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Night trains of Sweden

Night trains of Sweden (Swedish: Nattåg) are over-night sleeping car services provided by three different operators across Sweden, one of these trains terminates in Narvik in Norway, and one runs from Stockholm to Berlin.

Current services

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SJ

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SJ operates its night trains with a variety of service levels, they offer seats, couchettes (Swedish: Liggvagn), a bed in a sleeping compartment (Swedish: Sovvagn) or a private 1-class sleeping compartment with an en-suite shower and WC, not all service levels are available on all night trains.[a][1]

In 2024 SJ operates night trains on the following routes:

  • Stockholm to Östersund, Åre and Duved, outbound train 70 & train 71 return.
  • Gothenburg to Östersund, Åre and Duved, outbound train 74 & train 71 return.
  • Stockholm to Umeå, outbound train 70 & train 77 return.
  • Gothenburg to Umeå, outbound train 74 & train 77 return.
  • Stockholm to Malmö, outbound train 1 & train 2 return.
  • Stockholm to Malmö, Hamburg and Berlin, outbound train EuroNight 345 & train EuroNight 346 return.[1]

Vy

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In 2024 Vy Tåg operates daily sleeper trains as follows:[b]

  • Stockholm Central to Umeå and Luleå Central, outbound train 92 & train 91 return.
  • Stockholm Central to Umeå and Narvik (in Norway), outbound train 94 & train 93 return, there are through coaches to and from Luleå Central attached to these trains that become trains 3963 and 3964.[2]

SJ (see above) has won back the contract from 15 December 2024 onwards.[3]

Snälltåget

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Snälltåget operates a seasonal night train between Stockholm, Malmo, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Berlin, outbound 301 & train 300 return.[c] In 2024 it operates outbound daily except Saturday between 31 March and 1 November. On Fridays the journey is extended to Dresden. There are additional trips going to Dresden via Berlin on Wednesdays 27 November, 4 and 11 December. In each case the return journeys take place on the following day.[4]

Snälltåget runs a seasonal night train from Malmö via Lund, Hässleholm, Alvesta, Nässjö, Linköping, Norrköping, Stockholm, and Uppsala, arriving the next morning in Östersund, Undersåker, Åre, Duved, Enafors, and Storlien, outbound train 3920 & train 3921 return, on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. The return journey takes place on Thursday and Sunday afternoons from the mountains. In 2024 this service is running between 19 June to 29 September 2024.[5]

History

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Night trains were launched in 1873 when sleeping facilities were provided by convertible compartments with the first sleeping cars appeared in 1885, initially in four wheel coaches, bogie wagons were introduced by Statens Järnvägar in 1891.[6]

Third class sleepers were introduced in 1910 with the first examples appearing on the Stockholm to Gothenburg service. From this time the sleeping compartments were standardised so that first-class passengers had single berth compartments (although sometimes a second-class compartment would be marked as first class and would only be for solo occupancy), double-berths compartments for second-class and three berths, one above the other in third class.[7]

In 1955 sleeping coaches were provided from Stockholm to 24 domestic destinations every night and over a million sleeping car passengers were conveyed.[6]


Notes

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  1. ^ SJ was formerly SJ AB, a state-owned passenger train operator created from Statens Järnvägar, a former government agency.
  2. ^ Vy Tåg is a subsidiary of the former Norwegian State Railways.
  3. ^ Snälltåget is an open access railway company in Sweden owned by Transdev.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Discover Sweden by train: SJ night trains". SJ. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  2. ^ "How to travel by train from London to Sweden". The Man at Seat 61. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  3. ^ Nyström, Ulf (10 July 2024). "SJ tar över nattågen i norr" [SJ takes over the night trains in the north]. Järnvägar (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Night train Berlin–Copenhagen–Stockholm". Snälltåget. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Right on track to the mountains this summer!". Snälltåget. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  6. ^ a b Greville 1956, p. 815.
  7. ^ Hamilton Ellis 1937, pp. 261 & 264.

Bibliography

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  • Greville, M.D. (December 1956). "A Century of Railway Development in Sweden". Railway Magazine. Vol. 102, no. 668. pp. 811–817.
  • Hamilton Ellis, C. (October 1937). "The Railways of Sweden - Part 2". Railway Magazine. Vol. 81, no. 484. pp. 258–267.

Further reading

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  • Berggrund, Lars; Bårström, Sven (2014). De första stambanorna: Nils Ericsons storverk [The first main lines: Nils Ericson's masterpiece] (in Swedish). Gävle: Sveriges Järnvägsmuseum. ISBN 978-91-979236-1-3.
  • Kullander, Björn (2006). Järnvägens historier [Railway Histories] (in Swedish). Sveriges Järnvägsmuseum. ISBN 91-631-9446-5.
  • Watts, C.E.N. (June 1953). "Railway through Lapland". Railway Magazine. Vol. 99, no. 626. pp. 380–384.
  • Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936), "Sweden's rail system", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 1161–1165
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  • Historiskt - about Swedish railway history (in Swedish and English)
  • järnväg.net - information on all Swedish railways (in Swedish)
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