Compared to cities like Berlin, Paris, or Los Angeles, Stockholm is not a large city. However, its occupants are spread out over 14 islands that are encompassed by the city limits. With this in mind, the tunnelbana (or Tbana) was designed to provide quick, efficient, and reliable means of transportation throughout the city. These trains run every five to ten minutes, which greatly aids trip planning!
There are seven different lines that all connect at the T-Centralen station located in the Stockholm City Center. These, when used in junction with the light rail (also accessible from T-Centralen), can transport you into neighboring cities or to the nearest airport. The lines also connect to major ports if you are sailing out of the city or country (as we did from Sweden to Estonia!).
The unique part of Stockholm's transportation system is that everything is run through a prepaid "SL" card. These cards have unlimited use for the duration of the time period you have paid for. You can buy daily, weekly, monthly, three-monthly, or annual passes. These passes can be a bit expensive, but as a student, I can apply a generous 40% discount :) This card not only allows you to use the Tbana system but can also be used to gain access to other modes of transportation such as the ferry or the bus!
