Sweden's Stockholm Sensational
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| BussLink 6141, a Scania Omnicity Articulated Single Deck, is seen on route 160 to Årstaberg. © Howard Pulling |
It's ready for you to read. So a thank you from the West London Bus Blog. It's been a decent year, but anyways, we're not the West London Bus Blog. You typed up the wrong web address clearly. A rather interesting coincidence sees another West London Bus Blog, one of our closest viewers, celebrate 1 year of their blog. Happy birthday to both blogs celebrating and we wish another great year to come! Also note a special Busy Bus Buzz session is being held tonight at a earlier time of 1930hrs to celebrate this remarkable event and may run until 2130 or 2200. Thanks to all our viewers, especially the ones from Sweden, which this post is dedicated to. Note that this is a very long post and requires about 10-20 minutes to read.
Our first post is about a European city, Stockholm that is, which is the capital city of Stockholm, located in the Scandinavian regions of Europe. Note that this is a long post.
I would also like to note that these photos are not owned by members of the West London Bus Blog, and are actually owned by the amazing Howard Pulling! Click Here to see his interesting Flickr photostream, where he takes trips around London, England, the UK and the world. Also, the outstanding Mark Rushton (On Flickr known as Pegpilot) for lending us photos too! He deserves a mention and here, we show his photostream. Click here to access Mark's brilliant batch of photos! Also, IngolfBLN has allowed us to use the photos. Many thanks go out to them, or else this post could not be complete!
Stockholm is the Swedish Capital, and is home to a vast amount of buses, trains, trains, international & national rail services and suburban rail services. In this post, we aim to cover as much of that as possible.
Stockholm's transport is run by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL for short) although each mode of transport or certain lines are assigned to private operators. Here is the link to the railway map, something that may be very useful throughout this post: SL Railway Map (C) Courtesy of Storstockholms Lokaltrafik
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| SL 2032 departs Gullmarsplan, heading for Hagsätra whilst on the T19 service. © Howard Pulling |
This depot maintains the standard stock which is Modern C20 stock. The Metro blue line is also home to the only fleet of the older C14H and C15H stock, which are the youngest Cx stock. All Cx stock are identically similar and each just have small modifications. The C14/15 was the last ever Cx stock batch of units to be built, and will never be on the production line again. The replacement for this is the C20 stock, which replaces all Cx stock units.
Plans are currently going ahead with the development of the Metro Blue Line. In November 2013, it was approved that the Metro Blue Line could be extended over eastbound to Nacka. Originally, both routes 10 and 11 were supposed to go there, but the plans have now changed. Route 11 will connect with the Saltsjöbanan at Nacka, and continue to Nacka Centrum, and will also extend westbound to existing station Barkarby (On the commuter line), one of the most best places to do photography if you ask me. Then the route 10 will only extend south-westbound and go to new station Sofia, and then continue westbound to Gullmarsplan (Existing on the green line) and replaces current route 19 between stations Gullmarsplan-Hägsatra. "What happens to route 19, then?" One may ask. Route 19 will just curtail at Gullmarsplan, and the existing depot at Högdalen will move, with the trains and staff to move to the blue lines. Also, the blue line 11 will become the first ever line to cross into ticket zone B on the map, as all metro lines are in zone A only. Here is a map of the Metro only on the proposed extensions.
Personal statement here: That is a very smart move for SL. Not many new stations need to be built, not many trains need to be bought to cover the extension, as there are a good number of trains to cover the 10 extension and part of the 11's too. So this is actually quite cheap and not much money. If going ahead, this I would guess this is opening in parts, with route 11's extension to Barkarby first (As that's only two stations). Then after the construction to Sofia will be ready, and digging to Gullmarsplan/ Nacka commences. From there, trains can run along the existing track - with the stations already fully refurbished since 2011. Smart move, SL. End of statement. Back to the facts, below.
Then there's the Metro Red Lines, lines 13 and 14. These are the "Cross-city" lines, which start in the North East and terminates at the South West. crossing the heart of Stockholm. There are various of depots across the lines, although the main one is at Nyboda. This is a small interchange station in the "Central South-West" called Lijleholmen (Lily-hol-men) where the two lines split apart to Norsborg/ Fruangen. Interchange is possible to the Tvarbanan, but more on that later.
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| A C20 stock, nicknamed Slas, departs Slussen on the Red Line to Fruängen. © Howard Pulling |
Then there's the 3 remaining lines, the Metro Green Lines, numbered lines 17, 18 and 19. These run from the far west of Stockholm in Hässelby Strand, and reach to the south, either terminating at Skärpnack (17), Farsta Strand (18) or Hägsatra (19).
These are the main lines, that only has one rolling stock; C20 stock. It is also home to the unique prototype C20F stock, re-named Elvira from it's original Igcognito nickname.
All Metro lines meet up at the large railway interchange; T-Centralen (Metro Services only)/ Stockholm Central (All other rail services.)
Stockholm Metro is well recognized for it's art. Each line colour has it's own type of artwork, the Stockholm Red Line has tiles in most of it's underground station. The tiles usually make a pattern, or tell a historical story. On the Green line, artwork can vary, although there is not much of this as most of the Green Line is overground. The Blue Line is well know most for its artwork. The stations are in "Cave form" meaning that the walls at just uneven rocks, with paintings all over them. The most well-known station for the artwork is on the Blue Line, at (Obviously) Tunnelbanan - Centralen (Or better known as T-Centralen). More on this further down below.
Here are some more shots, including interior of the C20 stock.
