Public Transport in Sweden; Tips & Tricks

Hello all!

This week I’ll be talking about public transport in Sweden! As I know people are getting to know whether they are admitted to LiU (or other universities in Sweden), I thought it would be helpful to share my tips and tricks on public transport in Linköping and Sweden in general.

As you may or may not know, I am a first-year Master of Science for Sustainable Development student coming from the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, public transport is a big and important aspect of our everyday lives. As soon as I moved to Sweden, I figured out that it is quite important here as well. Sweden is a country with a lot of different public transportation options, for short and long distances. I have lived in Linköping since August, and I have tried most, if not all, of the public transport means. So, here are some of my tips and tricks.

The Train

Sweden is a large country where you can easily spend many hours on the train towards your next destination. It is definitely not like the Netherlands, where you can basically reach every big city within 2 hours by train. All the big cities (Stockholm, Göteborg, and Malmö) are at least 3 hours by train apart, and Linköping is somewhere in the middle. Sweden does have a great train system with the main train company being SJ, this is therefore also the company I use most. On www.SJ.se you can find all of your train connections, and as a student you get a discount! Needless to say, I’ve come to know that train travel is still quite expensive. It, of course, depends on when and where you travel, but in general it is definitely not cheap. Therefore, I have a few tips for you:

• Book in advance: train tickets (especially for long-haul rides) get more expensive closer to the departure date. Therefore, it really is beneficial to book in advance.
• SJ is the main train provider in Sweden but also have a look at Snälltåget! Snälltåget is another Swedish train company that often offer cheaper train tickets. What is good about Snälltåget is that they also offer a lot of international travel! They even go all the way down to Innsbruck!!
• Last-minute deals: as a student, you get a discount on some trains 24 hours before departure time with SJ. So, if you spontaneously decide to go to Stockholm the next day, you can get lucky and get half the price off your train ticket price! This is not always the case though, and you can be unlucky to see that the trains are booked out.
• Travel locally! On trick on saving money when you live in Linköping but want to see some of Sweden is to travel locally. Linköping is located in the province of Östergötlands län, and when you travel within this province, bus and train tickets are really cheap. You get a discount as a student as well, and during off-peak hours and on the weekends there is another general discount. Make sure you download the app called Östergötatrafiken to buy your tickets
• Travel internationally! You might think, Sweden is so far away from everything, I will need to fly when I want to visit another country. But nothing is less true! The train system is very well connected and it is actually really easy (and cheap!) to take the train to another country. For example, you can take the night train to Hamburg with SJ or Snälltåget for a return ticket price starting at 600-700SEK. You can go to Copenhagen within 4 hours from Linköping and to Oslo within 6 hours by train!

The Bus

Another great public transport option in Sweden & Linköping is the bus. If you want to travel long distances in Sweden but also internationally, Flixbus and Bus4You are great and cheap options! If you have a student (Mecenat) card, you can often get a discount on Flixbus tickets. The Flixbus from Linköping to Stockholm, for example, often only costs 100SEK one-way, and it only takes a little longer than the train.

The bus system in Linköping and the surroundings is also very good. With the app called Östergötatrafiken, you can plan routes and buy your ticket. You get a discount as a student and a 60-minute bus ticket normally costs around 20SEK. The buses go very regularly, although they often don’t go anymore at night. It is especially helpful to get a monthly ticket in the winter, as it is harder to bike then. A 30-day ticket for students, for example, costs 530SEK. So, that is really worth it if you take the bus every day.

Other options

Besides the train and the bus, taking the bike or walking is also a big thing here in Linköping. Linköping is a cozy city with a small city center and a lot of bike and walking paths. Nothing is further away than a 20-minute bike ride really and everything is accessible by foot as well. Every student here in Linköping owns a bike and the Campus parking lot is always full of them. Riding your bike is a cheap and healthy way to get around Linköping. It also provides you with more flexibility and you can enjoy your surroundings a bit better. Walking is also a great way to roam around and explore Linköping!! Besides that, it is free!

I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me!

/ Fleur, Master of Science for Sustainable Development

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