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How taking the train to Arlanda Airport could get WAY cheaper

A new government-commissioned inquiry has proposed a series of suggestions that would make it cheaper to travel to Arlanda Airport. Advertisement The fastest way of travelling between Arlanda Airport and central Stockholm is the Arlanda Express train, owned by A-Train AB, which takes less than 20 minutes. On the downside, it's also the most expensive option. A standard single ticket for one adult costs 340 kronor. The SL commuter train (pendeltåg), which takes 40 minutes, is not a much more attractive option. Even if you already have a period ticket for the SL commuter train, which also stops at the airport, you have to pay an extra so-called "passage fee" to be able to enter the airport from the station. That's because the railway that passes through Arlanda is run by A-Train AB, a private company, which charges SL for using it, which in turn charges passengers. Today, the passage fee is 147 kronor. The inquiry's perhaps most revolutionary proposal for passengers is scrapping the passage fee, which would mean that a single SL ticket to Arlanda would cost 43 kronor, or come at no added cost at all for those who already have a period ticket. "The commuter train becomes the basic option for getting to Arlanda. We get a solution that is similar to London, you can take the tube to Heathrow, which is cheaper but takes longer, or take the Heathrow Express, which is more expensive but faster," said inquiry head Peter Norman, who suggests that the state instead buy shares in A-Train to pick up the bill for the extra cost. Advertisement The inquiry, which contains 80 proposals in total, also suggests making the E4 motorway wider to cope with increased traffic to and from Arlanda, as well as between Uppsala and Stockholm, and making the train platform at Arlanda longer in order to increase capacity. The cheapest option at the moment for travelling between Stockholm and Arlanda Airport is to take the SL commuter train to Märsta, then change to bus 583 to Arlanda. You can make this journey for free if you have an SL period ticket, but the travel time is up to an hour. The inquiry will now be analysed by the government before it decides whether or not to move forward with the proposal.