| Roslagsbanan | |
|---|---|
A train arrives at Viggbyholm on Roslagsbanan |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Commuter rail |
| Locale | Sweden |
| Termini | Stockholm |
| Daily ridership | 42,000 per workday |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1885 |
| Owner | Storstockholms Lokaltrafik |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 65 km (40.39 mi) |
| No. of tracks | 1 or 2 |
| Track gauge | 891 mm (2 ft 11 1⁄10 in) |
| Electrification | 1500 V DC |
| Operating speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) |
Roslagsbanan is an 891 mm (2 ft 11 1⁄10 in) (three Swedish feet) narrow-gauge urban railway system in Stockholm County, Sweden. Its combined route length is 65 kilometres (40 miles) and there are 39 stations. The line starts in Stockholm at Stockholms östra. It goes north and splits into three branch lines, terminating in Näsbypark, Österskär and Kårsta. It has double track between Stockholm and Viggbyholm, Åkers Runö and Åkersberga. The rest is single track. The railway is owned by the Stockholm county through Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, and is not a part of the nationally owned network.
Roslagsbanan is part of the Stockholm public transport system. It is operated under contract by Roslagståg AB, a joint venture by the Danish DSB and Tågkompaniet. The railway is quite popular considering its age and capacity. There are fifteen departures from Stockholms östra at afternoon rush hour, with a total ridership of 42,000 journeys per day.
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Roslagsbanan is one of the oldest electrified railway line for public transportation in Europe. The first parts of what became the large narrow gauge Roslagsbanan system were inaugurated in 1876 as the Uppsala-Lenna railroad. In 1885 the main line from Stockholm to Rimbo opened. The first Stockholm - Djursholm suburban part was electrified in 1892.[1] In the beginning of the 20th century Djursholms Ösby, a station on Roslagsbanan, was one of the busiest train stations in Sweden with a train stopping every three minutes and three different lines dividing from there. Roslagsbanan at its largest covered large parts of Roslagen, whereof its name. The Stockholm County council took over the southern network (Stockholm- Rimbo) for passenger use only in 1969 from SJ with the newly formed SL. The Djursholm branch was closed in 1976. The northern network (Uppsala-Rimbo and Rimbo-Hallstavik) was kept for freight use only by SJ. In 1977 the most northern line, Dannemora-Hargshamn which was already turned into a normal gauge freight line (1970), was extended to Hallstavik and the remaining northern narrow gauge network was abandoned and dismantled.[2]
Political interests wanted since long to close down the whole network in favor of subway and busses, much against public opinion. After a referendum in 1980 the County Council decided to save Roslagsbanan and invest in new trains and modernize the infrastructure and formed a new company SLJ to run Roslagsbanan. Rimbo - Kårsta was closed in 1981. In January 2010 the station "Freskati" was closed to avoid congestion and the station "Universitetet" was moved 500 metres (550 yards) north to better serve the Stockholm University.
The oldest line, Uppsala-Lenna is kept as an heritage railway with tourist traffic in summertime.
Works are going on to beat congestion and intensify the traffic on the biggest lines serving the suburbs Täby and Vallentuna. New double track sections are built. The plan are to have double track to Åkersberga and to Vallentuna in 2014. There are plans to upgrade the current maximum speed of 80 to 120 km/h (50 to 75 mph). New trains are needed for the traffic increase which are expected to be delivered in 2014.
A feasibility study into extending Roslagsbanan to Arlanda Airport is currently under way, in order to better connect the northern suburbs to the airport.[3]
| Roslagsbanan | |
|---|---|
Geographically accurate system map |
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| Locale | Stockholm County, Sweden |
| Dates of operation | 1885[4]–present |
| Track gauge | 891 mm (2 ft 11 1⁄10 in)[5] |
| Electrification | yes, 1500 V DC |
| Length | 65 km or 40.4 mi [1] |
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Line | Stretch | Length | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Stockholms östra – Kårsta | 41.5 km | 23 |
| 28 | Stockholms östra – Österskär | 29.5 km | 20 |
| 29 | Stockholms östra – Näsbypark | 11.5 km | 12 |
| Total | 65 km | 39 | |
The new Trainsets are manufactured by ABB Railcar (nowadays Bombardier) and delivered 1988–1995. The trainsets are owned by SL, but maintained and operated by Roslagståg.
In 2010, SL began the process of finding company from which to order modern trains to meet the rising demand for departures on Roslagsbanan.
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