Legends of the Stockholm Metro
The C5 stock (Now withdrawn) that was believed to be the Stockholm Ghost Train as only one train was built, and was not painted green (Which was the old specification for SL trains) and was left in the original silver livery. It was extremely rare for the train to turn up and is associated with the abandoned ghost station on the Metro Blue Line 11, Kymlinge. (Shim-linge) which is between Kista (Shis-ta) and Hallonbergen (Hallon-barry-an). The station was never finished before opening in 1975, and the construction site can still be seen until today. Whether the station may be finished and be opened to the public is unknown, although that is unlikely to happen, as the station is located in the middle of nowhere. Trust me, I've passed that 'station' several times.
It was believed that Silverpilen, the nickname for this train would run anywhere on the Metro, and apparently drop it's passengers off at Kymlinge which is referred to in Swedish "Bara de döda stiger av i Kymlinge" or simply put in English, "Only the dead alights at Kymlinge". Somehow, Silverpilen in some legends is EVEN connected to the Flying Dutchman, from the animated series of Spongebob Squarepants (Not sure how Flying Dutchman managed to make it into the legends, but interesting touch....)
And now, for the last touches to the Stockholm Metro, we bring the last of the photos, which are of the C20 rolling stock.
Nockebybanan:
Stockholm isn't just home to trains. It's home to light rail services, commuter rail services, metro services and suburban rail services and trams. The Nockebybanan falls into both categories of tram and light rail. The reason I say that, is because along the 10 stations on the route, don't use roads, there are actually separated railroads from the main roads, or actually, residential streets. The reason I class it as a tram is because of the rolling stock in use.
The line starts at Alvik, and is actually isolated throughout the whole journey to Nockeby. Alvik is a transport hub, for local bus services, the Tvarbanan as well, and then the route goes around Appleviken, where it then heads towards Smedslatten, where the below photo was taken. At the end, the Nockebybanan makes it to Nockeby Torg and Nockeby. All of this done in a short trip, within around 12 minutes if I'm correct. So it is a local line for Nockeby.
The Control Station and maintenance depot is at Alvik, which is shared with the Tvarbanan. The rolling stock is of the A32 Flexity Swift tram, made up of single car units for each tram. There are 3 doors on each side, dot matrix screens inside and high-back seats, unlike those on the Metro.
To make the trips faster, these trams have "Stopping bells", just like you see on a bus and if you wish to alight, you must press the stop button because if there is nobody at the station, the tram may just drive through the station as if it were closed.
Stations along this route don't actually have ticket readers to read the "Access Cards", which is the SL version of the Oyster Cards. So instead, ticket conductors are on-board, the only station with ticket readers is at Alvik.
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| SL 2067 heads towards Hässelby Strand on the Metro Green Line whilst leaving Gullmarsplan. © Howard Pulling |
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| Interior of a C20 Metro Stock. All lines have the same interior and exterior, this is blue line 11 bound for Akalla (Aw-kalla). © IngolfBLN |
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| Another shot inside the C20 stock, but main focus is in the articulated section of the train. © IngolfBLN |
Legends of the Stockholm Metro
The C5 stock (Now withdrawn) that was believed to be the Stockholm Ghost Train as only one train was built, and was not painted green (Which was the old specification for SL trains) and was left in the original silver livery. It was extremely rare for the train to turn up and is associated with the abandoned ghost station on the Metro Blue Line 11, Kymlinge. (Shim-linge) which is between Kista (Shis-ta) and Hallonbergen (Hallon-barry-an). The station was never finished before opening in 1975, and the construction site can still be seen until today. Whether the station may be finished and be opened to the public is unknown, although that is unlikely to happen, as the station is located in the middle of nowhere. Trust me, I've passed that 'station' several times.
It was believed that Silverpilen, the nickname for this train would run anywhere on the Metro, and apparently drop it's passengers off at Kymlinge which is referred to in Swedish "Bara de döda stiger av i Kymlinge" or simply put in English, "Only the dead alights at Kymlinge". Somehow, Silverpilen in some legends is EVEN connected to the Flying Dutchman, from the animated series of Spongebob Squarepants (Not sure how Flying Dutchman managed to make it into the legends, but interesting touch....)
And now, for the last touches to the Stockholm Metro, we bring the last of the photos, which are of the C20 rolling stock.
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| SL 2217 on the Metro Green Line service to Skärpnack. © Howard Pulling |
Nockebybanan:
Stockholm isn't just home to trains. It's home to light rail services, commuter rail services, metro services and suburban rail services and trams. The Nockebybanan falls into both categories of tram and light rail. The reason I say that, is because along the 10 stations on the route, don't use roads, there are actually separated railroads from the main roads, or actually, residential streets. The reason I class it as a tram is because of the rolling stock in use.
The line starts at Alvik, and is actually isolated throughout the whole journey to Nockeby. Alvik is a transport hub, for local bus services, the Tvarbanan as well, and then the route goes around Appleviken, where it then heads towards Smedslatten, where the below photo was taken. At the end, the Nockebybanan makes it to Nockeby Torg and Nockeby. All of this done in a short trip, within around 12 minutes if I'm correct. So it is a local line for Nockeby.
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| SL 427 is seen at Smedslatten, heading towards Nockeby on the Nockebybanan. © Howard Pulling |
To make the trips faster, these trams have "Stopping bells", just like you see on a bus and if you wish to alight, you must press the stop button because if there is nobody at the station, the tram may just drive through the station as if it were closed.
