SJ saw a 10% increase in passenger numbers in the first half of 2019 compared with the same period last year, and says this comes on the back of already high levels of demand which necessitates the increase in capacity.

Night trains

The new timetable includes more services to and from Copenhagen, providing more connections to Copenhagen - Hamburg services to mainland Europe. From December 15, the overnight service from Stockholm will operate via Lund, providing a connection to the morning Copenhagen - Hamburg service.

“This means that you can get on SJ’s night train in Stockholm at 23.00 and be in Hamburg at 12.00 the following day,” says Mr Petter Essén, business manager for the Stockholm - Malmö - Copenhagen line.

The night service from Malmö to Stockholm will be diverted via Helsingborg and is expected to arrive in Stockholm at 06.00 in the morning, 55 minutes earlier than now. Travelers from Copenhagen will be able to catch this service using the Öresund rail link.

“The departure will be a practical alternative for travellers to Stockholm who arrive in Copenhagen late in the evening from the south,” Essén says. “Then there is the opportunity to choose the night train instead of an extra night in a hotel.

From 2020, there will be three daily connecting services on the Stockholm - Copenhagen - Hamburg corridor. In some cases, this will be via a Stockholm - Copenhagen X2000 tilting train, while in other cases it will involve a connection in Malmö to an Öresund service. “Travel time between Stockholm and Hamburg will be 10 to 12 hours depending on departures,” Essén says.

Stockholm - Malmö

High demand on the Stockholm - Malmö route has resulted in the addition of 5000 seats every week, with more X2000 services and a return of InterCity services. These include:

  • a new evening X2000 departure in each direction Thursday and Friday
  • two new X2000 departures in each direction on Saturday
  • another X2000 departure in each direction on Sunday
  • daily X2000 departure from autumn 2020, and
  • the reintroduction of Stockholm - Malmö InterCity trains.

Several of the InterCity services will travel via Helsingborg and Nyköping, creating new direct connections between these cities. The services will be operated with locomotive-hauled coaches equipped with Wi-Fi and bistro services, with ticket prices and travel times to suit students, pensioners and families.

Stockholm - Gothenburg

SJ’s regular 16-17 X2000 Stockholm - Gothenburg services have recently been fully booked, with the operator required to run trains operating in multiple to meet demand.

Ms Maria Hofberg, business manager for the Stockholm - Gothenburg line, says more business travellers are choosing the train over flying or driving, and SJ has subsequently added 5000 more seats per week to the route.

At the request of business passengers, SJ has also set a new evening departure on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, which will allow passengers to meet evening commitments before travelling.

Saturday traffic is strengthened with a new departure in each direction, while an extra departure from Gothenburg is set for Saturday morning.

The non-stop service, which takes three hours, has seen an especially large increase in ridership, and SJ is now adding an additional service that will operate from Gothenburg Monday - Thursday, departing just before 07.00.

SJ will also increase the number of InterCity services at weekends, with new departures on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. These will be operated in the same manner as the Stockholm - Malmö InterCity services.

Exact times for departure and arrival will be set by the Swedish Transport Administration later this autumn.