Storstockholms Lokaltrafik known as SL, () is the public transport organisation responsible for managing land-based public transport in Stockholm County, Sweden. SL oversees a network that includes the ''Tunnelbana'' metro, ''Pendeltåg'' commuter trains,

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

, local rail, and some ferry services. SL X60 6100 A2

SL's network serves approximately 700,000 daily passengers and is financed through a combination of regional taxes and fare revenues. The organisation operates under a unified ticketing system, and contracts with several private operators to run its services, including

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...

, SJ,

VR Sverige VR Sverige AB (Swedish for "VR Sweden") is a Swedish company providing public transport services. The company was established in 2022 following the acquisition and rebranding of Arriva#Sweden, Arriva Sverige AB by the Finnish state-owned rail co ...

Keolis Keolis is a French transportation company that operates public transport systems all over the world. It manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus, and funicular services. B ...

, and

Stockholms Spårvägar Stockholms Spårvägar (, abbreviated SS) is a Swedish public transport company that is contracted to operate various tram and rail services in the Stockholm area. Founded in 1987 by the Svenska Spårvägssällskapet (the Swedish Tramway Socie ...

History

SL has its origins in

AB Stockholms Spårvägar AB, Ab, or ab may refer to: Arts and media * ''American Bandstand'', a music-performance television show * ''Analecta Bollandiana'', an academic journal * Ancienne Belgique, a concert hall in Brussels, Belgium Business Business terminology * '' ...

(SS), a city-owned public transit company which started in 1915, by the City of Stockholm with the aim to deprivatise the two separate private tramway networks into one more efficient company. SS would in the late 1920s also acquire private motorbus companies. The first part of the Stockholm Metro was opened in 1950. SS was renamed to SL in January 1967 when the metro, local train, and bus operations in Stockholm County were merged into a single organisation under the supervision of

Stockholm County Council Region Stockholm (''Swedish: Region Stockholm'') is the Regions of Sweden, regional public body responsible for Publicly funded health care, healthcare, public transport, and regional planning within Stockholm County, Sweden. Established on 1 Janua ...

. The different mass transit systems within the County had until then been run by different organisations,

Statens Järnvägar The Swedish State Railways () or SJ, originally the Royal Railway Board (), was the former Government agencies in Sweden, government agency responsible for operating the state-owned railways in Sweden. History The Swedish State Railways wa ...

, private companies and companies owned by the local municipalities. In 1993, SL began to use

independent contractor Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...

s for the operation and maintenance of the different transport systems. For bus traffic the operators own the buses, but for rail bound traffic SL own the trains, and the contractors operate them. Since 2012, the county council's (now

Region Stockholm Region Stockholm (''Swedish: Region Stockholm'') is the regional public body responsible for healthcare, public transport, and regional planning within Stockholm County, Sweden. Established on 1 January 2019, it replaced the former Stockholm Coun ...

) traffic board and traffic administration is the regional public transport authority responsible for public transport. SL now serves as a brand name for public transport services provided by various contractors on behalf of the traffic administration. The limited company AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik still exists and manages (apart from the brand) certain contracts and assets.

Services

SL oversees the public transport network in Stockholm County, but also some services extending to the neighbouring

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

and

Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg� ...

counties. Since 1993 SL has used contract operators for the operation of services. Stockholm Metro: The ''Tunnelbana'' metro consists of three main lines: the Red Line, Green Line, and Blue Line. Commuter Train: The ''Pendeltåg'' commuter train system connects central Stockholm with the wider county, operating on two main branches with six route lines. Local Railways: *

Roslagsbanan Roslagsbanan () is a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge commuter railway system in Roslagen, Stockholm County, Sweden. Its combined route length is and there are 38 stations. It is built to the Swedish three foot gauge railways, Swedish three fo ...

: A

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

railway serving north-eastern suburbs. *

Saltsjöbanan Saltsjöbanan () is an electrified suburban rail system between Stockholm and Saltsjöbaden in Nacka, Sweden. It is in length and has eighteen stations in use. An average of 17,200 boardings are made on an ordinary workday (2019). The line is ...

: A railway line that connects

Slussen Slussen (') is an area in Stockholm, Sweden, located at the northern edge of Södermalm, adjacent to Gamla stan. It is known for its locks system between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea, as well as its historic role as a major transport int ...

with

Saltsjöbaden Saltsjöbaden is a locality in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 9,491 inhabitants in 2010. It is on the Baltic Sea coast, deep in the Stockholm Archipelago. History Saltsjöbaden () was developed as a resort by Knut Agathon W ...

. Light Rail 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 ...

: A light rail line linking the island of

Lidingö Lidingö (), also known in its definite form Lidingön and as Lidingölandet, is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2023, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 48,162. It is the ...

to the mainland. *

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 ...