Stations along this route don't actually have ticket readers to read the "Access Cards", which is the SL version of the Oyster Cards. So instead, ticket conductors are on-board, the only station with ticket readers is at Alvik.
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| The same train is seen at Alvik, SL 427, on the Nockebybanan. © Howard Pulling |
Whilst on the same type of railway in Stockholm, we move to the youngest light rail service in Stockolm, the Tvärbanan. The route runs between Solna and Sickla Udde - And was actually only running as far as Alvik in the Autumn that had just passed (2013).
Due to different signalling on the new Alvik - Solna stretch, trains only run as far as Alvik from Solna, then one would change over to the "existing" line, that takes you to Sickla Udde.
The route opened in 2002, between Liljeholmen (Lily-holm-men) and Gullmarsplan (Gool-mars-plan), taking about 8 minutes. The route was then shortly extended to Sickla Udde and Alvik forming the more recent Tvarbanan. Just this Autumn it was extended to the new Solna Friends Arena via Sundbyberg and Solna Business Park.
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| SL 403 on the Tvärbanan towards Sickla Udde. © Howard Pulling |
To make the trips faster, these trams, like the Nockebybanan, have "Stopping bells", just like you see on a bus and if you wish to alight, you must press the stop button because if there is nobody at the station, the tram may just drive through the station as if it were closed.
Stations along this route don't actually have ticket readers to read the "Access Cards", which is the SL version of the Oyster Cards. So instead, ticket conductors are on-board, although there are various possible stations along the line where ticket machines may be in use.
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| SL 422 is seen on the Tvärbanan, making it's way through the "traffic". © Howard Pulling |
So, do you think this is a sensible idea? Share you views, on the "Busy Bus Buzz" at 1930 tonight (19th January 2014) or drop a comment below.
Saltsjöbanan:
For those who catch up with international media, especially on the 15th January 2013 (4 days before this blog opened up) may have heard this line in the news.
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| SL 418 makes a beautiful entry into this amazing photograph, whilst bound for Sickla Udde. © Howard Pulling |
For those who catch up with international media, especially on the 15th January 2013 (4 days before this blog opened up) may have heard this line in the news.
The Saltsjobanan has had it's good share of history. And passengers. The isolated routes, numbers L25 and L26, run in the district of Saltsjöbaden, put simply in English, Salt's Lake. L25 is the main route, whereas route L26 is more like a shuttle service between stations Igelboda and Solsidan, all within the Saltsjöbaden municipality. Main route L25 starts at Saltsjöbaden, and connects with Local Route L26 at Igelboda, wihin 6 minutes from Saltsjöbaden and continues to Nacka and ends at Stockholm's biggest transport terminal, Slussen* which is the only interchange station on the entire Saltsjöbanan network.
*Slussen is home to metro services, local bus services, international cruises and the Saltsjobaden. It is, if I'm correct, the largest interchange in Stockholm with over 50 local bus services, 6 metro lines, various cruises and the one Saltsjobanan line.
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| SL 2890 leaves Slussen (Sloo-sen) to Saltsjöbaden (Salt-so-bayden) © Howard Pulling |
The trains do have conductors on them, as they do not have ticket barriers at any station along the line. For more information, visit sl.se
All trains are maintained at the sole depot, located at Negline (Ne-glin), the station just after Igelboda (Ee-gale-boda) towards Saltsjöbaden. These are all ex-metro stock, which have been converted from third rail use to overhead power use. There are 2 rolling stock, which are both of the Cx stock, and are both identically the same. Only difference is, the C10 stock has a motor, whereas the C11 stock doesn't. Note that unlike the Metro services, these trains have flared bodies.
The trains have blue poles, with plain brown seats - This is the old specification for most SL railway carts. Here is a picture of the interior of the Saltsjöbanan:
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| Interior of a typical Saltsjöbanan (Salt-so-bar-nan) train. © Howard Pulling |
Around 2am, in Neglinge Rail Depot, when all trains had finished their duties and were returned to the depot, a cleaner was on board a train doing her job; cleaning. Due to the fact that these trains do not have Automatic Train Operation (ATO), a fault was caused by one of the trains and the train that the cleaner was on, had started moving by itself out of the storage depot. The train was heading out towards Saltsjobaden, reaching excess speeds of 80mph, way over the limit for these trains, past Ringvägen Station, reaching the last station of the line, Saltsjöbaden - Now reaching dangerous speeds, and was uncontrollable - the train then overran a set of buffer stops, meaning it's now running off the rails and shortly crashed into a block of flats. The cleaner was seriously hurt, however, nobody in the flat was injured.
The cleaner was first accused of hijacking the train at first, but was then seen as an engineering fault. At court, she claimed to have lost her memory in the crash and by the morning, police, ambulance, transport enthusiasts and media from around the world was there to gather around the scene. Here is the news report from Russia Today (RT) who were one of the first people on the scene, who have two photos and a video of the crash:
Until September 16th 2013, trains were withdrawn between Neglinge and Saltsjöbaden whilst long-term engineering works were taking place.
Commuter Lines (Pendaltag):
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| SL 2893 is at terminus station Slussen (Sloo-sen). © Howard Pulling |
If you ever come and visit Stockholm, and go around the city, then the Commuter Lines are probably the most useful for that purpose. These are the longest lines in Stockholm, with some lines crossing the border of Stockholm. Lines J35, J36, J37 and relatively new line J38 are classed as Commuter Lines, and operate throughout Stockholm. Line J35 is the longest, running from Bålsta, outside of Stockholm, into Stockholm itself, serving Sundbyberg, Stockholm Central, älvsjo, Farsta Strand, Västerhaninge and Nyänsham - Which takes about 2 hours end to end. Due to the length, some trains are curtailed to Kungsängen and Västerhaninge. Stations between Nyansham and Västerhaninge at off-peak hours have once-an-hour train services.
