Public transport in Stockholm County

Stockholm County (Stockholms län) has an extensive public transportation system. It includes the Stockholm Metro (tunnelbana), commuter trains, light rail and even driverless buses. The metro is known for its outstanding visual art.

See rail and bus travel in Sweden for intercity services.

Understand

The main public transport network is SL, Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. The boats in Stockholm archipelago are organized by Waxholmsbolaget. The private carrier Strömma has several lines.

The whole county is served by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik AB (Greater Stockholm Local Transit Company), which provides many different modes of public transportation under a common ticketing and fare scheme. This includes, light rail/trams in Stockholm, the Stockholm metro and local trains, and a comprehensive network of bus lines. There are also regular ferries between the islands which are operated by independent companies - some are under the same SL fare scheme, and others are not, requiring separate tickets.

Some lines extend to Uppsala, Gnesta and Bålsta for an extra fee (see below).

The SL website has detailed ticket and price information in English, and a journey planner. It is always updated.

Buy

For citizens of Ukraine, a passport or a national ID card is a valid SL ticket.

The simplest way to pay for tickets is to use your contactless card (debit or credit) at the entry gates and electronic readers or use the SL mobile app.

All SL services use the same integrated ticket system. These can be bought at the public transport centers (in stations, including Central station and the T-Central), at all "Pressbyrån"-kiosks, most bigger food markets and some smaller kiosks. Tickets cannot be bought on buses. They can also be bought at the Arlanda visitor center at the airport.

Stockholm operates a RFID card called SL Access which triggers entry gates and other electronic readers. The card costs 20 kr to purchase and can load all tickets available in the SL fare scheme, but is being phased out.

Reduced fares are for people younger than 20, people older than 65, and students. Children under 12 travelling with adults travel free from Friday noon until Sunday. Children under 7 ride for free with a paying adult; otherwise they pay reduced fare.

There are two forms of ticketing, travelcards and pay as you go. Travelcards provide unlimited travel for periods of 24 hours, 72 hours, 7 days and for extended stays in Stockholm a 30-day travelcard is available. These allow unrestricted access to all buses, trams, T-bana, and commuter trains, as well as the Djurgården ferry.

All travelcards can be loaded onto the SL access card. 24-hour and 72-hour travelcards are additionally available as individual disposable paper RFID tickets, without the 20 kr fee to buy the SL access card; however they are often out of stock except at Arlanda airport, since residents usually do not buy them in this format.

Pay as you go travel also comes in several formats: as travel credit (reskassa in Swedish) on SL access cards; as a single paper ticket from ticket machines, staffed counters or ticket agents (such as convenience stores) and single tickets from conductors on tram 7 and the Roslagsbana paying in cash. In all formats, the ticket is valid on unlimited SL services for a period of 75 minutes.

The minimum load amount for SL access cards is 100 kr, and you do not get a refund for unused amounts.

Tickets are generally only inspected upon entering public transport, so they only need to be valid at the time of boarding a tram or bus, or at the time of entering the T-bana/commuter train system. There is no need to scan tickets when disembarking transport; at gated stations the exit gates simply open when you approach. This means a single ticket can actually be used for much longer than 75 minutes. However, around parts of the network with ungated stations, e.g. between Farsta Strand and Nynäshamn, or on the Saltsjöbana, there are roving conductors so you cannot guarantee the exact time you will be inspected.

Travel credit on a single SL access card can be used for multiple people, but this requires informing bus drivers upon boarding, and going to the staffed counter at stations. Furthermore, you need to inform the staff if you are transferring and already have a valid ticket, otherwise they may end up deducting more credit from your card.

You may see references to SL zones or coupons. Zones were abolished in January 2018 and travel now costs the same across the entire network.

Airport buses, Arlanda Express and regional trains are not part of the SL network, and thus not included in any of these tickets. However, SL does operate certain local buses to Arlanda (582, 583, 592, 593, the latter two only running overnight) on which SL tickets are valid.

Get around

Stockholm Metro

The Stockholm metro, the tunnelbana [ˌtɵnəlˈbɑːna] (sometimes abbreviated T-Bana or just T on signs) with exactly 100 stations, serving most of Stockholm municipality, as well as Sundbyberg, Solna, and Danderyd. Trains run from 05:00 to 01:00 on weekdays, and around the clock on weekends. Night buses replace the trains on weeknights. It is in most cases the fastest mode of transportation.

Commuter rail

Stockholm County has a commuter rail network, pendeltåg, reaching 53 stations, including Uppsala, Knivsta and Bålsta in Uppsala county, plus Gnesta in Södermanland county. Stations are marked by a J sign. There are four lines:

35: (Bålsta) - Kungsängen - Stockholm C - Västerhaninge - (Nynäshamn)
36: Märsta - Stockholm C - Södertälje C
37: Södertälje C - Gnesta (connects with line 36 at Södertälje hamn)
38: Uppsala - Arlanda Airport - Stockholm C - Älvsjö - (Tumba).

