SJ changes tracks - the night trains to Germany start rolling again

Interest in taking the night train from Stockholm, but also from Oslo and Gothenburg, to Germany has continued to increase.

However, last autumn SJ announced that its Euronight trains to Berlin via Copenhagen would cease from 1 September this year after running in cooperation with German RDC since 2022. SJ referred to the end of state funding.

Now SJ announces that the company will resume night traffic in one month, from December 13. The new arrangement means three departures a week from Stockholm. Until January 18, SJ's plan will be two round trips a week to Berlin. After that, there are two departures per week to Hamburg and one further to Berlin.

In addition to the fact that the competitor, German-owned Snälltåget, ran night trains to Germany during the autumn, German RDC has also done so, and it is in a new agreement with the company that SJ begins to market the trips.

SJ explains the resumed traffic, despite the lack of state support, with the fact that the economy will improve with longer train routes, where locomotives and wagons come from RDC, and fewer departures per week. Costs are also reduced by the same locomotive running the train on the entire route.

"For a more comprehensive range, other financial conditions are still required," writes SJ.

According to SJ, it should be possible for travelers from Gothenburg and the west coast to board the night train in Lund.

SJ's CEO Jonas Abrahamsson refers to "a strong demand for international train travel" and "a stable and long-term sustainable traffic".

- Hamburg is also an important hub for those who want to travel further into Europe, he says.

The competitor Snälltåget, which is owned by the German Rethmann Gruppe, is today selling seats on night trains to Germany until January 7. "After that, the night train service to Berlin takes a seasonal break and resumes after Easter," writes the company.

Snälltåt's Marco Andersson refers to the fact that a new signaling system through Denmark will prevent their traffic during the beginning of next year.

"The plan is to start running from March 29, seven days a week until Christmas 2027. We are waiting for word on some track work in Denmark and Germany to be able to open sales, but hope it will happen soon," he writes to DN.