Rail transport is operated by
SJ,
VR Sverige,
Green Cargo,
Vy Tåg and more. Most
counties have companies that provide ticketing, marketing and financing of local passenger rail, but the actual operation is undertaken by the aforementioned companies. There are about 15,700 km of railway, of which 14,400 km is nationalised and the remaining 1,300 km is owned by other operators. As of 2025, about 12,200 km of the railway is electrified. While most of the rails are built with a gauge, more commonly known as
standard gauge, there are about 261 km in , or
Swedish three foot gauge. These tracks are mostly reserved for
heritage railways however and only the
Roslagsbanan has regular passenger traffic. Trains generally keep to the left, as opposed to all neighbouring countries, a legacy of Sweden's driving direction
prior to 1967. The exception to this is in southern Sweden, where trains south of
Arlöv north of
Malmö run with right hand traffic.
Light rail and metros Stockholm Metro (
Stockholms tunnelbana) is the only metro system in Sweden. Cities with light rail (trams) include
Gothenburg (consisting of 190 km on a total track length of 161 km),
Norrköping, several tram systems in
Stockholm;
Tvärbanan,
Nockebybanan,
Lidingöbanan and
Spårväg City, and a tramway system in
Lund. The most extensive network in Sweden is in
Gothenburg with a total track length of 173 km. Gothenburg started with the Horse Tramway in 1879 and over the years the tramway has expanded into the Nordic region's largest tramway system.
Railway links with adjacent countries •
Norway at
Kornsjø (
Gothenburg-
Oslo),
Charlottenberg/
Eda (
Stockholm-
Oslo),
Storlien (
Östersund-
Trondheim, not electrified Storlien-Trondheim) and
Riksgränsen (
Narvik-
Kiruna) • same gauge – same voltage – same
protection system. Most Swedish and Norwegian rail vehicles can cross the border. As there is only single-track at all border crossings, there is no need for bridges to make the transition from left- to right-hand traffic. •
Finland at
Tornio/
Haparanda •
break-of-gauge / – other protection system. All freight has to be reloaded. No passenger traffic by rail. •
Denmark at the
Öresund bridge • same gauge – voltage change
15kVAC/
25kVAC – other protection system. Only custom made locomotives or EMUs can cross the border. Bridges to make the transition from left- to right-hand traffic, are located north of Malmö, so all traffic south of Malmö is in right-hand traffic. ==Road==