In this blog article, we set off in search of the Sjukhusspår, in English: hospital track. This is an easily overlooked abandoned railway line in Södermalm, a district in central Stockholm.
The line was built in the 1930s. It runs partly through tunnels, and partly in the open. At first the track takes us under the Södersjukhus (South Hospital) where there were plans to establish an underground war hospital with a train connection. A space was blasted out of the mountain, but after the end of World War II, the plans were not taken any further. It was only much later, in 1994, that a centre of disaster medicine was opened.
The Sjukhusspår continues above ground through a garden plot community. Along the track bed you can see the planted boxes of the urban gardening project “Trädgård på spåret”, or “Garden on the track”.
After about half a kilometer, the line disappears again into a now-blocked tunnel and reappears behind the Eriksdalsbad (Eriksdal’s swimming pool).
Directions:
Get off at Skanstull underground station and go to the Eriksdalsbad. Between the outdoor and the indoor swimming pool, there is a foot and cycle path that leads onto a bridge; from there you can see the railway line.
From the Eriksdalsbad, follow the bank of the Årstavik for about 1 km heading west. Shortly before the path leads onto a boardwalk, turn right and walk up to the railway route. Here you can stroll along the middle of the track between the tunnels.
As a follow-up, I recommend continuing the walk along the bank as far as Hornstull underground station.
Along the way, if it’s the right time of year, you might like to go for a swim at the beach of Tanto strandbad. Alternatively, you can also exercise at one of the two outdoor gyms which you’ll pass along the way.