Stockholm commuter rail

Stockholm commuter rail
*Stockholms pendeltåg*
Stockholm commuter rail; Stockholms pendeltåg
Overview
Owner	Storstockholms Lokaltrafik / Swedish Transport Administration
Locale	Stockholm County, Södermanland County, Uppsala County
Transit type	Commuter rail
Number of lines	6
Number of stations	53
Daily ridership	269,000
Operation
Began operation	May 12, 1968
Operator(s)	Stockholmståg (SJ AB)
Train length	100–214 metres (328–702 ft)
Headway	4.5–30 (120) minutes
Technical
System length	211 km (131 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Average speed	60 km/h (37 mph)
Top speed	160 km/h (99 mph)

Stockholm commuter rail (Swedish: Stockholms pendeltåg) is the commuter rail system in Stockholm County, Sweden. The system is an important part of the public transport in Stockholm, and is controlled by Stockholm Transport; the trains are operated under contract by Stockholmståg. The tracks are state-owned and administered by the Swedish Transport Administration.

History

Local trains have been operated on the railways around Stockholm since the late nineteenth century. At the beginning, local rail services were part of the Swedish State Railways, but in the late-1960s, the responsibility for these services was transferred to Stockholm County, which incorporated it with the ticketing system of Stockholm Transport. New trains were bought, stations were modernised, and the Stockholm commuter rail network was developed with an aim of making it more metro-like. Originally the system was branded as SL förortståg (English: SL suburban train), and later as SL lokaltåg (English: SL local/commuter train). Only in the 1980s did the system officially became known as Stockholms pendeltåg.

In its first year of operation there was only one route which went from Södertälje to Kungsängen via Stockholm Central Station. On June 1, 1969, the system was extended to Märsta via a branch located after Karlberg and a new service was created in which trains on the Kungsängen branch terminated at Stockholm C instead. In 1975 another branch line opened to Västerhaninge, with a single-track shuttle service to Nynäshamn. Trains on the Kungsängen branch now terminated at Västerhaninge instead of Stockholm C and which now forms part of the modern line 35.

From 1986 until 1996, important improvements were made to the railways around Stockholm. Single-track stretches were upgraded to double tracks, and some double-track stretches were upgraded to four-track, allowing the commuter trains to run with less interference from other rail services. The service frequency was gradually increased, and from 2001 most stations on the network are served by trains at regular 15-minute intervals, with additional trains during rush hours.

The latest extension to the commuter rail network is the outer stretch between Kungsängen and Bålsta which was opened in 2001. An in-fill station at Årstaberg was inaugurated in 2006, in order to connect with the then-new Tvärbanan light-rail system. On August 18, 2008 the newest station in the system, Gröndalsviken opened on the Västerhaninge-Nynäshamn shuttle.

Beginning on December 9, 2012, it is now possible for Stockholm commuter rail trains to stop at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, where it takes 38 minutes from Arlanda C station to Stockholm C, and 18 minutes from Arlanda C to Uppsala C.^[1]^[2]

Operation of the Stockholm commuter rail lines has been contracted to private companies since 2000. The first franchise holder was Citypendeln, which operated the Stockholm commuter rail from 2000 until June 17, 2006. Since then, the network is currently operated by Stockholmståg, a subsidiary of SJ AB, the former Swedish State Railways company.

Lines

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Line	Stretch	Travel time	Length	Stations
35	Bålsta – Stockholm C – Nynäshamn	1:44	107 km	27
36	Märsta – Stockholm C – Södertälje centrum	1:21	74 km	24
37	Södertälje centrum – Gnesta	0:31	30 km	6
38	(Tumba) – Älvsjö – Stockholm C – Arlanda C (Stockholm Arlanda Airport) – Uppsala C	1:07 (1:23)	(46 km)	16 (21)
Entire commuter rail system			246 km	53

There are two long lines across the county which run through central Stockholm: line 35 runs from Nynäshamn in the southeast to Bålsta in the northwest, and line 36 connects Södertälje in the southwest with Märsta in the north. The shorter line 37 in the southwest connects Gnesta to Södertälje. Line 38 runs from Uppsala C in the northeast to Älvsjö in the south via Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Stockholm C, with some trains continuing to Tumba. The branch to Uppsala C located after Upplands Väsby used by Line 38 utilises the existing infrastructure of the Arlanda Line and a part of the East Coast Line. The total track length of the system is 211 kilometers (131 mi).

The line to Nynäshamn beyond Västerhaninge consists of single track with passing loops. Previously, short platforms and limited passing places meant that a change of train had to be made in Västerhaninge, but as of 2013 the line has been improved with longer platforms and additional loops, and all services are now run through to Stockholm and Bålsta.

Trains operate every 30 minutes from 5 am to 1 am every day, with 15-minute intervals during the daytime. Additional trains during rush hours give an average of 7½ minutes intervals for many stations, and trains every 4½ minutes on the central parts. Line 37 and outer parts of line 35 are served less frequently, with up to two hours between trains on weekends.

Most trains stop at all intermediate stations, except a few trains during rush hours that skip some smaller stations. 269,000 passengers use Stockholm commuter trains on an ordinary weekday (counting connecting passengers double). This is almost half of the total number of train passengers in Sweden, the metro and trams not included.

