Roslagsbanan

Roslagsbanan is a narrow gauge urban railway system in Roslagen, Stockholm County, Sweden. Its combined route length is 65 kilometres (40 miles) and there are 38 stations. It is built to the Swedish three foot (891 mm or 2 ft 11 3⁄32 in) gauge.

Roslag Railway
Overview
Native nameRoslagsbanan
TypeCommuter rail
LocaleStockholm County, Sweden
TerminiStockholm East
Näsbypark/Österskär/Kårsta
Stations39
Services 27  to Kårsta
 28  to Österskär
 29  to Näsbypark
Daily ridership40,000 per workday (2017)[1]
Operation
Opened1885[2]
OwnerStorstockholms Lokaltrafik
Current
operator 		 Arriva

 
Rolling stockSL X10p
Technical
Line length65[3] km (40 mi)
Number of tracks1 or 2
Track gaugeSwedish three foot: 891 mm (2 ft 11 3⁄32 in)[4]
Electrification1,500 V DC
Operating speed80 km/h (50 mph)
System map

The line starts in Stockholm at Stockholm East Station (Stockholms östra station, Stockholm Ö). It goes north and splits into three branch lines at the junction stations Djursholms Ösby and Roslags Näsby; the three branches terminate at Näsbypark, Österskär and Kårsta.

It is double track between Stockholm and Viggbyholm and between Rydbo and Åkersberga. The rest is single track, but the line to Vallentuna was being doubled in 2012 and Rydbo-Åkers Runö in 2013. There are passing loops at some stations on the single track sections: at Altorp, Hägernäs, Österskär, Visinge, Täby kyrkby, Ormsta, Lindholmen and Kårsta.

Following a 2017 agreement between the Swedish state, Stockholm County, and the affected municipalities, the line will be extended to the centrally located underground hub T-Centralen, with construction to begin in approximately 2022.[5]

History

The present Roslagsbanan was once just the southern part of a large narrow gauge system throughout Roslagen and eastern Uppland, connecting Stockholm and Uppsala with ports, smaller towns and parts of the countryside and used for both freight and passenger transport.

In 1885 the line from Stockholm East Station to Rimbo was opened, today the longest branch of Roslagsbanan. It was originally built and operated by the private enterprise Stockholm-Rimbo Järnväg (SRJ). In 1909 SRJ changed its name to Stockholm–Roslagens Järnvägar (with the same abbreviation) following the take-over of companies running adjacent lines.

Roslagsbanan is one of the oldest electrified railway lines for public transport in Europe. The first Stockholm–Djursholm suburban section, Djursholmsbanan, was electrified in 1892,[3] and at the time continued into the city center by way of the tram network, ending at Engelbrektsplan next to Humlegården.

In the beginning of the 20th century and well into the 1950s, Djursholms Ösby, a branch station on Roslagsbanan, was one of the busiest railway stations in Sweden with trains stopping every three minutes with three different branches dividing from there, transporting people and goods.

In the years following World War II, more and more of Swedish railways were nationalised through Statens Järnvägar (SJ), a fate also shared by Roslagsbanan. In 1969 Stockholm County took control over the Stockholm–Rimbo network (now referred to as 'Roslagsbanan') from SJ with the public transport company SL managing the railway.

In 1960 the Djursholmsbanan tracks to Engelbrektsplan were closed, making Stockholm East Station the system's terminus, thus passengers wishing to travel on with the Stockholm metro have had to transfer to the adjacent Tekniska högskolan metro station since 1973. One of the two Djursholm branches (Eddavägslinjen) was closed by SL in 1976.[6]

When SL took over the railway it had many problems. It was narrow gauge and not connected to the rest of the rail network in any way. It was slow, being outperformed by busses, especially to the areas near the end of line, and it was mostly single-track and had low capacity. Because of this there was a strong political interest to close the railway and replace it with buses and a metro line to Täby. The public opinion was much against this and after a referendum in 1980 the county decided to save the Roslagsbanan and invest in new trains and modernize the infrastructure and formed a new company SLJ to run Roslagsbanan. Despite this the northernmost portion, Kårsta–Rimbo was closed in 1981, and the plan was to close the part Lindholmen–Kårsta as well, but it was temporarily kept due to the poor roads in the area which would be problematic for bus transport. Even though the roads have been improved the line to Kårsta is still in use today and there are currently no plans to close it. In January 2010 the Frescati station was closed to avoid congestion and the Universitetet station was moved 500 metres (550 yards) north to better serve Stockholm University.

