Tvärbanan
Encyclopedia
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
line in the suburbs of Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Its name literally translated into English is Crossways line. It links together many bus and rail lines crossways through its connections with the southern and western subway branches of the Stockholm Metro
Stockholm Metro
The Stockholm Metro is a metro system in Stockholm, Sweden. The first line opened in 1950, and today the system has 100 stations in use, of which 47 are underground and 53 above ground. There are seven lines numbered from 10 to 19, in three groups identified by a color: the Green, Red and Blue lines...
(Tunnelbanan) and the Stockholm commuter rail
Stockholm commuter rail
Stockholm Commuter Rail 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...
(Pendeltåg). The possibility to travel between southern and western greater Stockholm without having to enter the city centre significantly reduces the number of transit passengers, also reducing the number of trains having to pass through the Gamla Stan
Gamla stan
Gamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
bottleneck during peak hours. Near Liljeholmen the track is shared with freight traffic in a short section, this being the only place in Sweden where freight and trams share the same track.
The tramway is separated from roads in most parts, but there is a section in Gröndal
Gröndal
Gröndal is also the official Swedish name for the Viherlaakso district in the Finnish city of Espoo.Gröndal is a district in South Stockholm, organized into Liljeholmen borough....
where the tracks run on roads among regular road traffic. In Hammarby sjöstad
Hammarby Sjöstad
Hammarby Sjöstad is a part of Stockholm municipality, currently undergoing major urban redevelopment. It is located on both side of lake Hammarby sjö, bordering Nacka Municipality to the east...
the trams run in a reservation in the centre of the road rather than in mixed traffic, but there are level crossings between the tram line and several streets.
Traffic on Tvärbanan started in 2000, first between Gullmarsplan and Liljeholmen, then later between Liljeholmen and Alvik, and in 2002 between Gullmarsplan and Sickla udde. Tvärbanan was used by around 32,000 passengers per weekday in 2005 and 44,000 per weekday in 2007.
The bridges used by Tvärbanan include Alviksbron
Alviksbron
Alviksbron is a box girder bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching over Oxhålssundet, it connects Stora Essingen island to the western suburb Bromma. Built 1996-1998 by the Nordic Construction Company at a cost of 180 million SEK, it has served the Tvärbanan light rail line and pedestrians...
, Gröndalsbron
Gröndalsbron
Gröndalsbron are two bridges in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting the island Stora Essingen to the southern mainland district Gröndal.The older bridge, inaugurated in 1967, forms a 460-metre section of the Essingeleden motorway, of which 260 metres constitute the bridge, divided into three...
, and Fredriksdalsbron.
Lines
Tvärbanan has a single line (22) with 17 stops, going from Sickla udde south of the Stockholm city centre through GullmarsplanGullmarsplan
Gullmarsplan is a place in Johanneshov, Stockholm. The square there was built at the same time the new city area was developed in the 1940s. The business area around the square was inaugurated in 1946....
, Årsta
Årsta
Årsta may refer to:* a Stockholm district, west of Hammarby and south of Södermalm, across the Årstaviken gulf of Lake Mälaren, see Enskede-Årsta borough* Årsta Castle, a castle in the municipality of Haninge, Stockholm County...
, Liljeholmen
Liljeholmen
Liljeholmen is a district in South Stockholm, organized into the borough with the same name.In 1860 Liljeholmen became the first suburb outside Stockholm city limit...
, Gröndal
Gröndal
Gröndal is also the official Swedish name for the Viherlaakso district in the Finnish city of Espoo.Gröndal is a district in South Stockholm, organized into Liljeholmen borough....
, and Stora Essingen
Stora Essingen
Stora Essingen is an island and a district in the Kungsholmen borough in Stockholm, Sweden. The Essingeleden motorway, part of European route E4, passes along a section of the eastern shore...
to Alvik
Alvik
Alvik is a residential district in western Stockholm municipality and part of the Bromma borough.The Alvik outdoor Metro station was opened in 1952 and is also a connection to the Tvärbanan light railway....
west of the city centre.