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| SL 6042 is seen at Arstaberg, whilst serving the commuter line. © Howard Pulling |
J36 is probably the most busiest line, as it runs between Sodertailje Centrum and Marsta, where it is heavily used at the northern end of the line (Marsta) for the reason that a frequent bus service, number 583 via Sky City, to Arlanda Airport starts here and gets you to the airport within 10-15 minutes. It then gets you to Stockholm Central, Alvsjo and Tumba. It then terminates at Södertailje. This line is supported by new route J38, which I'll explain slightly later.
Shortest route and least busiest, J37 runs between Södertailje Centrum and Gnesta, which at the southern terminus (Gnesta), which is across the Stockholm County Border. This line has just over 5 stations, but takes roughly half an hour to complete.
J38, is the newest line - First opened in December 2012 - between Tumba and parallels every single station on J36 to Uppsala Vasby, where it then serves Arlanda Airport, and makes one more stop to Uppsala Centrum, across the Stockholm County Border.
J36 is the only line to connect with ALL commuter lines. Each line has their own frequency and rolling stock. On Sundays, all lines operate with a half-hourly service. Monday-Saturday all lines have other frequencies. J35 and J36 operate with a every 15 minute service during the peak, although destinations of the trains may vary. On the Southbound J35 trains, trains only make it to Västerhaninge, although every 30 minutes, a train makes it to Nyansham. J37 and J38 operate with a half hour service at all times, although J38 trains at peak hours continue to Tumba from the Alvsjo terminus.
Shortest route and least busiest, J37 runs between Södertailje Centrum and Gnesta, which at the southern terminus (Gnesta), which is across the Stockholm County Border. This line has just over 5 stations, but takes roughly half an hour to complete.
J38, is the newest line - First opened in December 2012 - between Tumba and parallels every single station on J36 to Uppsala Vasby, where it then serves Arlanda Airport, and makes one more stop to Uppsala Centrum, across the Stockholm County Border.
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| SL 6020 is seen at Gamla Stan (Old Town) in 2009 whilst travelling to Stockholm Central. This is a X60 stock, which is personally the best train currently existing in the whole world. © Howard Pulling |
J36 is the only line to connect with ALL commuter lines. Each line has their own frequency and rolling stock. On Sundays, all lines operate with a half-hourly service. Monday-Saturday all lines have other frequencies. J35 and J36 operate with a every 15 minute service during the peak, although destinations of the trains may vary. On the Southbound J35 trains, trains only make it to Västerhaninge, although every 30 minutes, a train makes it to Nyansham. J37 and J38 operate with a half hour service at all times, although J38 trains at peak hours continue to Tumba from the Alvsjo terminus.
The main fleet for all trains consists of the best train in the world, some point in your life, get yourself to Stockholm and ride these trains - The X60 rolling stock. These are ever so spacious, have air conditioning, high-back seats, on board announcements and for those who are very tall - Alstom, the manufacturer of these trains - have given every seat a lot of foot space. These are also step free and can reach whopping speeds! Always hated the sweaty crowded tube? No such thing as overcrowding with the typical amount of passenger use. Seats and lots of standing space for all. Seriously, British rail companies need to invest some money on these trains! (Or the X61 stock, for longer and more comfortable trips).
Each train is consisted of two cars, or units. But these aren't the only rolling stock on the network, these trains, as of 2014, are supplemented by the older rolling stock, which is a step entry train but nonetheless are a fine ride - The X10 stock. These are possible to have announcements on, but for a weird reason don't. The X60 stock sounds a bit like a 1996 tube stock when leaving/ stopping but then sounds like an X60 stock.
All trains are maintained at various depots along the lines, and are powered by overhead lines and don't use third rail like the Metro services. In fact, if I am correct, only the Metro in Stockholm use third rail, everything else is powered by overhead rail lines.
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| SL 3201, a X10 stock, also seen in Spring 2009, in Gamla Stan (Old Town) heads towards Stockholm South, from Stockholm Central, whilst seen at the peak hours. © Howard Pulling |
Current work is been carried out on the commuter rail lines, affecting J36, J35 and J38. A brand new tunnel, and a new routing called the "Citybanan" (City-banan) is being dug in the central parts of Stockholm. Around where these photographs have been taken (Like the one above), new rail and new tunnels are being built, to make a brand new station at Stockholm Central, this time Underground. From here trains continue to Stockholm Odenplan, an existing station on the Metro Green Line. A new station will be built here, allowing trains after this station northbound to continue to Solna/ Sundbyberg. This does result in a station closure, Karlberg.
This is having a lot of effect on the Metro lines, as during the day for approx. 10-20 minutes, the red and green lines have to be closed between T-Centralen and Slussen whilst they blow up the tunnels. Pretty cool, huh? I don't recall them doing that on the Crossrail project. They just have boring machines. Get it? Boring. As in drill and it's boring.
This has had a dramatic effect on the Blue Line, as train services were cancelled between King's Garden and Radhuset (Red House?). Reason being us because the explosions are right underneath the blue line platforms, and most of the construction work is near the blue line platforms, as the blue line is the one that is "most underground" at T-Centralen. This went on for the duration of Spring, Summer and early Autumn in 2011, and in Winter 2011, was closed again for a period of time.