: A semi-circular orbital route passing west of the city. *

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 ...

: A feeder light rail line linking western suburbs to the Stockholm metro. *

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 ...

: A tram line connecting the city centre with

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 ...

. SL Buses: A network of approximately 500 bus routes serving the Stockholm area. Commuter Ferry: Five ''Pendelbåt'' ferry lines connecting the city centre with locations in

the archipelago The Archipelago is a township in central Ontario, Canada, along the Georgian Bay in the Parry Sound District. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous parts, separated by Carling and the Parry Sound. The northern part includes the villa ...

and

Lake Mälaren A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

. File:Kungsträdgården Metro station May 2014 02.jpg, Metro waiting at

Kungsträdgården metro station Kungsträdgården is a station of the Stockholm Metro, located in the district of Norrmalm. It is the end station of line 10 and line 11, and was opened on 30 October 1977, as the 91st station and part of the one-station extension from T-Centralen ...

File:Roslagsbanan Stockholms Östra 2014z.jpg,

trains File:SL Stockholm bus - line 7 Nybroplan (Scania 3135).jpg, Busses in Stockholm File:Sjoevaegen, Nacka ( 1090788).jpg, ''Pendelbåt'' boat operated for SL File:Tvärbanan, Tranebergstunneln, 2016b.jpg,

tram

Ticketing

Fares for SL are determined by political agreement at

. SL operates under a unified ticketing system that employs multiple methods for fare collection and validation. This system includes ticket barriers at metro and some commuter rail stations, on-vehicle validation for buses, some trams and local rail vehicles, and off-vehicle validation at certain stations or platform. SL also uses ticket inspectors who conduct checks. SL introduced its first

smart card A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

system called in 2009, replacing its previous magnetic farecards system. The system was procured from Australian company

Vix Technology Vix Technology (Vix) is an Australian company that designs, supplies and operates automated fare collection (AFC) systems, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), access, payment and passenger information display systems (PIDS) for the publi ...

under a contract signed in 2003. The SL Access system was phased out between 2021 and 2023 in favour of a new fare collection system. This new system includes the green SL Card, and also supports supports direct

contactless payment Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smart cards, or other devices, including smartphones and other mobile devices, that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) for making sec ...

s, and paperless QR code tickets purchased from the official SL

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

. SL phased out

ticket machine A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instance, ...

s on its network in 2022. As of 2024, SL has two main forms of tickets used for public transport within Stockholm County. *

Travelcard The Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Elizabeth line, Docklands Light Railway, London Trams, London Buses and National Rail services in the Greater London area. Travelc ...

: valid during a specified period of time, between 24 hours and one year. *Single journey ticket: Valid for 75 minutes from the moment of activation. It can be purchased and loaded onto an SL

, obtained through the SL app, or acquired via contactless payment at a ticket gate or validator. Special fares apply to some SL journeys. Due an

exit fare An exit fare is a method of collecting ridership fees, or fares, from a transportation system, where the fee (or part of the fee) is collected from passengers upon reaching their destination. Examples Exit fares were used on the subway lines ...

levied by the privately operated

Arlanda Line The Arlanda Line () is a long railway line which allows trains on the East Coast Line to reach Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sigtuna Municipality, Sweden. The Arlanda Line branches from the East Coast Line at Rosersberg and rejoins again at Myrb ...

, fares for

Arlanda Central Station Arlanda Central Station () or Arlanda C is a railway station on the Arlanda Line serving Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sweden. It is served by various regional, intercity, and night trains operated by SJ, Mälartåg and Vy Tåg and since Dece ...

are higher than typical SL journeys. Commuter train journeys from Stockholm County to

Knivsta Knivsta is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Knivsta Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 20,133 inhabitants. It is known for being one of the safest areas in Sweden, consistently ranking among the top 5 safest municipalities ...

require an Uppsala County (UL) ticket in addition to the standard SL ticket

Waxholmsbolaget

The majority of ferry traffic within the

Stockholm Archipelago The Stockholm Archipelago () is the largest archipelago in Sweden, and the second-largest archipelago in the Baltic Sea (the largest being the Archipelago Sea across the Baltic in Finland). Part of the archipelago has been designated as a Rams ...

is handled by

Waxholmsbolaget Waxholms Ångfartygs AB, commonly referred to as Waxholmsbolaget, is a shipping company owned by Stockholm county council and is responsible for the seaborne public transport in the Stockholm archipelago and Stockholm harbour. The company, which i ...

, a separate company also owned by

. Waxholmsbolaget and SL offer shared ticketing options, allowing the use of some SL tickets on their services during certain periods.

