Stockholm Metro

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stockholm Metro
Locale Stockholm
Transit type Rapid transit
Began operation 1950
System length 105.7 km (65.7 mi) [1]
No. of lines 7
No. of stations 100
Daily ridership 1,070,000
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) (standard gauge)
Owner Storstockholms Lokaltrafik
Operator(s) Veolia Transport

The Stockholm Metro (Stockholms tunnelbana) is the metro system in Stockholm, Sweden. The system has three main lines and 100 stations, 47 of which are subterranean and 53 are above ground (surface and elevated) stations.

The Stockholm Metro has seven lines numbered from 10 to 19. In the inner city they are only three railway lines, with 2-3 lines per railway. There the colour names, the Green, the Red and the Blue line are more used than the numbers.

The first part of the metro was opened in 1950, when an underground light rail line opened in 1933 was converted to metro standard. This line ran south from Slussen station. Over the following years, it was expanded to three lines going south from the inner city. In 1952 a line from the inner city to the western suburbs was opened. In 1957 the two lines were connected via the Central station and Old town. This system consisting of three lines now forms the Green line. The Red line was opened in 1964 with two lines going from northeast to southwest. The final system, the Blue line, was opened in 1975 with two lines running northwest from the city center. The latest addition to the Green Line, Skarpnäck station, was opened in 1994.

Stockholm's metro is well known for its decoration of the stations; it has been called the longest art gallery in the world[2]. This not fully true since some other metros, most notably Moscow has more stations with art. Several of the stations (especially on the Blue line) are left with the bedrock exposed, crude and unfinished, or as part of the decorations. At the Rissne station, an informative wall fresque about the history of Earth's civilizations runs along both sides of the platform.

The metro system is owned by the Stockholm County Council through SL, which has contracted the operation to Veolia Transportation. The Stockholm Metro was the site of distribution for the first edition of Metro, now a worldwide chain of free newspapers.

Part of the Green Line 18 is currently closed due to renovation work; trains for Line 18 run only between Alvik and Skärmarbrink, and the closed stations between Blåsut and Farsta strand are now connected by 4 temporary bus lines (namely, 18, 18H, 18S, 18X).[3]

Contents

[edit] Lines

Stockholm Metro, Hötorget Station on the green line
Stockholm Metro, Hötorget Station on the green line
Rådhuset Station on the blue line
Rådhuset Station on the blue line
A train of older stock, type C4 (still in use)
A train of older stock, type C4 (still in use)
Interior of a C6H type car
Interior of a C6H type car
C20, popularly called Vagn 2000, the newest train type
C20, popularly called Vagn 2000, the newest train type
A C20 at T-Centralen station (blue line platform)
A C20 at T-Centralen station (blue line platform)
Exterior view of the C20F, at Enskede gård on the green line
Exterior view of the C20F, at Enskede gård on the green line
Interior view of the C20F
Interior view of the C20F
In the tunnels
In the tunnels
Kungsträdgården station on the blue line
Kungsträdgården station on the blue line
Geographically accurate network map
Geographically accurate network map
  • The Green line has 3 line numbers and 49 stations: 12 subterranean (nine concrete, three rock) and 37 aboveground stations. The track is 41,256 metres long. It opened 1 October 1950 (between Slussen and Hökarängen stations). It is used by 451,000 riders per workday or 146 million per year (2005).
  • The Red line has 2 line numbers and 36 stations: 20 subterranean (four concrete, 16 rock) and 15 aboveground stations. The track is 41,238 metres long. It opened 5 April 1964. It is used by 394,000 riders per workday or 128 million per year (2005).
  • The Blue line has 2 line numbers and 20 stations: 19 subterranean (all rock) and one elevated station. The track is 25,516 metres long. It opened 31 August 1975. It is used by 171,000 riders per workday or 55 million per year (2005).
Line Stretch Travel time Length Stations
T10 Kungsträdgården – Hjulsta 23 min 15.1 km 14
T11 Kungsträdgården – Akalla 22 min 15.6 km 12
T13 Norsborg – Ropsten 44 min 26.6 km 25
T14 Fruängen – Mörby centrum 33 min 19.5 km 19
T17 Åkeshov – Skarpnäck 43 min 19.6 km 24
T18 Alvik – Farsta strand 37 min 18.4 km 23
T19 Hässelby strand – Hagsätra 55 min 28.6 km 35
Entire metro network 108 km 100

Trains are operated from 5 am to 1 am, with extended night service to about 3 am on weekends. All lines have trains every 10 minutes during daytime, reduced to every 15 minutes in early mornings and late evenings, and every 30 minutes during nights. Additional trains in peak hours gives a train every 5-6 minutes on most stations, with 2-3 minutes between trains on the central parts of the network.

