot ERTMS Level 2 installations were deployed as part of the modernisations of the
Ådalsbanan and of the
Haparandabanan routes; furthermore, these pilot lines were the precursor to the wider deployment of ERTMS, under which several major lines would be equipped with the system, a process that would continue into the following decade. Throughout the late 2000s, the Administration adopted an increasingly customer-centric focus; this included the pursuit of ever-greater levels of reliability and punctuality while also making efforts to stop spiraling costs of major investment schemes. This was in part directed by the Swedish government as well as being the result of market changes and lessons learnt. The vast majority of its staff, approximately 1,530 people in 2007, belonged to the Operations Division, which delivered track access to the various operators along with various functions from planning to daily traffic management and maintenance. Prior to 2004, the
Swedish Railway Inspectorate () was a part of the Swedish Rail Administration; it ceased to be following the formation of the
Swedish Rail Agency () which took over its responsibilities. That agency was in turn incorporated into the newly formed
Swedish Transport Agency () in 2009. During 2010, the Swedish Government directed a merger with the
Swedish Road Administration () to create the new
Swedish Transport Administration (), and the subsidiary responsible for railway maintenance was spun off in a separate
aktiebolag,
Infranord. == List of directors-general ==