Off-peak sees 4 tph (trains per hour) on lines 35 and 36 (2 tph in the bracketed sections), 2 tph on line 38 (only peak services run Älvsjö-Tumba) and 1 tph on line 37. Additional services run during peak hours, giving the core section Odenplan - Älvsjö a peak frequency of 14 tph.

Commuter trains are included in Stockholm's transport ticket system, with the exception of Knivsta and Uppsala on line 38, which employ Uppsala's local transport fares, and Arlanda Airport (see #By plane above). The cost is 60 kr (35 kr for youth) with an SL travelcard.

As of 2019, some escalators of stations Stockholm City and Odenplan are closed down. While every passage has at least one pair of escalators, passengers need to line up at rush hours.

Light rail/tram

Stockholm county has four light rail lines, with modern trams.

Tvärbanan connecting Västerort to Söderort.
Lidingöbanan connects Ropsten in Östermalm to Lidingö. Several archipelago ferries call at Gåshaga brygga at the end of the line.
Nockebybanan in Västerort connects the district of Nockeby to Alvik on the green line of the Tunnelbana.
Spårväg City is a city tram connecting Stockholm Central to (Djurgården), passing by most of the museums and other venues of the island. The 21th century rolling stock occasionally makes place to heritage trams.

Buses

Buses serve most populated areas where metro, rail or tram does not reach. Four inner city main lines numbered from 1 to 4 are operated by large blue buses (weekdays every 3–10 minutes), the other, generally less frequent lines (weekdays 7–20 minutes), by red buses.

Apart from those four, several lines running through outer districts and suburbs of Stockholm are designated as blue buses - apart from the colour, they are distinguished by the middle 7 in their three-digit line number. The three-digit blue buses do not go to the city center and generally serve as radial lines to quickly link various areas of a suburban community with its main rail transit nodes.

Passenger ferries

Non-SL carriers

Other carriers within the county have their own ticket systems.

Waxholmsbolaget is a public-transport ferry company for the Stockholm archipelago. SL tickets are good on the boats from September to April.
Strömma is a ferry company with sightseeing lines, as well as lines to Birka and the Stockholm archipelago.
Arlanda Express is a high-speed train between Stockholm Central and Arlanda Airport, with a separate ticket system.
SJ is a national rail carrier; see rail and bus travel in Sweden.

See

The Stockholm metro is known for its public art. Most works are in platforms.

The SL website has a guidebook to the artwork that is featured in many metro stations, with nearly all stations offering some form of artwork on display. The art on the blue line in particular is of note.

The green line, being the oldest, mostly on ground level and originally designed for light rail, has few and modest decorations. The red and blue lines are mostly deep in bedrock, with spectacular sculptures. This is a selection of stations.

T-Centralen. In the complex and crowded central station, the blue line platform has great art; the other platforms are less appealing.
Kungsträdgården. The Kungsträdgården metro station opened in 1977, and is known for its art, with elements from dismantled buildings in and around Kungsträdgården, such as the Makalös palace which burnt down in 1825. The city planned to build an exit in the middle of the Kungsträdgården park, and tear down some old elm trees. Due to protests in 1971, the plans were cancelled in 1971. The eastern exit was finished in 1987.
Tekniska högskolan. The station at the Royal Institute of Technology is decorated with a scientific theme.
Universitetet. The station at Stockholm University depicts Carl Linnaeus' voyages as well as the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
Rådhuset. The Stockholm District Court.
Solna centrum. Painted in red and green with motifs from rural Sweden. While the red represents sky at sunset, it gives the impression of gates to the underworld.
Stadion. Commemoration of the 1912 Olympic Games, at the world's oldest surviving Olympic stadium.
Tensta. The art alludes to the immigrant communities in northern Stockholm.
Rissne. Maps and timelines of wold history.
Hallonbergen. Children's drawings.
Bagarmossen. One of the newest stations, inaugurated in 1994, replacing a ground-level station to allow extension to Skarpnäck.
Thorildsplan. An outdoor station with tile art from 2008, inspired by 1980s video games.

Stay safe

Public transportation in Stockholm County is generally safe. As in many other European cities, the main risk factors are drunk riders on weekend nights, and pickpockets.

Call 112 to report ongoing crime or other emergencies. Call +460201202525 to report disorderly behaviour and vandalism. The SL app and web page have a text messaging platform for emergency reports.

Go next

Stockholm environmentalist tour, a showcase of the city's green movement and efforts for sustainable technology