The Stockholm tramway network forms part of the

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

system in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Beginning with horse trams in 1877, the Stockholm tram network reached its largest extent in 1946. Many of the former suburban tram lines became parts of the Stockholm Metro between the years 1950-1964. In September 1967, in conjunction with the Swedish switch from left-hand to right-hand traffic, the last parts of the once large inner city street running tram network were closed. What little remained of the former network following 1967 were isolated suburban feeder lines to the Metro. However, in 1991 a long heritage line opened to the recreational area

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

; and in 2000, the non-radial half-circle line

Tvärbanan Tvärbanan () is a light-rail, light rail line in Stockholm, Sweden, which runs largely in a semicircle south, west and north around central Stockholm - crosswise to the otherwise radial Stockholm Metro, metro and Stockholm commuter rail, commut ...

opened with articulated low floor vehicles connecting an inner ring of Metro and

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

stations just outside the inner city proper, with subsequent extensions in 2003 and 2014; and in 2010 the

heritage line A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

was extended and converted to a regular service line.

History

The first tramway in Stockholm was opened on 10 July 1877 and was drawn by horses. A tramline run on steam-power opened in 1887. Stockholm's tram network was converted to electrical propulsion 1901-1905. An extensive network formed in the early 20th century. Trams were effectively replaced by the Stockholm Metro from 1950 onwards, and most tram lines were closed down by September 1967 due to the effect of

Dagen H (H-day), today usually called "" (), was on 3 September 1967, the day on which Sweden switched from Left- and right-hand traffic, driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. The "H" stands for "''Högertrafik''", the Swedish lan ...

and replaced with buses (especially those in Stockholm proper), with the exception of two suburban tram lines,

Lidingöbanan Lidingöbanan () is a light-rail line in Stockholm, Sweden, between Ropsten and Gåshaga brygga, serving the southern half of Lidingö island. History The Lidingöbanan has its origins in the ''Stockholm-Södra Lidingöns Järnväg'' (Stockho ...

and

Nockebybanan Nockebybanan () is a tram/light-rail line between Nockeby and Alvik in the western suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. The long line is part of the Storstockholms Lokaltrafik public transport network, and connects with the Stockholm metro and Tvärban ...

. In 1991, one tram line, Djurgårdslinjen, was reopened as a heritage and tourist line. Since 2000, two more tram lines have been built,

(line 30 – formerly 22), a peripheral line linking the southeastern suburb of Sickla with the northwestern suburb of

Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna i ...

, and an extension of Djurgårdslinjen into the inner city

Spårväg City Spårväg City () is a tram line in central Stockholm, inaugurated in 2010. It is the first tram line in regular traffic in central Stockholm since 1967. The service is run by Stockholms Spårvägar for Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL), using th ...

(line 7). The Tvärbana was extended in 2013, and will be further extended in the future.

Current service

As of January 2023, the following lines provide service in the

Stockholm metropolitan area Sweden has three metropolitan areas consisting of the areas surrounding the three largest cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. The statistics have been retrieved from Statistics Sweden and the statistics released on 10 November 2014. The off ...

: While all tramlines run on standard gauge track and use the same overhead voltage (750 V DC), the

cab signalling Cab signalling is a railroad, railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab (locomotive), cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is con ...

system for Lidingöbanan is different from the one for Tvärbanan, making rolling stock incompatible. The other tramlines (Nockeby and City/Djurgården) have no cab signalling requirement.

Gallery

Linje 14 1931.jpg, Line 14 (1931) on

Sveavägen Sveavägen is a major street in Stockholm, Sweden. Sveavägen originates at Sergels torg in the city district of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, and goes north through the Vasastan, Stockholm, Vasastan district toward the border to Solna Municip ...

Stadshusbron 1963.jpg, Line 2 (1963) near

Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and ...

Lidingöbanan, ET 322 Ri. Gåshaga.jpg, Older tram at

(1996) Djurgårdslinjen tram.JPG, Modern A34 tram at

(2011) Spårväg City interior.jpg, Interior of an A34 tram Stockholm tram number 7 in December.jpg, Modern tram on line 7 in the city centre

External links

AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik

AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik

Tram.se - Stockholm tramway lines

Track plan of the Stockholm tram system

SL site with maps of lines
{{coord, 59, 21, , N, 18, 04, , E, region:SE-AB_type:railwaystation_source:enwiki, display=title Rail transport in Stockholm

1877 establishments in Sweden 19th-century establishments in Stockholm

History

Current service

Gallery

See also

External links