SWEDISH operator SJ has announced it will launch a daily Stockholm - Hamburg night train service from September 1, with tickets going on sale on April 27.
The service will operate in both directions year-round, with Swedish transport administrator Trafikverket subsidising operation for 244 days of the year and the service operating on a commercial basis the rest of the year. Tickets are sold by SJ through a number of other European sales channels.
The train will depart Stockholm at 17.34, stopping at several locations along the southern main line before continuing to via Copenhagen and Odense, arriving at Hamburg-Altona at approximately 06.30. SJ says the arrival has been timed to provide connections to other parts of northern and central Europe. The return service will depart Hamburg-Altona at 21.55 and arrive in Stockholm at 09.55.
The train includes second class seating, second class couchette compartments for four to six passengers, second class sleeping compartments for one or two passengers, and first class sleeping compartments for one to three passengers.
The service will be operated in cooperation with Hector Rail and RDC Germany. Hector Rail will haul the train between Malmö and Padborg. The coaches comply with Europe’s loading gauge, making them slightly narrower than SJ’s night coaches.
Pricing is dynamic, and will change depending on demand. The fares are set in Euros, but will be converted to Swedish Krona on SJ’s sj.se website. Tickets will start at SKr 300 ($US 30.69) for a second class seat.
“We are delighted to be able to offer Swedes a regular train service down to Europe,” says SJ director of commercial traffic, Mr Mats Almgren. “We can already see that demand is high and we have high expectations for the night train to Hamburg. Hamburg has a lot to offer and is a strong and growing tourist destination with visitors from all over the world. However, the Swedes have not yet fully discovered Hamburg, but now they get the chance.”
SJ was awarded a four-year contract to operate the service in August 2021. Trafikverket had also launched a tender to operate a Malmö - Brussels service, but was unable to attract any bids for the contract.
