Silverpilen

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C5 model subway car

Silverpilen ("The Silver Arrow") is a ghost train that haunts the Stockholm Metro, according to an urban legend circulating in the Swedish capital Stockholm. The train is usually referred to as being a model C5, which were taken out of service years ago and replaced by more modern cars. The silver C5 model, manufactured in the mid 1960s, was made as a test model and there were only 8 cars/one full train's-worth made.

The fact that the silver train was rarely seen, may have been the factor behind the stories of a mystical white, shimmering ghost train, especially if people saw it at night. The stories circulated most widely in the 1980s, have been retold by the noted Swedish folklorist Bengt af Klintberg, and later featured in an installment of a television series dedicated to real ghost stories and haunted houses, Det spökar, aired on December 10, 1997.

There are different versions of this urban legend. Some say that the ghost train has only been seen in abandoned tunnels by subway workers. Others say that anyone can see it passing the stations in high speed after midnight. Some even claim that Silverpilen sometimes stops to pick up passengers, who then disappear forever or later "get off" weeks, months or even years after they embarked. The inside of the train is described as either being empty, or containing one or several ghost passengers.

Some stories connect the ghost train with the abandoned Kymlinge metro station on Line 11, the blue line. Kymlinge also has a reputation of being a ghost station, with people saying that "Bara de döda stiger av i Kymlinge" -- "Only the dead get off at Kymlinge." The ghost stories of Silverpilen can be compared to those of the ghost ship The Flying Dutchman.