I just finished a short trip to Stockholm, and it left me with a sinking feeling about how under invested our cities are in public transport. With roughly 2.5 million residents, Stockholm – the capital of Sweden – falls into the category of fairly large European cities. It puts it on par with some of our Tier 2/3 cities in India – population-wise.
Like most cities across the world, Stockholm residents relied heavily on cars for their daily transportation needs during much of the 20th century. Private vehicles were seen as a symbol of progress and freedom, and city planning often prioritized road infrastructure to accommodate them. However, as the population grew and urban activity increased, the downsides of car-dependency began to surface.
In recent years, city administrators have prioritized public transport and active mobility to manage the growing population. A variety of travel modes were built, active mobility was encouraged and car usage was curbed.
Metro System
The city boasts a 108 km long metro system with its three lines: Blue, Red and Green, with 100 stations, of which 47 are underground and 53 above ground.
These three lines together form seven routes all passing through the city center, creating a highly centralized network. The ridership is around 1.5 million passengers per day.
The standout feature of the system is its artistic stations, where paintings and artworks generously adorn the ceilings and walls.
Images courtesy visitstockholm
Commuter Rail
The Commuter rail extends far beyond the city, allowing people to live along the train lines and reach the city in just 15–30 minutes. The trains have frequency of 7-10 minutes with fewer stops in between. It serves Stockholm County, and also some nearby counties like Södermanland and Uppsala.
The daily ridership is about 500 thousand on its 7 lines, 241 km network.
Double-decker trains run on routes where there is a need for higher capacity. These have closed engine rooms, double-walled carriage gangways, snow-clearing equipment and underfloor heating to handle cold. These trains can reach a maximum speed of 200 kmph.
At the beginning, these rail services were part of the Swedish State Railways, but in the 1960s, the responsibility for these services was transferred to Stockholm County. This is an important lesson for India, where the Indian railways has shown little interest in developing suburban rail systems.
The slow pace of construction of Bengaluru’s KRIDE, or its inability to cut down deaths on Mumbai local train network are a couple of examples.
Trams
Then there are trams running through the streets – currently two lines, 7 and 7A, with 7A operating as a heritage service. Each of these have 3 coaches.
The reason there are just 2 services is because most of the tram lines were replaced with Metro services, but I foresee that at some point they may bring it back considering the current trend in other European cities.
Light Rail
Surprisingly, the city Light rail, similar to trams, runs on longer routes and with its 12-coach trains, it almost functions like a metro or suburban rail in terms of capacity.
The 4x jump in capacity as compared to regular trams has enabled the light rail to go farther, and at a higher speeds as well.
Its Line 30 & 31 shown below form a semicircular line connecting Solna Station in the north to Sickla Station in the south, passing through central Stockholm.
The Line 12 is a 5.6 km line connecting Nockeby to Alvik in the western suburbs, integrating with the metro and Tvärbanan at Alvik station.
The Saltsjöbanan which looks like a commuter rail, but is officially referred as a light rail system is an 18.6 km line running from Henriksdal to Saltsjöbaden/Solsidan in the southeastern suburbs.
Finally, the Lidingöbanan is a 9.2 km line running from Ropsten to Gåshaga brygga on Lidingö island.
Buses
In several parts of the city, you will see roads littered with dedicated bus lanes, priority signals for all types of buses, and no-frills BRT-style bus stops. The bus line number 4 is the most heavily used main line in the city center, serving approximately 70,000 passengers in a day.
You will also notice plenty on articulated buses as well throughout the city.
The “blue bus lines” though are a special set of routes in Stockholm that run more frequently, cover larger parts of the city, act as feeders and connectors, etc.
Arlanda Express
While regular trains or buses to the airport take longer and often require transfers, the Arlanda Express high-speed rail offers a direct connection between Stockholm Central Station and Arlanda Airport.
Its slightly on an expensive side, but noticed that it consistently held a speed of 205 km/h throughout the ride.
It takes you to the airport in about 18 minutes from the city center.
In many of our cities, metro systems are the default choice for connecting far-flung airports to city centers. While they offer good coverage through frequent stops, their slow average speed and crowding may discourage air travelers.
A fast, dedicated connection can ease the journey while also reducing reliance on taxis.
Ferry
Since Stockholm is surrounded by water and made up of several islands, the regular public transport ticket also covers ferry services that residents use to get around the city. The services are provided by multiple agencies all ensuring seamless operation of a comprehensive transit network in the city.
The urban SL-boat lines alone (80, 82, 89) carry about 5 million passengers per year.
Closer home, the only city so far with a vast ferry network that has set benchmarks for the mode is the Kochi Water Metro, which has shown remarkable growth in recent years.
Thanks to this success, similar ferry networks are now set to emerge in many other Indian cities.
Cycling
The biggest surprise to me was how well the city has developed its cycling tracks, along with the strict restrictions on private vehicles. All you could see were electric scooters, bicycles, and public transport.
Going back in time, in the year 2006, Stockholm conducted a referendum asking residents whether they supported making the congestion tax permanent. The proposal passed with 53% of the vote, making Stockholm the first European city to approve a road user charge through a public vote.
In recent years, the change has been so drastic that several roads have been completely transformed—removing cars and prioritizing active mobility. For instance, here’s a comparison of the same location in 2009 and 2024.
India needs to step up its game
Stockholm, like many European cities has embarked on a journey towards sustainability – roads are being converted into people-friendly, complete streets with emphasis on public transport and active mobility.
From my brief observation, it seemed that people of all ages had fully embraced this rapid transformation.
Indian cities need not just one, but a full spectrum of mobility options – from the slowest to the fastest, and everything in between. With our much higher density and population, promoting private vehicles and building infrastructure around them is highly unsustainable.
