Storstockholms Lokaltrafik

Storstockholms Lokaltrafik known as SL,^[1] (Greater Stockholm Local Transport)^[2] 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, trams, local rail, and some ferry services.

An SL Pendeltåg Commuter Train

Aktiebolaget Storstockholms Lokaltrafik

Trade name	SL
Native name	Storstockholms Lokaltrafik
Company type	Aktiebolag
Industry	Transport
Founded	1916 as Stockholms Spårvägar 1967 as SL
Headquarters	Stockholm
Area served	Stockholm County Limited routes extending to: Uppsala County Södermanland County
Revenue	19.269 billion SEK (roughly €1.88 billion)
Owner	Region Stockholm
Website	sl.se/en/

Not to be confused with SJ.

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, SJ, VR Sverige, Keolis, and Stockholms Spårvägar.^[3]

History

An underground tram operated by SS in 1930

SL has its origins in AB Stockholms Spårvägar (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. The different mass transit systems within the County had until then been run by different organisations, Statens Järnvägar, private companies and companies owned by the local municipalities.

In 1993, SL began to use independent contractors 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) 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.^[4]

Services

SL oversees the public transport network in Stockholm County, but also some services extending to the neighbouring Uppsala and Södermanland counties.^[5][6] Since 1993 SL has used contract operators for the operation of services.^[7]

Stockholm Metro: The Tunnelbana metro consists of three main lines: the Red Line, Green Line, and Blue Line.

Main article: Stockholm Metro

Commuter Train: The Pendeltåg commuter train system connects central Stockholm with the wider county, operating on two main branches with six route lines.

Main article: Stockholm commuter rail

Local Railways:

• Roslagsbanan: A narrow-gauge railway serving north-eastern suburbs.
• Saltsjöbanan: A railway line that connects Slussen with Saltsjöbaden.

Light Rail Lines:

• Lidingöbanan: A light rail line linking the island of Lidingö to the mainland.
• Tvärbanan: A semi-circular orbital route passing west of the city.
• Nockebybanan: A feeder light rail line linking western suburbs to the Stockholm metro.
• Spårväg City: A tram line connecting the city centre with Djurgården.

SL Buses: A network of approximately 500 bus routes serving the Stockholm area.^[8]

Main article: Buses in Stockholm County

Commuter Ferry: Five Pendelbåt ferry lines connecting the city centre with locations in the archipelago and Lake Mälaren.

• 
  Train waiting at Kungsträdgården Metro Station
• 
  Roslagsbanan trains
• 
  Busses in Stockholm
• 
  Pendelbåt boat operated for SL
• 
  Tvärbanan tram

Ticketing

An SL Card being validated at a ticket barrier

Fares for SL are determined by political agreement at Region Stockholm.^[9] 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.^[10]

SL introduced its first smart card system called SL Access [sv] in 2009, replacing its previous magnetic farecards system. The system was procured from Australian company Vix Technology under a contract signed in 2003.^[11]

SL Ticket validator

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 payments, and paperless QR code tickets purchased from the official SL mobile app.^[12] SL phased out ticket machines on its network in 2022.^[13]

As of 2024, SL has two main forms of tickets used for public transport within Stockholm County.^[14]

• Travelcard: 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 smart card, 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 levied by the privately operated Arlanda Line,^[15] fares for Arlanda Central Station are higher than typical SL journeys.^[16] Commuter train journeys from Stockholm County to Uppsala or Knivsta require an Uppsala County (UL) ticket in addition to the standard SL ticket

Waxholmsbolaget

The majority of ferry traffic within the Stockholm Archipelago is handled by Waxholmsbolaget, a separate company also owned by Region Stockholm.^[17] Waxholmsbolaget and SL offer shared ticketing options, allowing the use of some SL tickets on their services during certain periods.^[18]

Contractors

Keolis-owned articulated MAN Lion's City bus with SL branding

The contractors used by SL are as of July 2019 the following:^[19]

• VR Sverige
  • Bus traffic in Ekerö.
  • Rail traffic on Saltsjöbanan, Nockebybanan and Tvärbanan.^[20]
• Keolis
  • Bus traffic in Stockholm City Centre, Botkyrka, Huddinge, Lidingö, Nacka, Salem, Sollentuna, Solna, Sundbyberg, Söderort, Värmdö and Västerort.^[21]
• Transdev
  • Bus Traffic in Danderyd, Norrtälje, Sigtuna, Täby, Upplands Väsby and Vallentuna, Vaxholm and Österåker.
  • Rail traffic on Roslagsbanan.
• MTR Nordic
  • Stockholm metro^[22]
  • Stockholm commuter rail
• Nobina
  • Bus traffic in Haninge, Järfälla, Nykvarn, Nynäshamn, Södertälje, Tyresö and Upplands-Bro.^[23]
• Stockholms Spårvägar
  • Spårväg City
  • Lidingöbanan

See Also

• Transport in Stockholm
• Region Stockholm
• Skånetrafiken
• UL
• SJ

References

1. "AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, SL" (in Swedish). Region Stockholm. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
2. Burroughs, David (2023-05-16). "SL to tender Stockholm commuter train operation". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
3. "Den allmänna kollektivtrafiken i Stockholms län". Region Stockholm (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-20.
4. "SL:s årsberättelse 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-27.
5. Nyheter, S. V. T. (2016-09-20). "Billigare pendling för Bålstabor". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-21.
6. Martinsgård, Ingela; Blomberg, Fredrik (2023-05-23). "Gnesta kräver lösning på pendeltågproblemen: "Helt oacceptabelt"". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-21.
7. "EUR-Lex - 61996C0387 - EN". European Court reports 1998 Page I-01225. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
8. P, Christelle (2019-02-27). "All you need to know about Stockholm's public transport ⋆ La Suède en kit". La Suède en kit (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-21.
9. "Stockholm county announces plans to raise tax - The Local". archive.is. 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
10. "Blippa på rätt sätt | SL". sl.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-20.
11. "ERG Selected for Stockholm Transit Fare Collection Project". SecureIDNews. 2003-04-01. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
12. "Fares & tickets | SL". sl.se. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
13. "SL:s biljettautomater försvinner – så betalar du för din biljett". DN.se (in Swedish). 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
14. "Fares & tickets". Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
15. "FAQ". Arlandabanan Infrastructure. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
16. "Travel to and from Arlanda Airport | SL". sl.se. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
17. "Stockholm – EMTA". www.emta.com. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
18. "Waxholmsbolaget".
19. "Trafikförändringsdokument SL-trafiken 2018/2019 (T19)" (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm County Council. 2018-10-01. p. 5. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
20. "Arriva". AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
21. "Busslink". AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
22. "MTR". AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. Retrieved 2010-01-25.^{[dead link‍]}
23. "Nobina". AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved 2010-01-25.

External links

Media related to Storstockholms Lokaltrafik at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Tram Travels: Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL)