SWEDEN’s Snälltåget finally launched its new overnight service between Stockholm, Copenhagen and Berlin on June 27.

The first train left Stockholm Central station on June 27 at 16.22, stopping at Höje Taastrup at 22.45, Hamburg at 05.31, and arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 08.52. The return train was due to leave Berlin at 18.54 and arrive in Stockholm at 14.19 the following day. Travel to Germany or Sweden through Denmark requires passengers to have a negative Covid-19 test. The requirement to quarantine ceased on June 27 apart from passengers travelling from Kronoberg, Värmland and Norrbotten, which are considered at risk areas.

Snälltåget, a subsidiary of Transdev is financing the service for which there is no subsidy. Several locomotives are used for the journey; however, the coaches are owned by Snälltåget, which bought them in 2019 and has carried out a complete renovation.

The service will run daily until September 4 this year, after which Snälltåget says there will be “several weekly trains” until the end of October 2021. The journey time is 16h 30min and connecting tickets to a further 30 German cities and Prague can be bought directly from the operator’s website. Occasionally the service will arrive and depart from Berlin Gesundbrunnen, including from June 28-July 2.

The train offers three different types of seat: single seats (non-reclining), reclining and compartments (seats, berths or combined seats/berths). A restaurant car is available on the Swedish leg until 21:55pm, and this will offer local products served on real plates with real cutlery to recreate the atmosphere of the dining cars from yesteryear.

Snälltåget operated the Malmö - Berlin route using the ferry between Trelleborg and Sassnitz from 2012 until 2019. This new Stockholm - Copenhagen - Berlin train replaces that service. The operator is planning to launch a Stockholm – Malmö – Zell am See service between Sweden and the Austrian Alps in 2022.