Stockholm’s Metro network is one of the best in Europe, travelling across every corner of the Swedish capital both under and overground. The Silverpilen (or “Silver Arrow”) was an old model of Metro train, so named because it of its shiny aluminum shell. Between its introduction in the sixties and discontinuation in 1996, it was usually used as a back-up train if others broke down; the interiors were more utilitarian than the usual cars, with signs of partly removed graffiti contributing to the reputation of the Silverpilen as “different”.
Adding to that reputation, or perhaps bolstered by it, are the numerous ghost stories and urban legends that have sprung up about the Silverpilen trains. Since it was used only when other Metro cars had broken down and needed replacing, the average Stockholm dweller rarely saw a Silver Arrow in action, adding further to the mystique surrounding them. Seeing them at night would be an especially spooky event, the unfamiliar car glowing as its metal shell reflected the street lamps, giving it an all-round ghostly look.
Stories about the Silverpilen usually connect it to the abandoned Kymlinge metro station on Line 11, the origin of the delightful saying “Only the dead get off at Kymlinge”. People claim that the train picks up its spirit passengers there and speeds through the city after midnight, only sometimes stopping to pick up passengers; they either disappear forever or later “get off” weeks, months or even years after they embarked. Still sounds better than the Tube.