Replacement services was the Metro Green Line, from Fridhemsplan to T-Centralen then walk, take the bus (52/E) or take the tram (More on that later) to King's Garden. All this results in allowing the commuter trains to be diverted via Odenplan and not Karlsberg. It also helps the existing Stockholm Central to gain a BIT of relief. So more national rail services can pass, or a rise in frequency.
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| SL 3176, another X10 stock, is seen on the commuter line service to Märsta in Spring 2009. Seen at Gamla Stan (Old Town) Here the dot matrix screen is seen very well, and is functioning. Other times, pieces of paper was stuck on the window. © Howard Pulling |
Winters in Sweden can be very harsh, and can make the inside of the older rolling stock FREEZING COLD. The X60 stock has been built with special thermal technology so that trains stay warm, the passengers stay warm and happy. It also helps reduce disruptions such as people getting sick on the train and also minimizes the chances of trains getting wrecked and rusty, so it saves a lot of engineers money too! And this is a large fleet of trains we're talking about here; there are around 83 or 84 X60 rolling stock units numbered 6000 to 6085 (?), as of October 2013, and about 15-20 X10 units still alive. These could be replaced soon as low floor units are needed. Trains in Stockholm are very short lived, around 15 - 25 years, unlike that of London Underground, which could reach 50 years! Some trains could be withdrawn, and could roughly be the same age as Stagecoach's TA1, and this bus will still be in service. As far as I'm concerned, that's yet to happen - Although Stockholm trains are short lived.
In terms of station work on the commuter line, not much work needs to be done. SL doesn't have many plans for that, and for a good reason. Most stations had lifts installed ever since they first opened or had lifts installed later, and on all SL trains, every station platform must be the same height as the newer rolling stock. So hearing the phrase "Mind the Step" is pretty much rare. Also hearing "Mind the Gap" is far and few between. The main project is probably making Stockholm Central even more accessible and easier to get to from T-Centralen. Transfer time = 10 minutes between the two stations, they are trying to cut it down, though.
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| SL 6019 travels to Stockholm South, from Stockholm Central whilst on the Gamla Stan (Old Town) viaduct in the Spring of 2009. © Howard Pulling |
Roslagsbanan:
Ah, the Roslagsbanan. Running in North-East Stockholm, to the suburbs in Täby, Näsby, Osterskar, Karsta and all come to meet at Stockholm östra (Stockholm East). 3 lines run on this suburban rail network, numbered L27, L28 and L29. 29 is the shortest, 27 longest and 28 in the middle. L29 only has about 2-3 trains running on it during peaks as the frequency is every 30 minutes. L28 (Running to Osterskar) has a frequency of every 12 minutes and L27 has every 15 minutes between Stockholm East and Ormsta, Ormsta - Lindholmen every 30 minutes and every 60 minutes Lindenholm to Karsta! L28 has an express service during peaks which cut journey times about 10 minutes. Trains actually have no set frequency on the line and from Stockholm East is as followed (Correct as of 19th January 2014):
All Stations at these times past the hour: 35 05
Fast trains at these times past the hour: 23 53
Trains at non peak are every 15-20 minutes.
Last line is L29 between Nasby Park and Stockholm East. Stockholm East being the hub of all trains on the Roslagsbanan, these trains are every half an hour at peaks, due to the single tracking past Altorp all the way to Näsby Park. Only about 2 or 3 trains are needed at peaks to run this 20 minute line.
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| SL 122 is seen at Stockholm Ostra. This is another refurbished one. © IngolfBLN |
- Other features include probably one of SL's proudest achievements, of finally making the X10p trains step free at some doors. Before refurbishment, doors were actually very narrow and all had step entrance. This put off wheelchair users using the trains, and discouraged those with prams and buggies too. In the refurbishment, one door of each car is converted to low floor, with new wheelchair areas inside.
- The doors used to be the traditional blue, although have been repainted to white to help those who are colourblind or who have poor vision.
- Announcements system has actually been introduced on the trains and also dot matrix screens at the front too, sort of like the S stock with displays on the front.
- New high back seats. The trains now have the traditional seating moquette and new tip-up seats installed in the wheelchair and buggy area.
- A layout of all the seats and areas of the trains has actually changed. SL has invested a lot of this money, and to be honest, I can't tell it was the same train I hated!
- New air-conditioning units installed on trains.
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| Stockholm East Station, the hub of the Roslagsbanan.© IngolfBLN |
Stockholm East is a well known station among the common 'Stockholmer' as it's made a huge number of appearances in Swedish Media. A 2012 film called Stockholm Ostra, which is based on this same station also had filming done here.
Just round the corner is red line station is Technical High School (Technika-Hogskolan) station on the red line of the Metro (T14 ).
Here we show some typical Roslagsbanan station layouts.
There are usually located by a block of flats or a shopping precinct, with a metal fencing separating station from streets. There would be a black sign with white writing with the station name on it and a set of stairs mid or end platform.
Let's take a look at the last of the rolling stock photos, inside AND out.
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| Exterior of a refurbished Roslagsbanan train,this one is SL 127.© IngolfBLN |
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| Interior of a refurbished Roslagsbanan train. This included brand new seats, installation of announcements, a new layout change and some new air conditioning units. © IngolfBLN |
Lidingobanan:
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| SL 321, a A30 rolling stock, now withdrawn at time of writing, crosses Ropsten Bridge to enter Lidingö. © Mark Rushton |
Between mid-2013 and early 2015, the whole entire Lidingöbanan system is actually closed. This is to put new tracks in place, new signalling points, a bigger, refurbished depot and brand new trams, similar to those on the Nockebybanan. So for now, rail replacement buses are provided on a daily basis, which 3 bus lines exist for 1 light rail line.
