Stockholm's main station: Location map
Stockholm has one main station, Stockholm Central, often written as Stockholm C. The station opened in 1871, originally with the tracks & platforms inside what is now the main hall. The tracks were moved westwards to their current position in 1925-27, and the former trainshed turned in to the hall you see today.
In 1958 they added a tunnel to the adjacent underground tunnelbana (metro) station known as T-Centralen and in 2017 commuter trains were moved to new underground platforms known as Stockholm City station. In other words, Stockholm Central Station (for mainline trains), T-Centralen (for tunnelbana metro trains) and Stockholm City station (for commuter trains) are more or less all in the same place, linked by pedestrian tunnels.
|
On other pages
|
Station entrance
The statue in front of the station is of Nils Ericson, a prominent Swedish canal and railway engineer. The main road running north-south outside the station is Vasagatan.
 |
 |
Entrance hall
When you enter the station you find yourself in the entrance hall. On your left as you walk in (centre left in this photo) is an office for Stockholm public transit (SL, sl.se), if you want a Stockholm transport pass, ask here.
 |
Main hall
After passing through the entrance hall you enter the vast main hall, seen below looking north with the main station entrance on the right. This is were the trains used to be, until 1925! In the centre of the hall are the iron railings around a circular skylight looking down to the lower level.
At the northern end of the main hall is a food court and beyond that terminus platforms 1-7. There is no platform 8 or 9.
Also at the northern end of the hall are escalators up to an upper level with access to the adjacent CityTerminalen (long-distance bus terminal). The upper level also has steps and escalators down onto the northern ends of platforms 10-19, but it's easier to access platforms 11-19 via the lower level & 10 direct from the main hall.
At centre left is the main departures board and underneath it, doors to platform 10.
Just out of shot to the left are escalators down to the lower level from which a pedestrian underpass runs to platforms 11-19, there's another set of escalators at the other end of the hall.
 |
Below is the main hall again, this time looking south. The steps lead up to the SJ Lounge for 1st class ticket holders. There's a McDonald's underneath the lounge, and a decent bar in the corner to the left of the lounge - the beer is good, though Swedish prices are not!
 |
Tickets & information
SJ is notorious for having closed down all its ticket offices, even at Stockholm Central. That's right, there is absolutely no SJ ticket office or travel centre in Stockholm. The photo below shows the site of the former SJ travel centre, now just a row of ticket machines with (at busy times) a member of staff wandering around to help people. SJ expects passengers to buy online or to use these machines, that includes reservations for railpass holders, too. If you get stuck you can phone them or use the online chat on www.sj.se or you can try asking staff in the SJ Lounge for help. In fact, even SJ's ticket machines were due to be removed in September 2023.
 |
Lower level
There are escalators down to the lower level towards the southern end of the main hall (near the SJ Lounge) and towards the northern end too.
The photo below shows what you see at the bottom of the escalators at the southern end of the hall. Straight on for toilets & luggage lockers. Turn left for platforms 11-19. Turn right for the pedestrian tunnel under Vasagatan to the T-Centralen Tunnelbana station, the Stockholm City commuter station and the number 7 tram to the Vasa museum.
 |
Which platform?
Stockholm Central has 17 platforms. There's free & easy access to all of them, there are no barriers or ticket gates.
Platforms 1 & 2 are dead-end platforms at the far northern end of the station used by the Arlanda Express to the airport. It takes a few minutes to walk from the main hall through the food court to the area where these trains stop.
Platforms 3-7 are also dead-end platforms, at the northern end of the station beyond the food court, though not as far as 1 & 2.
Platform 8 is the northern end part of platform 10, accessed from platform 10. There is no platform 9.
Platforms 10 is right next to the main hall to the west, accessed through the doors directly beneath the main departures board.
Platforms 11-19 are also to the west of the main hall, go down the escalators to the lower level, then along the underpass beneath all the tracks and up steps or a lift up to the relevant platform.
Platforms 1-7
Walk to the northern end of the main hall then continue through this food court...
 |
...continue through this hallway. For the Cityterminalen (long-distance bus terminal), go up that escalator. For platforms 1-7 go through the doors ahead of you.
 |
Platforms 1-7, all terminus (dead-end) platforms facing north. The passengers in the photo are walking along platform 2 towards the Arlanda Express to the airport. Platform 1 is further on and out of shot to the right. The silver SJ train on the left (bound for Sundsvall) is at platform 4.
 |
Arlanda Express airport trains on platforms 1 & 2, a few minutes walk from the main hall.
 |
Platform 10
You can walk straight onto platform 10 through the doors directly beneath the main departure board.
 |
Platforms 11-19
Go down the escalators from the main hall to the lower level, turn left (if you've come down the escalator at the southern SJ Lounge end of the hall) and go through the doors marked Track 11-19.
 |
...this pedestrian tunnel connects platforms 11-19 with steps and a lift up to each pair of platforms.
 |
Luggage lockers, toilets, showers, ATMs
Go down the escalators from the main hall to the lower level for toilets & luggage lockers. If you go down the escalators at the southern (SJ Lounge) end of the main hall, the lockers and toilets are straight ahead of you across the passageway (as shown in the photo below).
There's a hot shower available in the toilets for a small fee (around 40 SEK), soap & towels provided.
There are ATMs in various places around the station, although as almost everywhere in Sweden accepts contactless bank cards, you may not need currency.