[edit] Technology

The Tunnelbana runs electrically using a current rail with a nominal operating voltage of 650 V DC on the Green and Red lines, 750 V DC on the Blue line.

The system mainly uses 271 modern carriages, but there are also around 200 1970s and 1980s carriages. A full length train has up to eight old or three new carriages. The length is therefore 140 metres. The older carriages, types C1–C15, are 17.62 m long, 2.8 m wide and 3.8 m high. They weigh between 20 and 30 tonnes and hold 48 seated passengers (384 passengers in an 8 carriage train). The trains normally operate with six or eight carriages.

The majority of the older carriages have now been replaced with the Vagn 2000 (type C20), introduced in 1998. These normally operate with 2–3 carriages; one C20 carriage is 46.5 metres in length, double-articulated and holds 414 passengers. The older trains can occasionally be seen during rush hour on the Red and Blue lines. Only carriage types C6, C9, C14 and C15 are still in use. These carriage types are collectively referred to as Cx.

A crowded train carries between 1,000–1,200 passengers.

The maximum speed is 80 km/h on the Red and Blue lines, 70 km/h on the Green line (50 km/h at the platforms). Maximum acceleration and deceleration is 0.8 m/s².

To allow close-running trains with a high level of safety, the Tunnelbana uses a continuous signal safety system that sends information continually to the train's safety system. The signal is picked up from the running rails through two antennas placed in front of the first wheel axle and compared with data about the train's speed. Automatic braking is triggered if the train exceeds the maximum permitted speed at any one time. The driver is given information about the speed limit through a display in the driver's cabin; in C20 stock, and in Cx stock outfitted for operation with the new signal system installed on the Green line, this is a speedometer with a red maximum speed indicator (needle), while the traditional display in the Cx stock is a set of three lights indicating one of three permitted speeds (High, Medium, Low). The system allows two trains to come close to each other but prevents collisions occurring at speeds greater than 15 km/h. More modern systems also ensure that stop signals are not passed.

Another possibility is ATO, which helps the driver by driving the train automatically. However, the driver still operates the door controls and allows the train to start. ATO is currently only available on the Green line, where a new signal system was installed in the late 1990s. This signal system, together with the C20 rolling stock, permits the use of ATO.

A prototype vehicle called C20F is rolling on the green line. Built on Bombardier's FICAS technology[4], it has a lighter body, much thinner side walls, and more space compared to the regular C20, by using a sandwich-like composite construction of the body.

[edit] Graffiti

Since the mid 1980s the Stockholm Metro has been seriously affected by graffiti. Previously a train on which graffiti had been painted could remain in service for weeks and graffiti could remain in place at stations for months if not for years. Nowadays, however, trains with graffiti are taken out of service immediately and graffiti at stations is regularly cleaned up within a few days. The cost of graffiti and other types of vandalism has been calculated at approximately 100 million SEK per year (115 million SEK in 2006.[5])

During the 1990s the Stockholm Transit System (SL) started outsourcing protection to private security firms, some of which have been accused of using unlawful methods such as the use of plain clothes guards and heavy-handed treatment of vandals arrested, and even heavy-handed treatment of ticketless riders trying to escape. Since 2005, the Stockholm police have assigned a special task force (Klotterkommissionen) to address the issues. The mainstay among the private security contractors in the fight against graffiti is the Commuter Security Group.

[edit] Map

Schematic network map with shore contours
Schematic network map with shore contours

[edit] References

  1. ^ SL Annual Report 2006 p. 17. Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (2007-06-21). Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
  2. ^ Art and architecture in the Metro. Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. Retrieved on 2007-07-14.
  3. ^ Farstagrenen rustas upp, Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. Retrived on 2008-03-25.
  4. ^ C20 and FICAS on the Bombardier site. Bombardier.
  5. ^ SL Årsberättelse 2006, AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, pp. 29, <http://sl.se/upload/rapporter/uploads/SL_arsberattelse_2006.pdf> 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:


v • d • e
Public transport in Stockholm