Overview

One of the most efficient means of transportation in Sweden is probably its train system. The trains, usually green in colour, always bring the passengers to their respective destinations on time. However, there exists an odd silver train, also known as the Silverpilen (meaning Silver Arrow), that is deemed to be a phantom that picks up and carries dead passengers, and occasionally possible victims to take to the afterlife. The ghost train is connected to a ghost station, a place where only the dead get off.

Existence and Service

In the 1960s, the government of Sweden obtained a C5 model train. Being the only one of its kind, the train had been purchased to serve as a test-unit. It had 8 cars and a peculiar, unpainted, aluminum body. The train was never painted to follow the colour of the other operating trains, which were all green.

The Silverpilen got its name from its unique appearance, which is a silver-coloured, 8-car train. The unit was only used as a sort of backup train during the rush hours and its schedule would depend upon the traffic of a certain day. If the common trains could handle the number of people in a day, the Silverpilen would not leave the train parking yard.

To the usual commuter in Sweden, seeing the Silverpilen in action would somehow be a shock, especially during the busy hours of the night. The difference of the Silverpilen to its modern versions is basically its colour, the faded graffiti on its body, the doors and the particularly loud sound against the railroad tracks. Those who have not lived as early as the operation of the silver train would most likely not know that it even exists.

The Silverpilen served its purpose of helping the train system of Sweden until 1996. Its service was no longer needed after a number of additional trains had been purchased and its use was eventually discontinued after about 30 years of serving as the rush hour back-up train.

Urban Legend

The urban legends around the ghost train of Silverpilen probably stemmed from its unique look and close to zero appearance on the railways of Sweden. One story about the train centres on a certain accident, which is said to have been hushed up by the local government, when a number of passengers died on board the Silverpilen.

This accident happened near the station of Kymlinge Station. Intriguingly, during that time the station was closed for renovations but was never renovated and it never opened again. Today, the Kymlinge Station is known as the ‘ghost train station of Sweden’.

Other versions of the urban legend surrounding the Silverpilen started with a movie in 1993, titled Sökarna. It featured the silver train as the location of a murder. On board the Silverpilen was a number of Neo-Nazi supporters, who threatened and abused the immigrants also riding the train.

During the course of the journey, the Neo-Nazi passengers and the immigrants broke into a fight. The fight led to the edge of one of the cars and two immigrants were pushed off the tracks. They were eventually run over by the train, their dismembered and bloody body parts left on the tracks.

Current Situation

The location of the Silverpilen at present is not known. Some people assume that after the government put it to rest in 1996, it is now located in a train yard, decaying away. However, in the wee hours of the morning, the Silverpilen is said to screech past the different train stations all around Sweden; looking for a chance of picking up clueless passengers to take to the world of the dead.

Ghost Sightings and Stories

Sightings by Subway workers

In a number of abandoned tunnels, workers report having seen a silver train rushing past the tunnels.

The train would go so fast that they wouldn’t have enough time to look at the contents of the train. Having the idea that the train was the popular Silverpilen, they were wise not to give it any indication that they wanted a ride.

Rush hour sighting

Some people who travel during the rush hours in Sweden would be very wary of a silver train that might go in between the busy train schedules of the normal green ones.

The Silverpilen is sometimes seen racing past the crowded stations. People who have actually seen the phantom train, describe it as a fast paced train with a dim interiors. Some even report having seen a number of ghostly apparitions inside; shadows and transparent apparitions going to and fro throughout the eight cars of the ghost train.

Some say that the train rushes through all the stations just after midnight, trying to pick up weary commuters.

Picking up passengers

In some stories, the Silverpilen is said to stop at certain stations. The dim lights that line the train would slowly light up, revealing the somehow vintage interior, painted with a pale green paint that is slowly chipping off.

If one foolishly goes inside and takes a ride, it is believed that one cannot get off at will and possibly never get off at all. Passengers who ride the Silverpilen are never seen again, or are only seen months or years after.

Locals often tip off people that have no knowledge of the silver train of what to do if the Silverpilen arrives and take in passengers. If the person absentmindedly boards it, make sure that one does not take a seat, or else he/she would never get off.

One particular unconfirmed case was when a young working woman had allegedly got on the ghost train. She went missing for a number of months and her body was found in the woods near the train station.

Ghost passengers

Those who claim to have gotten on the ghost train tell stories about what the other passengers of the train look like.

The passengers of the ghost train are said to be the souls of those who died in there. Some people believe that the apparitions that lurk inside the train are the spirits of the passengers who never got off.

Kymlinge Station

The Kymlinge station, also known as the ghost train station, has been around since the Iron Age but the location itself was not developed.

The area didn’t have any inhabitants and was only used as a farm. It was planned to be developed in the 1970s, and a train station was eventually built.

Named after where it was situated, the Kymlinge was almost done when the development of the whole area was halted. The status of the station has been ‘for renovation’ for almost 50 years; the renovations only included in talks when an election is approaching.

When one visits the Kymlinge station, it is an unfinished and unpainted train station that coincidentally matches the physique of the Silverpilen.

Apart from the story that those who ride the Silverpilen never get off, there are also rumors other passengers get off the Kymlinge station. Although the passenger successfully gets off, it is believed that he/she cannot find the exit, so he/she is still trapped, nevertheless.

One of the famous sayings in the cities of Sweden is the phrase ‘In Kymlinge station, only the dead get off’.