Developing the new metro line Fridhemsplan – Älvsjö in Stockholm

A new metro line between Fridhemsplan and Älvsjö

A new metro line between Fridhemsplan and Älvsjö, with six stations, is being built as part of Region Stockholm’s metro expansion. The new line will support the construction of 48,500 homes and will be instrumental in fundamentally altering Stockholm as we know it. Sweco’s work includes designing attractive and safe stations, drafting the legal documentation to secure planning permission, and conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA). With smart digital tools and innovation, Sweco solves the complex issues and meet the new conditions presented by the project.

The project is designed to promote sustainable travel and urban development, but we are also striving to identify solutions that produce as little climate and ambient impact as possible. -Teresia Skönström, environmental co-ordinator at Sweco

Sustainable travel and a good living environment

The goal is to design stations that are attractive, safe and functional, to give Stockholmers ideal conditions for sustainable travel and a good living environment. As the metro project encompasses multiple sub-projects, collaboration is essential – not least in terms of ecological, social and economic sustainability. The projects include feasibility studies for the placement of the stations and designing the stations as attractive, accessible and functional, with the traveller in focus. Entrance location and their relation to existing urban environments and planned buildings is a key element in achieving a good result.

Sweco’s consultants are also investigating the environmental impact and preparing documentation for environmental impact assessment. This includes investigating and assessing the impact on surface and groundwater as well as disturbances during the construction phase. In the project that handles the planning process, documentation is produced for the consultation and legal documentation to secure planning permission. Social values such as security, sustainability and safety are being analysed during the process.

Many benefits with the new metro line

The new metro line brings many benefits to a growing Stockholm. It connects southwestern and western Stockholm while bypassing T-Centralen, thereby reducing traffic in a congested junction of the current system. The new line will also be instrumental in linking new and existing neighbourhoods as well as provide high social added value for many people in the vicinity. Travelling in Stockholm will be more flexible overall, as most stations already have some type of public transport connection. For residents, the new line will offer more alternative routes from point A to point B, and more alternatives for interchanges.

I hope that the stations will serve as catalysts for the transformation of Stockholm as we know it, and that they’ll be positioned to create maximum benefit to the locality. Value creation in our daily lives and shared spaces that are easy to use and that we feel proud of– that’s what I hope for and work for as an architect at Sweco. – Christian Lindqvist, Sweco architect and co-ordinator of station design