
Stockholm’s deepest subway station is also an ecological wonder - DoreenMichele
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kungstradgarden-metro-station
======
mongol
I read more about the spider - it only exists in this one location in Sweden,
Kungsträdgårdens subway station. Curious it did not spread to the next stop on
the same line...

~~~
jhdsrt
the next stop is the central station, and it's possible that there's too much
traffice -> more service/cleaning there. The kungsträdgården station isn't at
all active since it's just some strange one-station off-shot in the south-ish
direction and there are no transfers there. Might as well get off at central
station.

~~~
mstade
That will probably change in the next few years though, as they are planning
to extend the blue line from Kungsträdgården out to Nacka. Central will still
be Where most people hop off no doubt, but I’d expect traffic at
Kungsträdgården to pick up considerable as theres plenty of commuters living
south and south east, that work in the offices around there.

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crispyambulance
Ok, but where are the people in the photos?

Even a google image search reveals photos much like on altas obscura: vast
tastefully designed cavernous space dotted with but a few token humans.

It seems suspiciously clean and well maintained compared to NYC metro. Floors
polished, no screaming lunatics, no cracked, floors, walls, ceilings. I am
willing to bet it doesn't even smell like pee and vomit? Where are the masses?

~~~
waterbear
This feels like a troll comment, in that it asks a back-handed question, to
highlight the shortcomings of a comparable example, more than the question
voices honest curiosity regarding the question as it may be superficially
posed. Possibly in an effort to lead the loaded question down a negative path,
such that responses will lend voice to an opinion one might read between the
lines.

But first and foremost, no one from New York calls it “NYC Metro.” It’s _The
Subway_ , and it’s operated by the MTA. So, already your comment has the ring
of someone who doesn’t live in New York. And to go one deeper, _The Subway_
hasn’t smelled like that since the mid 1990’s. Most of the tourist stations
“Disney-fied” by Giuliani get power washed every single night, after midnight,
during the gravyard shift, to eliminate the smells of humanity.

It’s still very old, very dirty, very inefficient, slow, crowded, and peppered
with tourists, homeless people, pickpockets and weirdos all at once.

New York has more going on than many other cities, and is as dense as it is
diverse, and it’s been that way for at least 100 years (or at least the subway
has), and that’s a somewhat conservative time frame, but

Other cities aren’t like that, and some of it is due to strict policing. Not
always though. Some of it has to do with climate, sunlight and weather, or in
social terms, the implicit understanding of the expectation of one’s peers.

In lively cities, when transplanted people lose a sense of expected behavior
among strangers, behavior loosens up. Some cities have a specific reputation
as being a destination for the specific reason to either lose or find one’s
sense of self. New York is one of those places.

~~~
crispyambulance
Not my intent to make a troll comment. But, yes, "the subway" in NYC does
STILL smell like pee and vomit in many places and, yes, it is chaotic. That's
been my impression of subways in many but not all cities.

I think that it's possible to do better. I question why so many cities allow
their public spaces to decay to such a low level while others seem to cherish
their spaces.

~~~
waterbear
I think aspects of the operational technology should improve, but should the
subway be a brighter, more cheerful space? Of that I am uncertain...

I’d advocate for more reliable trains, in the same way I want the elevator to
show up as soon as I press the button. Of course I want that instant
gratification, but the atmosphere of the subway, on the other hand, I find to
be a less urgent concern.

Mostly I think people are generally accepting of the fact that New York City’s
subways are like an unfinished basement. It’s a moldy, musty cellar, and it’s
not a destination. It’s a liminal zone.

If you want to talk about smell, consider this curiosity. One of the most
irritating parts of the subway for me right now is the new cars. The bright,
automated cars with the electronic conductor voice, and the light blue bench
seating. [0]

These new cars have an air conditioned ventilation system miles ahead of the
old cars, where you could just crack a window, and I swear to god these cars
utilize an engineered odor as a crowd control mechanism. I harbor a suspicion
that they radiate a strange odor on purpose so as to repel most normal people,
so that no one lingers in these cars casually. It’s a unique smell. It only
affects the new cars. And I only smell it inside those cars, even when they’re
freshly cleaned. I suspect it’s the same tactic restaurants use [1], with
artificially manufactured food aromas, but with a scent chosen to disgust.

None of the old cars smell like that. The plaform doesn’t smell like that.
When the ventilation is off, and the doors are open, and the train sits in the
station for 15 minutes, the new cars lose the smell. But for years, that smell
has only affected the new cars. It smells like bad breath, if I were to try
and describe it. Not vomit. Not urine. But more like if you lick the back of
your hand first thing in the morning and smell it before it dries. That’s the
closest smell. And I think it’s no accident the new cars smell like that.

[0]
[https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/01/26/04/3093161B000005...](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/01/26/04/3093161B00000578-0-image-a-62_1453783462326.jpg)

[1] [https://www.scentair.com](https://www.scentair.com)

~~~
kalleboo
As a parent, I would not enjoy having my child commuting to school in a
"mouldy, musty cellar".

Stockholm doesn't have less homeless people roaming around than New York
because they've been driven out by how clean everything is, it's because
Sweden has a working welfare and health care system.

