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How to travel for less on the Arlanda Express

So you've touched down at Arlanda airport and are eager to see the sights. Time is of the essence so why waste a single moment of it?

How to travel for less on the Arlanda Express
Photo: Patric Johansson

Fortunately, the Arlanda Express will get you to the city centre in just 18 minutes. That’s two minutes less than the train used to take to get from the city’s main airport to Stockholm central station. Plus, you can save money when you buy two tickets so it pays to travel in pairs. A single is normally 299 kronor ($32) while you can get two tickets for just 379 kronor ($40).

Click the banner below to buy two Arlanda Express tickets for just 379 kronorDid we mention the trains are environmentally friendly to boot? Stockholmer Greta Thunberg would (surely) approve. 

Going green is all the rage nowadays but the Arlanda Express was way ahead of the game when the first train rolled off the tracks exactly 20 years ago. Before then the only way to access Arlanda airport was via car or bus, or if you were prepared to spend a small fortune on a taxi…

And the service has evolved with the times. Not only is the Arlanda Express faster than before, you can now buy tickets on your mobile before you land so you can just hop aboard. Trains run six times every hour during peak times and every 15 minutes at other times.

Benefiting the environment was a core goal of the service, which halved travel times between Arlanda and the Swedish capital compared to other transport options. The service even comes with the royal seal of approval; the first passengers back in 1999 were the King and Queen of Sweden. 

Since then more than 63 million passengers have used the Arlanda Express. Only green electricity coming from renewable sources is used to power the train, which can reach 200 km/h as it flashes by to its destination. 

A wise man once said that ‘it’s not about the destination, it is about the journey.’ And while it is unlikely that the author of that quote was thinking about the benefits of a good wifi connection, which is free for all Arlanda Express passengers, the sentiment rings true for all travellers of any vintage. 

Stepping onboard the Arlanda Express directly from the platform is an extension of your travel experience. From the air-conditioned carriages through to the soft lighting and images of the Swedish provinces, passenger comfort is at the heart of your 18-minute journey. 

Photo: Arlanda Express

Even the 190 custom made seats have a story to tell. Each one is labelled with a date on which a different historical event occurred. Take seat 1475-03-06 with the tag March 6, 1475 – the date of the birth of Italian artist Michelangelo. If you are curious to know what happened on the date your seat is tagged with then visit the Arlanda Express site here

Back in 2006, the train’s interior was redesigned by the iconic Swedish firm Björn Borg International. Such attention to detail earned the Arlanda Express a prestigious red dot design award for the firm’s ‘Trains of the Future’ concept that has Scandinavian design at its core.

So what are you waiting for? Book your tickets for the Arlanda Express here.  

This article was produced by The Local Creative Studio and sponsored by Arlanda Express.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Everything you need to know about travel to, from and in Sweden this Easter

Easter tends to be the busiest travel holiday in Sweden. Here's the latest on the planned rail works, changing road rules and European strikes which could disrupt your journey.

Everything you need to know about travel to, from and in Sweden this Easter

If you’re travelling by rail

Sweden usually schedules railway maintenance work for national holidays, as fewer people are travelling to work, and Easter – with the arrival of warmer temperatures – tends to be the start of the rail works season in the southern half of the country.

The Swedish Transport Administration provides a detailed breakdown of Easter work planned. We’ve summarised the main points below. 

Stockholm 

The Citybanan commuter rail system in Stockholm will be closed between Stockholm City and Odenplan between March 29th at 10pm and April 1st at 5pm, with Stockholm’s regional travel company SL promising replacement traffic.

All rail traffic between Jakobsberg in northwest Stockholm and Stockholm City will also be cancelled throughout March 29th and April 2nd. 

Gothenburg 

Maintenance work on the tracks between Partille and Alingsås and bridge repairs between Töreboda and Gårdsjö will see regional trains between Gothenburg and Alingsås and Gothenburg and Gårsjö cancelled between March 28th and April 1st. Replacement buses will be provided. 

Buses will also replace trains between both Varberg and Halmstad and Kungsbacka and Gothenburg from 2pm on March 28th to 2pm on April 1st, as tracks and switches are connected as part of the Varberg tunnel project.

The Västtågen commuter train will still operate between Gothenburg and Kungsbacka, with the Öresundståg trains taking that route. 

Work on the new Västlänken will also mean all trains between Gothenburg’s Central Station and the Gamlestaden station in the north of the city will be cancelled all day on March 29th and on April 1st until 2pm. 

West coast 

As well as the cancellations of trains between Halmstad and Kungsbacka (see above), trains will also be cancelled between Borås and Varberg between March 28th at 2pm and April 1st at 2pm, due to roadwork around Sundholmen. Replacement buses will be provided. 

Work will continue on the tracks between Uddevalla and Stenungsund, while the most southerly part of the same track, between Ytterby and Gothenburg, will also be closed between Good Friday and April 1st at 2pm. 

Central Sweden 

Work at Karlstad’s main station could see trains cancelled between March 28th at 10pm and April 2nd at 5.20am.  

East coast 

The Stångådalsbanan railway between Linköping and Kalmar could see trains cancelled between March 30th at 2pm and March 31st at 3pm.  

Here is a map of the planned work: 

Planned rail work in Easter 2024. Photo: Swedish Transport Administration

If you’re travelling by car

Easter is one of Sweden’s busiest travel holidays, and traffic tends to be concentrated to a few days, rather than spread out as at Christmas and Midsummer.

That means queues should be expected. It’s good to plan your journey in advance, allow extra time and make stops to rest.

The E4 road between Gävle and Tönnebro tends to be particularly busy as travellers head to and from the mountains for their Easter ski trip. 

The good news for those travelling by car is that this year, no major roadworks are planned over Easter — mainly because the holiday falls so early this year that temperatures are still too close to freezing across much of the country, making it difficult to lay down new tarmac. 

If you’re travelling by air 

This year, there are no strikes directly affecting airports or airlines in Sweden,  but industrial action in Spain and the UK might affect Easter travel if you are venturing abroad.  

Workers at airports in Valencia and Madrid, two of Spain’s busiest, have announced that they will strike over the Easter period. At Madrid-Barajas airport, the UGT union has called a strike by employees of the Platform Management Service (SDP) for Wednesday 27th and Friday 29th March between 7am-12pm.

At Valencia airport, flights could be affected between Thursday March 28th and Monday April 1st, between 11am-13am, when workers will walk out and protest outside the Terminal 1 building in Manises.

The Lufthansa airline struck a deal with ground staff on Wednesday, March 27th, averting the risk of strikes over the Easter holidays, which might have affected flights to and from Germany from Norway. 

Finally, border force workers at the UK’s Heathrow Airport voted on March 22nd to strike over the Easter holidays, although walkouts will not happen until after April 8th, you won’t be affected if you are only travelling over Easter, but might be if you stay another week. 

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