Lidingöbanan USED to operate on a fleet of A30 stock, built back in the early 1950's! There is one depot for the whole line, located at the AGA in Lidingö. Trams ran between Ropsten and Gashaga Brygga (Gashaga Docks) and only had one station out of Lidingö, which is Ropsten. Trams leave by crossing a bridge (illustrated above), Ropsten Bridge over the water, and go around the south, east and central of Lidingö before terminating at a local port.
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| SL 316 reaches Kappala on the Lidingobanan. Here illustrated well is single tracking turn into double as the tram reaches the station. . © Mark Rushton |
Towards more urban areas where there is more passengers, two platforms are made with two tracks to reduce overcrowding on one platform, or where trains "meet up" and need to use the same track as other trains to go en-route in the opposite direction, single track turns into double track at a station and allow the trains to run past without the need of people being hurt in a crash. Straight after Kappala Station, where the above photo was taken, the track goes back to single tracking. Although after about 2-3 stations it turns back to double track as it is a high frequency line, with trams from every 10 minutes.
There were 3 cars per train, and each car had 1 set of doors, with step entry. The interior then had inside very cramped bench-style seats and each car only held about 15-20 people. That's quite small capacity! This didn't sport a problem for Veolia Transdev (Now Arriva operating the service) as the Lidingobanan isn't very busy, so there was no need for high-capacity trains.
Some are more than happy that these trains have departed at long last, after crying about it for years. For others, the crying doesn't stop there, such as the photographer and provider of these three Lidingobanan photos, Mark Rushton, he says that the trams were one of Stockholm's finest and is sad to see them go.
Stockholm Tram:
The last type of rail we will cover is the Stockholm Tram: The youngest of them all. Opened in 2010 to the public, the line, called S7 on the map runs between Sergels Torg (Technically still T-Centralen/ Stockholm Central) to the Waldemarsudde loop via King's Garden, Nybroplan and probably the main reason people use the tram, is to get to Tivoli's theme park, Gröna Lund. The line is 2.2 miles long (!)
For trains terminating at Waldemarsudde (Wal-de-mar-sood) trams go in this direction. Here is a list of all stations:
It replaced the heritage Djursgarden (D-yurs-gordon) line which is one of Stockholm's biggest transport attractions. Heritage trams still perform special running days every now on then, although it has to be kept to a minimal to reduce disruption to the existing S7 line. Making the Stockholm Tram was relatively cheap, as the heritage tram line and the current Sparvag City line as it is often referred to, are actually literally the same route except that the line at Nybroplan splits one stop to Norrmalmstorg.
The terminus at both ends of the line are very small anyways. There is only one platform, one rail track until the next stop. Trams are every 10-15 minutes so this isn't too much of a problem.
The fleet for this line is Flexity Classic trams, or A34 trams to the locals, a little bit similar to those on the Nockebybanan. Many in 2011 especially carried all-over adverts, some advertising Warner Brothers' Harry Potter! When I say many, I only mean about 2, as the whole line only requires about 6 trams in service. Trains are maintained at the same heritage depot near Grona Lund, a small shack literally, which holds about 7 trams!
Metro Station Art:
Each line has a theme of art on the Metro, green not as much as most of it is outdoors, although blue and red lines have themes. Red lines have tile patterns, which tell a local story or just show some of man's finest artworks. Blue line is done on rock, uneven rock that is, where paint is thrown onto as part of the art.
The green line stations are rather bland to be honest, for those that are underground in the more central sections. Usually it's just a tile pattern that consists of one or two colours and don't stand out very well. Fridenhamsplan (Frid-ens-plunn) looks decent with it's green tiles, perhaps because they have like glossy, reflective green tiling which brightens up the station.
Red line platforms have a bit more character in them, usually because it's not just tiles all the time. Other materials are used too, such as metal or wood, and are usually carved into more interesting shapes or patterns.
Platform layouts are also different too on the red line, mainly because as they are still island platforms, they are separated with a thick wall and each platform is extremely spacious, even for those that are not very busy. Mariatorget demonstrates below.
There's not much to tell apart in the station entrances to be honest on all metro lines. You have the ticket gates which are much more neater, and also don't really want to hurt you unlike those on London Underground when you drop something on the floor, need to pick it up and have a fight with the door to keep it open before you end up touching in again and it flashes a red light. These ones actually HAVE sensors, so will stay open as long as needed until you pass through completely.
Some are more than happy that these trains have departed at long last, after crying about it for years. For others, the crying doesn't stop there, such as the photographer and provider of these three Lidingobanan photos, Mark Rushton, he says that the trams were one of Stockholm's finest and is sad to see them go.
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| Sweden in snow! SL 314 is seen running around Lidingö on a frosty, snowed-in day. It is an A30 stock, now withdrawn, which worked the Lidingöbanan. .© Mark Rushton |
Stockholm Tram:
The last type of rail we will cover is the Stockholm Tram: The youngest of them all. Opened in 2010 to the public, the line, called S7 on the map runs between Sergels Torg (Technically still T-Centralen/ Stockholm Central) to the Waldemarsudde loop via King's Garden, Nybroplan and probably the main reason people use the tram, is to get to Tivoli's theme park, Gröna Lund. The line is 2.2 miles long (!)
