V�llingby underground station, originally opened (a temporary station) on 26 October 1952 (the permanent station was opened on 6 April 1954), was the focal point of the first suburb in Sweden planned to combine housing and workplaces with shopping and other services. The suburb became internationally famous after it was opened, and was the subject of so many study visits that multilingual hostesses were hired to welcome the study delegations and help them find their way around.
(5 August 2001)
Here is a view of V�llingby centrum, where the shops and other
services are located.
(5 August 2001)
The entrance to the tunnelbana. The neon sign spelling out
"TUNNELBANA" is unique to this station, as far as I know. Note
also that some of the signs have spikes on top to discourage birds
from landing on them.
(5 August 2001)
Here is a view of the entrance turnstiles and exit gates at
V�llingby. The staffed ticket booth is out of sight at the
right. Note the reflection of the neon "TUNNELBANA" sign in the
large advertising sign to the right (that was serendipity).
(5 August 2001)
A (rather dark, but that's how they look) view of the platforms
at V�llingby. This is a three-track station; in this view,
the far track is northbound (toward H�sselby strand), the
center track is used for trains that are reversing or going in
or out of service here, and the other track (unseen, behind us)
is the southbound track (toward central Stockholm).
(5 August 2001)
A view in the other direction from the same position as the
previous photo. This view shows the southbound track. You also
see the concrete columns that were made to look like tree trunks.
(5 August 2001)
This view faces timetable north (toward H�sselby strand)
from the extreme end of the southbound platform at V�llingby.
The rightmost (southbound) track is a bit hard to see, but the
left-hand (northbound) and center tracks are visible. Note also
the "T-in-a-circle" sign; doesn't this seem like an odd place for
such a sign?...
(5 August 2001)
That sign marks the north entrance to V�llingby, which is
under and between the tracks. Here's a view of it from an
adjacent street. The actual entrance is in this underpass, on
the left-hand side.
(5 August 2001)
Here's a photo of the entrance itself. (And that's me reflected
in the glass at the left.)
(5 August 2001)
Inside the north entrance. I took this picture to illustrate
two things: (1) how poorly maintained this interior is, which
is really a shame, and (2) the technique used in Stockholm for
unstaffed entrances: there is a ticket machine on the left, and
the floor at the bottom of the stairway is tiled in a checkerboard
pattern, indicating that this is a "virtual" ticket barrier (this
is explained on the sign hanging over the stairway).
Tunnelbanan Home
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