Contractors

The contractors used by SL are as of July 2019 the following: *

**Bus traffic in

Ekerö Ekerö is a locality (urban area) and the seat of Ekerö Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden, with 11,524 inhabitants in 2017. It is also an alternative name of the island Ekerön, on which the Ekerö urban area is situated. Sports The ...

. **Rail traffic on

and

. *

**Bus traffic in

Stockholm City Centre Stockholm City Centre (, , ) is in Stockholm Municipality, also known as the City of Stockholm, part of the Stockholm urban area in Sweden. Since 2007, Stockholm City Centre has been organized into four (sometimes translated as "boroughs"): K ...

Botkyrka Botkyrka Municipality ( ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, not far from the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the town of Tumba. In 1971 ''Grödinge'' was merged with Botkyrka and in 1974 ''Salem'' was added ...

Huddinge Huddinge Municipality () is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Stockholm County, east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Huddinge (), which is a part of Stockholm urban area. The municipality is, with its approximately 110,000 inhabit ...

Nacka Nacka () is the municipal seat of Nacka Municipality and part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. The municipality's name harks back to a 16th-century industrial operation established by the Crown at Nacka farmstead where conditions for water mi ...

, Salem, Sollentuna,

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 ...

Sundbyberg Sundbyberg Municipality ( or ''Sundbybergs stad'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, just north of the capital Stockholm. Sundbyberg is wholly within the Stockholm urban area and has a 100% urban population. Sundbybe ...

Söderort Söderort (literally "the southern place", sometimes translated to ''South Stockholm'') is the southern suburban part of the Stockholm Municipality, Sweden. It is also part of the city of Stockholm. Geography Söderort is located in the north ...

, Värmdö and

Västerort Västerort (sometimes translated to ''West Stockholm'') is the western part of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden. It also forms part of Stockholm urban area and of Stockholm Metropolitan Area. It constitutes the western subur ...

. *

**Bus Traffic in

Danderyd Danderyd Municipality (; ) is a municipality north of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It is one of the smallest municipalities of Sweden, but the most affluent. Its seat is located in Djursholm and it is located within Sto ...

Norrtälje Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the largest towns in Roslagen. History Norrtälje’s early history dates back to the Iron Age. Around 2 ...

Sigtuna Sigtuna is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in the eponymous Sigtuna Municipality, in Stockholm County, Sweden with 9,689 inhabitants in 2020. It is the namesake even though the seat of the municipality is in another locality, Märsta. S ...

Täby Täby () was previously a trimunicipal locality, with 76,700 inhabitants in 2024. However, as from 2016, Statistics Sweden has amalgamated this locality with the Stockholm urban area. It is the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Sw ...

Upplands Väsby Upplands Väsby () is a locality and the seat of Upplands Väsby Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 48,907 inhabitants in 2020. History The municipality has a long history with clear traces of settlements from the pre-Christian time ...

and

Vallentuna Vallentuna is the seat of Vallentuna Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden, with 33,219 inhabitants in 2018. Vallentuna's cultural landscape is well preserved, and human habitation in the area has been traced back as far as the Stone Age. Arche ...

Vaxholm Vaxholm is a city, urban area and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It occupies the islands of Vaxön and Kullö in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Fortress, which was constructed in 154 ...

and Österåker. **Rail traffic on

. * MTR Nordic ** Stockholm metro **

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 Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. The tracks are state-owned and administere ...

Nobina Nobina AB (formerly Concordia Bus AB) is the largest bus transport group in the Nordic region, serving markets in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden with a total number of 3,347 buses (2014). Since 2005 the group is based in Stockholm. Histor ...

**Bus traffic in

Haninge Haninge Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Handen, a part of the Stockholm urban area. Haninge Municipality was formed in 1971 when ''Västerhaninge'' and ''Österhaninge'' were ...

, Järfälla,

Nykvarn Nykvarn () is a locality and (since 1999) the seat of Nykvarn Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 7,560 inhabitants in 2017. Between 1971-1998 it was a part of Södertälje Municipality. Nykvarn is the hometown of such bands as Hyena Bree ...

Nynäshamn Nynäshamn is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nynäshamn Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 13,510 inhabitants in 2010. While interest in the area as a potentially useful port grew from the mid-19th century, it was only ...

Södertälje Södertälje ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. It is also a part of Stockholm urban area, Greater Stockholm Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, it has 73,872 inhabitants. Södert� ...

, Tyresö and

Upplands-Bro Upplands-Bro Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Kungsängen. The municipality was formed in 1952 through the amalgamation of five rural municipalities in Uppsala Count ...

. *

References

External links

*
Tram Travels: Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL)
{{Authority control Transport in Stockholm County Transport in Stockholm Companies based in Stockholm Railway companies of Sweden Public transport operators in Sweden 1967 establishments in Sweden 1960s establishments in Stockholm County

History

Services

Ticketing

Waxholmsbolaget

Contractors

See also

References

External links