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| An advert tram meets a none advert tram. © IngolfBLN |
For trains terminating at Waldemarsudde (Wal-de-mar-sood) trams go in this direction. Here is a list of all stations:
- Sergels Torg for Stockholm Central National & International Rail Services, Bus Services and Metro ||||||| lines from T-Centralen. End of line.
- King's Garden for Stockholm Metro Blue Lines and bus service interchanges.
- Nybroplan
- Styrmansgatan
- Djursgardsbron
- Nordiska Museum
- Gröna Lund (Yay!)
- Skansen
- Djursgards School
- Bellmansro
- Waldemarsudde
In reverse, the line goes like this:
- Waldemarsudde
- Djursgards School
- Skansen
- Gröna Lund
- Nordiska Museum
- Djursgardsbron
- Styrmansgatan
- Nybroplan
- King's Garden for Stockholm Metro Blue Lines and bus service interchanges.
- Sergels Torg for Stockholm Central National & International Rail Services, Bus Services and Metro ||||||| lines from T-Centralen. End of line.
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| Stockholm 7, on line 7, an A34 (Flexity Classic) operates. © IngolfBLN |
Notice anything different? Have you noticed now? Still? Oh well, for those who saw that Bellmansro was missing en-route are correct, as part of the loop. Trams from Bellmansro only take you to Waldemarsudde. Trams from Waldemarsudde go direct to Djursgards School. So if you wanted to get from Waldemarsudde to Bellmansro, two trams are required as you would have to change at the School. Well, walking is quicker to be honest. The line altogether is only about 20 minutes end-end so it's not too lengthy as it also takes a relatively short, quick and simple route, just using about 2 roads + a loop.
The terminus at both ends of the line are very small anyways. There is only one platform, one rail track until the next stop. Trams are every 10-15 minutes so this isn't too much of a problem.
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| SL's 4, an A34 stock (Flexity Classic) on the Stockholm City Tram. © IngolfBLN |
The fleet for this line is Flexity Classic trams, or A34 trams to the locals, a little bit similar to those on the Nockebybanan. Many in 2011 especially carried all-over adverts, some advertising Warner Brothers' Harry Potter! When I say many, I only mean about 2, as the whole line only requires about 6 trams in service. Trains are maintained at the same heritage depot near Grona Lund, a small shack literally, which holds about 7 trams!
Metro Station Art:
Each line has a theme of art on the Metro, green not as much as most of it is outdoors, although blue and red lines have themes. Red lines have tile patterns, which tell a local story or just show some of man's finest artworks. Blue line is done on rock, uneven rock that is, where paint is thrown onto as part of the art.
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| Typical underground platforms on the Metro Green Line. This is a Radmansgaten (Rude-Mans-Ga-Ten) © IngolfBLN |
The green line stations are rather bland to be honest, for those that are underground in the more central sections. Usually it's just a tile pattern that consists of one or two colours and don't stand out very well. Fridenhamsplan (Frid-ens-plunn) looks decent with it's green tiles, perhaps because they have like glossy, reflective green tiling which brightens up the station.
Red line platforms have a bit more character in them, usually because it's not just tiles all the time. Other materials are used too, such as metal or wood, and are usually carved into more interesting shapes or patterns.
Platform layouts are also different too on the red line, mainly because as they are still island platforms, they are separated with a thick wall and each platform is extremely spacious, even for those that are not very busy. Mariatorget demonstrates below.
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| Typical red line platforms, Mariatorget (Maria-toree-et) © IngolfBLN |
Also, the dot matrix boards actually works and every single metro station has these countdown signs. Half of the stations in London don't really have these and if they do, they just say "Southbound Bakerloo Trains" or "Northbound Victoria Line Trains", something that really doesn't help any commuter. The ones in Stockholm always show "18 Farsta Strand 5 minutes" or "11 Akalla 13 minutes". Here shows below.
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| Modern ticket halls. Insert your SL Access Card please! © IngolfBLN |
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| So many people have taken this EXACT photo because this is so beautiful. I would know why you wouldn't want to photograph this! T-Centralen, blue line platforms. © IngolfBLN |
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| T-Centralen on blue line.© IngolfBLN |
T-Centralen, located in Stockholm Central, known as Tunnelbanan-Central (Subway Central/ Metro Central) has constant works going on around the station improving each entrance and exit. This photo below is one of the more quieter entrances to the station, the main one being near Sergel's Torg (Sergel's Square) which is surrounded by shoppers and shops.
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| Station entrance (One of) at T-Centralen. © IngolfBLN |
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| The main entrance, unusually empty. Even for late at night, this is weird..... © IngolfBLN |
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| The entrance at Gärdet, more suburban. Like I stated in the Roslagsban section, stations are usually found in the middle of hundereds of flats. This station is on the red line. © IngolfBLN |
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| The other entrance at Gärdet. Located under one of the many green spaces in Stockholm. © IngolfBLN |
A slice of National & International Rail Services:
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| SJ 3337, an X40 stock, works its way from Stockholm Central. To different parts of Sweden. Yes, yes it is a double deck train! © Howard Pulling |
The X40 stock contains, as a passenger:
- High Back comfortable seats
- Blinds on the windows
- Tables, like on a aeroplane
- Fast trains, faster than that of a X60 stock. That's fast!
- 2 deckers. Upstairs and downstairs. Downside to it, like a double decker bus, wheelchair users cannot go upstairs. I think bus/ train manufacturers need to try figure out something & use it to fight that problem.
