Lidingöbanan

Lidingöbanan is a light rail system in Stockholm, Sweden, between Ropsten and Gåshaga brygga, going in the south half of the Lidingö island.

Lidingöbanan has its origins in the "Stockholm-Södra Lidingöns Järnväg" (Stockholm-Southern Lidingö Railway), proposed by inventor Gustaf Dalén. Public transportation on Lidingöbanan has always been provided using tram cars, but in the past Lidingöbanan had carried goods traffic as well. At its largest, Lidingöbanan extended to Humlegården on the Stockholm side through Stockholms Spårvägar’s tramway network, and had connectivity to the Värtabanan railway track. There was also traffic on a track on the north side of the Lidingö island that terminated in Kyrkviken, but that line was shut down in 1971. The Lidingö city centre is presently accessible only by bus, although the route of the north Lidingö line, abandoned in 1971, went right by its present site (it had not yet been developed in 1971). Lidingöbanan formally became part of SL's public transportation network in 1972.

Lidingöbanan was legally a railway until August 2008, when it was reclassified by the Swedish railway inspectorate. Passenger service has, however, always been provided with tramcars, and the electrical infrastructure (overhead wire) is of tram type. There are plans to eventually replace the current cars, which are all over fifty years old, with modern light rail cars such as the Flexity Swift models now in use on Tvärbanan and Nockebybanan.

In September 2007, SL and Veolia tested an Alstom Citadis tram from Madrid.

Lines

Lidingöbanan has a single line with fourteen stations, going from Ropsten in northeastern Stockholm to Gåshaga brygga in southeastern Lidingö.At Ropsten there is an interchange with Stockholm Metro red line 13, and at Gåshaga brygga one can change to Waxholmsbolaget archipelago boats.

External links

* [http://www.sl.se/ficktid/karta%2Fvinter/vLidban.pdf PDF map of Lidingöbanan]
* [http://www.sl.se/ficktid/karta%2Fvinter/vSpar.pdf PDF map of all SL rail lines]
* [http://www.sl.se/english/ Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (Stockholm Transport)] - Official site (English)
* [http://www.sl.se/ Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (Stockholm Transport)] - Official site (Swedish)
* [http://web.telia.com/~u87003590/lb/english.html Lidingöbanan] - Unofficial site with lots of details and images of every station (English)
* [http://web.telia.com/~u87003590/lb/ Lidingöbanan] - Unofficial site with lots of details and images of every station (Swedish)
* [http://www.jarnvag.net/Banguide/Ropsten-Gashaga.asp Järnväg.net - Lidingöbanan] (Swedish)