There are discussions to extend Tvärbanan both north from Alvik to Kista
Kista
Kista is a district of Stockholm Municipality in Sweden. Located northwest of central Stockholm, Kista is divided by the Stockholm Metro blue line into a western part which is primarily a working class and middle class residential area, and an eastern part occupied by commercial ventures, mostly...
and Solna
Solna Municipality
Solna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, located just north of the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the 'city' of Solna....
, and east from Hammarby sjöstad to Nacka
Nacka
Nacka is the municipal seat of Nacka Municipality and part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. The municipality's name harks back to an 16th century industrial operation established by the Crown at Nacka farmstead where conditions for water mills are good...
and Slussen
Slussen
Slussen is an area of central Stockholm, connecting Södermalm and Gamla stan. The area is named after the locks between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The locks themselves allow passage between these two bodies of water...
, thereby integrating it with Saltsjöbanan
Saltsjöbanan
Saltsjöbanan is a suburban rail system between Stockholm and Saltsjöbaden in Nacka, Sweden. It is in length and has eighteen stations in use. An average of 19,600 journeys are made on an ordinary workday. The line is mainly single track, and is isolated from Sweden's national railway network,...
. These extensions would lead it to have interchange options with the Metro blue line as well.
| Line | Stretch | Length | Stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Alvik Alvik Alvik is a residential district in western Stockholm municipality and part of the Bromma borough.The Alvik outdoor Metro station was opened in 1952 and is also a connection to the Tvärbanan light railway.... – Sickla udde |
11.5 km | 17 |
Main interchange options
- Alvik
- Metro green lines 17, 18 and 19
- Nockebybanan (light rail line 12)
- Liljeholmen
- Metro red lines 13 and 14
- Årstaberg
- Commuter rail lines 35 and 36
- Gullmarsplan
- Metro green lines 17, 18 and 19
- Large number of bus lines to Tyresö, Haninge, Årsta and SödermalmSödermalmSödermalm, often shortened to "Söder", is a district in central Stockholm. It covers the large island formerly called "Åsön". With a population of 99,685, it is one of the most densely populated districts of Scandinavia...
Rolling stock
Thirty-seven Flexity SwiftFlexity Swift
The Flexity Swift tram is a family of urban and inter-urban light-rail vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation for a wide number of customers across Europe...
low-floor vehicles run on the line. Six of them were moved (432-437) are second hand and imported in 2010 from the RijnGouweLijn
RijnGouweLijn
The RijnGouweLijn or RGL is originally a plan for a light rail project in South Holland, Netherlands, with partly new rail tracks and partly using existing rail tracks of the Gouda–Alphen aan den Rijn railway and the Woerden–Leiden railway....
-project in The Netherlands.
Future extension
It will be extended from Alvik to Solna, ending at the new national football arena, near the railway with commuter trains. This had construction start early 2009 and shall be finished in 2013.Also a decision has been made to extend it from Sickla udde to connect to the Saltsjöbanan
Saltsjöbanan
Saltsjöbanan is a suburban rail system between Stockholm and Saltsjöbaden in Nacka, Sweden. It is in length and has eighteen stations in use. An average of 19,600 journeys are made on an ordinary workday. The line is mainly single track, and is isolated from Sweden's national railway network,...
, and to run the Tvärbanan vehicles on Saltsjöbanan as well. This should be in operation by around 2013.
See also
- List of tram and light-rail transit systems
- Public transport in StockholmPublic transport in StockholmPublic transport in Stockholm consists of bus, metro, regional/suburban rail, light rail, tram and archipelago boat operation in Stockholm County, Sweden. The bus and rail is organized by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik , SL, which is owned by the Stockholm County Council...
- Trams in StockholmTrams in StockholmThe Stockholm tramway network forms part of the public transport system in Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden.It was opened in 1877.-See also:*List of town tramway systems in Europe*Public transport in Stockholm-External links:...
External links
- Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (Stockholm Transport) - Official site (English)
- Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (Stockholm Transport) - Official site (Swedish)