Stations

There are 53 stations in the network, four of which are beyond the borders of Stockholm County. Eight stations connect with regional and long-distance trains, one connects with the light-rail tram system Tvärbanan, and three stations have access to the Stockholm metro. Several stations are important interchanges to local buses.

Most stations are of a similar style, with an island platform in a ground-level location with one or two exits, turnstiles, and a staffed ticket office. A few interchange stations have multiple platforms. The stations south of Västerhaninge and Södertälje are smaller, and have no ticket vending facilities; passengers buy their tickets from the train conductor on these parts of the network.

Stockholm Central Station is by far the biggest station in the network, the largest railway station in Scandinavia, with more than 50,000 boarding commuter rail passengers per day. This is the main station if changing from long-distance trains or from the metro. The smallest station is Hemfosa, which has approximately 100 boarding passengers per day.

Stockholm commuter rail logo

The stations are marked with a J symbol, which just stands for the generic term "järnvägsstation" (i.e. railway station) and is similar to the T symbol used by the Stockholm underground railway stations ("tunnelbanestation").

The ten busiest stations (number of boarding passengers on a normal winter weekday 2005):

#	Station	Boarding passengers
1.	Stockholm C	53 800
2.	Stockholm S	16 200
3.	Älvsjö	12 100
4.	Karlberg	10 600
5.	Jakobsberg	10 300
6.	Flemingsberg	9 500
7.	Sundbyberg	7 600
8.	Sollentuna	7 400
9.	Södertälje centrum	7 100
10.	Tumba	6 800

Rolling stock

Two types of rolling stock are currently used on the commuter rail network. The older type, X10, was delivered between 1983 and 1993, and are 50 meters (160 ft) long . A X10 train consists of two to four units, making the train 100–200 meters long.

The newer type, X60 Coradia Lirex trains from Alstom was first delivered in 2005, and a total of 71 units were delivered until 2008. A full-length train with two X60 units measures 214 metres (702 ft). Their maximum speed is 160 km/h (99 mph).

Former

X1 (from 1968 until 2011)
X20/X23 (from 2001 until 2002)
Bn passenger coaches hauled by SJ Rc locomotives (from 2001 until 2003)
X420 (from 2002 until 2005)

Future expansions

The Swedish Rail Administration has approved the construction of a rail tunnel through central Stockholm, with a planned opening date in 2017. This new tunnel, known as Citybanan (‘the city line’), is intended for the exclusive use of the Pendeltåg system, and would split commuter traffic onto separate tracks from long-distance trains while traveling through the city. This would ease the rail systems' congestion problems, and permit Stockholm Transport to schedule more frequent service. Construction of the Citybanan began in 2008.^[3] It would also allow more frequent service for other trains, increasing the capacity for large parts of the Swedish rail network since many trains go to and from Stockholm.

In December 2007, reports emerged about a potential future extension of the Stockholm commuter rail system to Stockholm-Arlanda Airport; at present, the airport has an express service from Stockholm C, but at least one change is required to reach it from any other station. Though Stockholm Transport reacted positively to the idea, the implementation of any such project is subject to successful negotiations between Stockholm Transport and Arlanda Express, who already operate the direct train from Stockholm Central Station to the airport, and have operating rights for the tracks involved.^[4] The Upptåget system run by the Uppsala County already serves Arlanda (although the airport is in the Stockholm County), and operator of the Arlanda railway station charges each passenger 75 SEK to board or alight at the station. The same fee can be expected if SL runs trains there. It is the railway and station owner who charges the fee, which contributes towards the cost of construction. Service to Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Uppsala on the Stockholm commuter rail finally began on December 9, 2012.

Notes

^ http://sl.se/sv/Om-SL/Nyheter/Ny-pendeltagslinje-till-Arlanda-och-Uppsala-startar-pa-sondag/
^ Commuter rail service now available at Stockholm Arlanda. Swedavia. December 7, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
^ "Citybanan i Stockholm" (in Swedish). Banverket. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
^ Sidenbladh, Erik (2007-12-18). "SL utreder pendeltåg till Arlanda". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2008-07-27.

References

Banverket (2007). Linjebok Stockholms trafikledningsområde (in Swedish) (Utgåva 4, ätr 4 ed.). BVF 646.4.
"Tekniska fakta - pendeltåg" (in Swedish). Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. Archived from the original on 2007-02-21. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
"Pendeltågen i Stockholms län : Historisk bakgrund och utveckling 1957-2003" (PDF) (in Swedish). Regionplane- och trafikkontoret, Stockholms läns landsting. 2003-12-09.
"Fakta om SL och länet år 2005" (PDF) (in Swedish). Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. 2006-05-18.
Stockholm commuter rail timetables (in Swedish). Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. 2007. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help) J35 J36 J37

External links

Media related to Stockholms pendeltåg at Wikimedia Commons

[1] ttp://sl.se/sv/Om-SL/Nyheter/Ny-pendeltagslinje-till-Arlanda-och-Uppsala-startar-pa-sondag/

[2] Commuter rail service now available at Stockholm Arlanda. Swedavia. December 7, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2013.

[3] "Citybanan i Stockholm" (in Swedish). Banverket. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-07-27.

[4] Sidenbladh, Erik (2007-12-18). "SL utreder pendeltåg till Arlanda". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2008-07-27.

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