Ownership and present use
At Stockholm East in winter

The railway, owned by the Stockholm County Council through the public transport company Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL), is not part of the nationally owned network. It is the only narrow gauge railway in Sweden still in use for commercial traffic.

Roslagsbanan is part of the Stockholm public transport system. It is operated under contract by Arriva Sverige from 7 January 2013.[7] Arriva Sverige took over from previous contracted company Roslagståg AB, which was a joint venture by the Danish DSB and Tågkompaniet.

Despite its age and limited capacity it is one of the most used railways in Sweden. Since the late 1980s, the railway has constantly but slowly been upgraded to a modern standard with modernised rolling stock, higher platforms and straighter tracks allowing increased speed.

There are 15 departures from Stockholm East in the evening rush hour. In 2017, the railway had a ridership of 40,000 journeys per day.[1]

Future

Roslagsbanan is to be diverted to a new terminus at T-Centralen via a new tunnel from the Universitetet station through Odenplan, parallel to Citybanan. This will allow passengers to commute faster within the city, as T-Centralen is served by all lines of the Stockholm Metro as well as Spårväg City and is connected to the central station. When the extension is completed, Stockholms östra will become obsolete and close down. The stretch of track from Universitetet to the old terminus will be dismantled to make way for 500 apartments. The line will gain much more importance, and a further 1,500 flats are planned to be built along the line in Täby and Vallentuna municipalities, aiming to ease the ongoing housing crisis in Stockholm. The project is estimated to cost 7 billion kronor and is expected to be completed by 2026.[8]

A feasibility study into extending the Roslagsbanan to Arlanda Airport was completed in 2010, followed by a public consultation in 2012.[9]

Network
Stockholm commuter rail logo

The stations along Roslagsbanan are marked with a J symbol, which stands for the generic term järnvägsstation ("railway station") and is similar to the T symbol used by the Stockholm underground railway stations (tunnelbanestation) and the S used for tram stops (spårvägshållplats).

Roslagsbanan is now used by Storstockholms lokaltrafik (SL) for commuter transport. The present network comprises most of the southern part of what was once a much bigger network, made up of privately owned railways all over Roslagen, connecting Stockholm and Uppsala with the countryside and used for passenger and freight trains. For more information on this, see the history section below.

Line Route Length Stations Notes
27 Stockholm East Station – Djursholms Ösby – Roslags Näsby – Vallentuna – Lindholmen – Kårsta 41.5 km (25.8 mi) 23 Opened 1885
28 Stockholm East Station – Djursholms Ösby – Roslags Näsby – Åkersberga – Österskär 29.5 km (18.3 mi) 20 Opened 1901 to Åkersberga, 1906 to Österskär
29 Stockholm East Station – Djursholms Ösby – Lahäll – Näsbypark 11.5 km (7.1 mi) 12 Opened 1928 to Lahäll and 1937 to Näsbypark
Total 65 km (40 mi) 39

The line numbers are not displayed on the trains; only the name of the destination is displayed.

In the timetables of Samtrafiken, the lines do not have the numbers as stated above, but the numbers 121 for the line to Kårsta, 122 for the line to Österskär and 123 for the line to Näsbypark.

Current networks previously connected to Roslagsbanan

Some of the northern parts of the once bigger network are still in use, but these are not formally called Roslagsbanan. These two parts are

Closed parts of Roslagsbanan (south of Rimbo)

Stations
SectionStationkmOpenedClosed
Kårsta (Rimbo) branchRimbo5618841981
Rö5018851981
Sparren4818851981
Kårsta41.71885
Ekskogen38.51885
Frösunda34.61885
Lindholmen28.81885
Molnby25.51885
Ormsta24.1
Vallentuna22.71885
Bällsta21.5
Kragstalund19.91993
Byle19.019101993
Täby kyrkby18.81885
Visinge14.21986
Ensta13.21911
Tibble11.9
Österskär branchÖsterskär29.41906
Tunagård28.61919
Åkersberga27.21901
Åkers Runö25.51901
Täljö23.21928
Rydbo20.21901
Arninge17.22021
Hägernäs15.6
Viggbyholm14.31907
Galoppfältet13.11913
Täby Centrum12.51968
Main lineRoslags Näsby11.01885
Enebyberg09.91909
Djursholms Ekeby08.31885
Bråvallavägen07.4
Näsbypark branchNäsbypark11.71937
Näsbyallé11.01937
Lahäll10.21928
Altorp08.5
Östberga07.81910
Vendevägen07.21910
Svalnäs branch (closed)Svalnäs12.919121933
Eddavägen12.119011976
Vikingavägen10.719011976
Djursholms Framnäsviken09.918901976
Germania09.518901976
Restauranten08.718901976
Djursholms Sveavägen08.318901976
Bragevägen7.518901976
Main lineDjursholms Ösby06.71890
Mörby05.61906
Stocksund (new)04.61996
Långängen branch (closed)Långängen19111966
Stockby19111966
Stocksund (original)04.518851996
Main lineÅlkistan03.518851923
Freskati03.018852009
Universitetet (new)02.52010
Universitetet (original)01.72009
Stockholm East00.01885
Engelbrektsplan0118951960