These trains can take you to various destinations, such as Vasteras and Uppsala Centrum. Frequencies can vary, depending on where you are travelling to. These trains obviously feature overhead wires as that is key and much better if you are making a high-speed train.
Buses, including "The Bus Stop at Slussen":
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| A Blue Volvo 8500 LEA is seen on express route 474 at Slussen. © Howard Pulling. |
You can identify where you are at, without the need to use a prefix in the route name such as "H" stands for Hounslow, Hayes or Harrow. A selection of numbers are chosen - such as 511 - 528. These buses then all start at the same/ similar/ nearby destinations and continue to other towns. In this example, we take routes from Spanga (Spon-ga), and Kista (Shis-ta) . Both of which are in the north western region of Stockholm and continue to various places around Stockholm. Some have frequencies and some don't. Also some have days when the services are not in operation. Such as my favourite red bus line; 518 (Kista - Vallingby) which I've been on end-end, only runs on Monday to Friday. 514 for example is another Kista/ Spanga route which on Sundays has no set frequency. At the hour of 8am, there could be about 7 buses passing your local bus stop, and at 9am there is only 1 bus passing.
Several routes don't have a weekend service in suburban areas, or if they do, the services usually curtail halfway and make a return en-route.
Blue bus lines are longer, for the simple fact they are express. They don't stop at certain bus stops and are more primarily aimed to stop at town centres and train and bus interchanges. Some buses do pass a large estate and therefore may stop once or twice in the area, whereas if a red bus running the same route as the blue bus in that area, it would have about 6 to 7 stops to serve the estate.
These express routes are as followed:
- 1: Frihanmen - Stora Essingen
- 2: Sofia - Nortull
- 3: South Hospital - Karolinska Hospital
- 4: Radiohuset (Radio-hoo-set) - Gullmarsplan (Gool-mars-plan)
- 172: Norsborg - Skarpnäck
- 173: Skärholmen - Skarpnäck
- 176: Morby Station - Stenhamra
- 177: Morby Station - Skärvik
- 178: Morby Station (Moor-bee Sta-hon) - Jakobsberg Station (Ja-kobs-berg Sta-hon)
- 179: Vallingby (Vell-ing-bee) - Sollentuna Station (Sol-len-tuna Sta-hon)
- 471: Slussen - West Orminge
- 474: Slussen - Hemmesta
- 670: Stockholm East - Vaxholm
- 676: Stockholm East - Norrtälje Bus Station
- 872: Gullmarsplan - Tyreso Centre
- 873: Gullmarsplan - Nyfors
- 875: Gullmarsplan - Tyreso Church
There are familiar operators in Sweden, there is Veolia Transdev (Transdev), Arriva London and Nobina. I know none of you have heard about Nobina, but if I am correct, they are now owned by Go-Ahead, which all of you should know. There is also Keolis and there is Swebus. Swebus is owned by Stagecoach, although Nobina bought out their operations in Stockholm (You go Nobina!). The tender process if I'm correct (Swedish readers, please correct me if I am wrong) is extremely different. Instead of companies owning their own garages, SL owns all the garages and every few years the garages go up for bid as a whole. Whoever wins can gain all the drivers, engineers, buses, facilities and routes together. Railways also go for tender, from the Metro to the Lidingobanan. Arriva now operate all suburban railway services now and local trams.
Scania has made a lot for the Stockholm Bus fleet and so has Volvo. Volvo have just introduced their new Volvo single deck, which currently (At time of writing) has not been given a name. It has come to the Volvo Expo in 2013, which many people went and saw. I think externally it is a beauty by internal design, a bit too weird.
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| The bus stop at Slussen sees a SL 1866, a red bus, tri-axle Volvo B10M, on red standard route 410. © Howard Pulling. |
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| The bus stop at Slussen sees another Volvo B10M, SL 4740, on route 422. © Howard Pulling. |
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| A line up of Articulated Volvos: Two Volvo 8500 LEA, one red and one blue and a Volvo B10M in the middle. From left to right: SL 6136, SL 4442 and SL 6106. All show "Ej I Trafik" which means not in service. It is normal for buses immediately when they finish one journey to show these displays until the driver sets it back to "passenger service display". © Howard Pulling. |
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| © Howard Pulling. SL 1351 is seen on route 144 to Gullmarsplan. A Scania CN113ALB. Now this one is OLD! |
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| As part of the environmentally friendly trial: An Ethanol Bus, 5350 is seen on stand at Gullmarsplan on express blue route 4. This is a Scania Omnicity Single Deck (CN94UD) © Howard Pulling. |
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| © Howard Pulling. |
Breath a sigh of relief! This post is over, but I really hope you enjoyed this post. I know it's a lot of writing, but hey presto, if you read the post properly, then you learnt a lot about transport outside your region. For those who are sad that this post ended, there's still a few more of this type to go!
Many thanks go out to those who have allowed me to use their photos in this post:
Without the generosity of all the names listed above, this post could've never been complete. So happy birthday West London Bus Blog, a 1 year milestone, and happy birthday to London Buses: On the Go who share the same birthday. For those who are reading on the 19th January 2014, please do attend the Busy Bus Buzz on the chatbox at 1930! We will look back memory lane, play some games and have the quiz that everyone loves!
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| T-Centralen on the blue line. Last photo: Artwork © IngolfBLN |
Love your post!! Wishing your blog a happy birthday too! Hope it's a good year for you. LBOTG
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