The luggage lockers aren't cheap. They have a control panel which takes contactless bank cards, they charge by the hour with a maximum per 24h, see the left luggage lockers page for opening hours & prices. The lockers are run by www.speed-services.se.
Money-saving tip: If you don't mind a few minutes walk, you can avoid the high prices charged for lockers at Central Station by booking luggage storage through radicalstorage.com. They have luggage storage locations in Stockholm old town for a relatively low daily fixed fee.
 |
SJ 1st class lounge
The SJ Lounge is available to anyone with a 1st class SJ national or international ticket, including 1st class Interrail & Eurail passes. It offers complimentary tea, coffee, soft drinks, food & free WiFi. It's up the steps at the southern end of the main hall, clearly marked SJ Lounge above the door.
The lounge is open Monday-Friday 06:00-18:30, Saturday closed, Sunday 10:00-18:30. Reduced hours apply from late June to late August, Monday–Friday 10:00-17:00, closed at weekends. Check these times at www.sj.se.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Somewhere to eat, drink or stock up
There are plenty of food outlets in the main hall and food court, including a MacDonald's underneath the SJ Lounge at the southern end of the main hall, and a Burger King on the lower level.
If you find a decent sit-down restaurant near the station, let me know - one correspondent has recommended the Stockholm Fisk (www.stockholmfisk.se) 2 minutes walk from the station, see walking map. Another has suggested bistro-restaurant Luzette (luzette.se) inside the station itself, walk towards the north end of the main hall and it's on the right.
There's a COOP supermarket on the lower level, just at the foot of the southern escalators down from the main hall, with a pharmacy next door. Photo below courtesy of James Bunting.
 |
For a good (but admittedly expensive) beer, try O'Leary's bar in the corner of the main hall near the SJ Lounge.
 |
Metro, taxis, walking
Stockholm Central station is just 11 minutes walk from Stockholm city hall or 8 minutes walk from the start of gamla stan (old town).
The taxi rank is outside the main station exit to the left. Taxi fare calculator for Stockholm.
For the Stockholm metro (known as the Tunnelbana), go down the escalators from the main hall to the lower level, then follow the signs through the tunnel to the T-Centralen tunnelbana station. The Stockholm public transport organisation is SL and their website is sl.se. You'll also find Stockholm City station down here, for commuter trains (Pendeltåg).
How to reach the old town
Stockholm Central station is just 12 minutes walk from the old town (Gamla stan), see walking map.
How to reach the Stockholm city hall
Stockholm Central station is just 11 minutes walk from Stockholm's iconic city hall, see walking map.
How to reach the Vasa Museum
The Vasa Museum (www.vasamuseet.se) houses the famous 17th century warship which sank in Stockholm harbour in 1628 and was raised and preserved in 1961. It's the best thing in Stockholm!
To get there, go down the escalators from the main hall to the lower level. Follow the signs for Tunnelbana/Pendeltåg through the pedestrian tunnel, when you get to the Tunnelbana/Stockholm City station just carry on, following the signs for Tram. You emerge up an escalator in a side street across the main road from the station, with the tram terminus for Tram number 7 in front of you, see the photo below. Tram 7 leaves every few minutes, buy a ticket using a contactless bank card from the conductor on board the tram. Get off at the Nordiska Museet/Vasa stop, journey time 10 minutes.
 |
How to reach Viking Line's Stadsgården ferry terminal
Viking Line run a transfer bus between the Cityterminalen (adjacent to Stockholm Central station, accessed from the upper level) and their ferry terminal to connect with ferry sailings to Turku & Helsinki, check their website for times. Alternatively, take city bus 53 from Vasagaten (the road outside Central Station) to the Londonviaducten stop, from where it's a 7-minute walk to the ferry terminal, see the Stockholm public transport website sl.se. Or take a taxi, see taxi fare calculator.
How to reach Silja Line's Värtahamnen ferry terminal
The easiest way is to take the Tunnelbana (metro) to Gärdet station then walk. Go down the escalators from the main hall to the lower level. Follow the signs for Tunnelbana through the pedestrian tunnel to T-Centralen metro station. Take a metro train on line 13 towards Ropsten, these leave every few minutes and it's just 3 stops to Gärdet. You can tap in and out with a contactless bank card, no need to buy a ticket. As soon as you get off at Gärdet, follow the signs out of the Värtahamnen exit, it's a well-signed 1km 12-minute level walk with wheeled luggage no problem, see walking map. In the hours before a ferry departure, you won't be the only person walking it!
 |
Hotels near the station
-
For somewhere near the station with good reviews, try the ProfilHotel Central or Scandic No.53.
-
But consider the Haymarket by Scandic, a modern hotel created within the former PUB department store building.
The PUB department store existed from 1917 to 2015. Hollywood star Greta Garbo worked here as a shop assistant in the 1920s and later as a photographic model for its advertisements.
The hotel is a 700m 8-minute walk from Stockholm Central Station (see walking map) and gets great reviews.
Hotels in the old town
-
For somewhere in the old town (Gamla stan) with good reviews, try the Lady Hamilton Hotel, or if on a tight budget, the Castle House Inn.
-
For something a little different, how about staying on a historic luxury yacht?
The permanently-moored Mälardrottningen Yacht Hotel is the former Lady Hutton, built in Kiel, Germany, in 1924, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Hutton. It even spent a few years during WW2 in the British Royal Navy!