Rolling stock
X10p at Stockholm East Station with UBp and UBxp

The present train sets were manufactured by ABB Railcar (now Bombardier) and delivered in 1988–1995. The train sets are owned by SL, but maintained and operated by Roslagståg.

The trains are made up of three different bogie vehicle types:

  • Motor coach X10p Number of vehicles: 35, Seating capacity: 72, Length: 19.9 metres, Weight: 27.7 tonnes, Power rating: 400 kW (540 hp), Maximum speed: 80 km/h (50 mph)
  • Driving trailer UBxp Number of vehicles: 34, Seating capacity: 76, Length: 19.9 metres (65 ft 3 in), Weight: 16.3 tonnes (16 long tons; 18 short tons)
  • Intermediate trailer UBp Number of vehicles: 32, Seating capacity: 80, Length: 19.9 metres (65 ft 3 in), Weight: 16 tonnes (15.7 long tons; 17.6 short tons)[10]

The trains were refurbished in 2011–2013, where some carriages were rebuilt with low floors, enabling wheelchair and pram access. The refurbishment also included new interiors and exteriors.[11]

There are some problems with the rolling stock. Previously, the carriages had very poor wheelchair accessibility due to narrow doors and stairs; with the 2012–2016 refurbishment, this has been fixed on some carriages. The trains are also very noisy, especially considering the railway mostly goes through built up suburban areas.

Because of this, in 2010 SL began the process of finding a company from which to order modern trains to meet the rising demand for departures on Roslagsbanan. 22 new trains were ordered from Stadler Rail in 2016 and are scheduled to be delivered in 2020. They are going to be named X15p.[12]

Older trains

The trains which were still in use until the early 1990s contained some vehicles dating from near the beginning of the 20th century. Some of these old brown and wooden wagons have been saved, the oldest ones being from 1914. They are owned by Spårvägsmuseet (Stockholm Tramway Museum) and are managed by Roslagsbanans Veterantågsförening (RBV) ("the Veteran Train Club for Roslagsbanan"), and can be chartered for events.

Some old trains have also been sold to other Swedish narrow gauge railways, which are now only heritage railways, where they are used for tourists.

Present day

Historical
  • Old bridge of Stocksund, dismantled in 1997
  • Old station of Stocksund, now replaced with a station some hundred metres to the north-west, where the rails go straighter allowing for higher speed
  • Old signal box at Djursholms Ösby
gollark: LuaDNS is not a domain registrar, merely a DNS hosting thingy.
gollark: OH BEE, why are *all* following my dubiously considered instructions?
gollark: https://freedns.afraid.org/ may work instead?
gollark: Unfortunately, I don't think DuckDNS is usable for this täsk.
gollark: I can do helloboi.osmarks.net at least?

See also

References
  1. Fakta om SL och länet 2017 (PDF) (Report) (in Swedish). Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. p. 34. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  2. SL annual report for the fiscal year 2007: Page 34 (PDF) (Report). Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. 2008-06-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  3. "Historia". sl.se (in Swedish). SL. 2006-06-01. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  4. "Tekniska fakta - Roslagsbanan". sl.se (in Swedish). Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. 2006-06-01. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  5. Toll, Michael; Andreas, Jennische (2017-03-30). "Beskedet: Här får Storstockholm ny tunnelbana och spårvagn". Stockholm Direkt. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  6. http://www.historiskt.nu/smalsp/srj/dhj/dhj.html
  8. "Så ska Roslagsbanan till city byggas snabbare". mitti.se (in Swedish). 6 February 2019.
  9. "Tvärförbindelse Roslagsbanan–Arlanda". Stockholm County Council. Archived from the original on 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  10. http://www.roslagstag.se/?page=4
  11. Upprustade och nya tåg på Roslagsbanan
  12. Stadler to supply new trains for Stockholm’s Roslagsbanan
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.