Sweden has an extensive railway network. Long-distance lines are operated by the government-owned company SJ AB, or by private enterprises. Regional public transportation, both by rail and bus, is provided by the counties, län, or associations of those. There are also some commercial bus services.

The transport carriers in Sweden operate a ticket platform called Resplus for multiple-leg travel. See Resrobot for an interactive journey planner.

Using Google Maps to find train connections to build an itinerary can work very well if you are doing it weeks or months ahead of time. If you are close to the day of travel, or you are on the ground, you may find that you have more data than Google and their data can sometimes be wrong. Or Google Maps may not offer you the best connection points when there are multiple stations at which you can make the connection. Double check your plan with staff at a station, if you are booking within a few days of travel.

While rail travel is deregulated in Sweden, national carrier SJ remains the market leader. While rail speed is far behind countries such as France and Germany, rail is a good option for intercity travel.

Many routes connect to Copenhagen and Oslo, and some to Trondheim, Narvik and Berlin. Railways in Finland have a broader track gauge, and are therefore not connected to the Swedish rail network. Furthermore, most of the area where Sweden and Finland share a land border is extremely sparsely populated. There is a double gauge railway at the border in Haparanda/Tornio but no passenger trains use it.

Tickets can be bought either through Resplus or directly from the specific carrier, and are normally reserved for a specific train departure. Regional public transport tickets might be used for any regional public train departure within a given time, but those tickets are normally not valid on national rail carrier trains.

SJ

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To buy a railway ticket from SJ, or to obtain information, call +46 771 75 75 75 or check the SJ website. As of summer 2009, the cheapest SJ tickets are released exactly 90 days before departure, so time your online ticket purchases carefully if your itinerary is set and don't buy tickets earlier than 90 days before your trip. Because point-to-point tickets are quite expensive, for more train journeys in Sweden European rail passes might be useful. If you are travelling to small towns in Sweden and you need to journey long distances from there, do not leave your tickets unbooked until the last minute. The busy trains that would offer you fast travel and better connections can get sold out during the summer, sometimes a few days in advance.

Unlike on most European trains, bicycles are not allowed on any SJ trains, except for foldable bicycles, which count as regular luggage.

There are sleeper train services between Stockholm and Malmö as well as between Gothenburg, Stockholm and the northern parts of Norrland. The night trains can be delayed several hours in bad winter weather.

Regional public transport can include commuter rail, tram, metro (in Stockholm), bus or boat (in the Swedish archipelagos), and is usually provided by the counties (län), under the brand name of the county owned traffic company.

Tickets are normally sold by the county owned traffic company. Ticket rules vary substantially. For regional trains it is normally possible to buy a ticket through SJ (see below) even if it is a county operated train. Depending on how small a town is, there may not be staff at the train station to sell you tickets. Look for an automated machine in this case, which will walk you through the booking process. They are usually found in enclosed glass buildings that can often be mistaken for a bus stop (but they will be on the platform).

Unlike on SJ trains, it is common on regional trains for the announcements to be made in Swedish alone. Rail carriages do have LED displays would show what station is next and other information. Note what your station names should sound like and listen to the Swedish announcements to hear whether they might concern you. Ask your fellow passengers or a passing-by train conductor to find out more. It is rare to find a Swede who doesn't speak English at some level.

There should be more information in the region articles.

For instance, when travelling regionally in the province of Scania (Skåne in Swedish), one should refer to Skånetrafiken.

See also: Intercity buses in Europe

Flixbus and Nettbuss run a number of bus lines in the southern third of the country (Götaland and Svealand). They tend to cost less than going by train, if you can't take advantage of SJ's youth discounts. Y-buss, Härjedalingen and Tapanis Buss operate between Stockholm and Norrland.

Flixbus also operates from Stockholm and Gothenburg to Oslo.

At the county level, buses are a good method for travelling short distances from town to town, as they are more frequent and cheaper than trains. It is best to check with the local transportation authority for routes and schedules.

• Driving in Sweden
• Rail travel in Europe