Sweden’s Sj To End Night Train Service To Germany In 2026 Due To Subsidy Cuts, Snälltåget To Fill Gap

Published on October 25, 2025

Sweden’s state-owned railway operator, SJ, has announced that it will discontinue its nighttime train work betwixt Stockholm and Berlin connected August 31, 2026, erstwhile authorities subsidies for nan work travel to an end. The move follows ongoing challenges pinch profitability, delays, and a shortage of suitable rolling stock. SJ’s main competitor connected nan route, Snälltåget, plans to measurement successful and grow its services to capable nan spread near by SJ’s withdrawal.

The Challenges Faced by SJ

While nan nighttime train work betwixt Sweden and Germany was celebrated among passengers, it has faced respective operational hurdles. Since launching successful 2022, nan work has struggled to execute profitability, contempt nan subsidies. Issues specified arsenic delays, difficulties pinch obtaining rolling banal approvals, and nan precocious operational costs of nan long-distance way person made nan work challenging for SJ to sustain. The work besides faced a important shortage of disposable coaches successful Europe, and nan request for support to run trains done Denmark added an further furniture of complexity.

“The agelong way and constricted seating capacity person been awesome challenges,” said Christer Litzell, SJ’s business manager. The process of securing support for rolling banal from Denmark was different issue. “Half of nan couchette cars were approved, but nan different half were not, contempt being identical,” he added. It took complete 2 years for each nan required approvals to beryllium successful place.

Snälltåget to Expand its Services

With SJ’s exit, Snälltåget, owned by Transdev, is group to summation its work offerings, peculiarly during nan quieter November-March play erstwhile request is lower. Snälltåget has been operating nighttime trains since 2007 and has managed to stay profitable without relying connected subsidies, dissimilar SJ.

“We’ve been moving nighttime trains without subsidies for years, and we understand what our customers want,” said Carl Adam Holmberg, CEO of Snälltåget. The institution has developed a business exemplary focused connected customer needs and cost-effectiveness, thing Holmberg believes SJ has not had to see owed to its subsidized operations.

Snälltåget’s attack differs from SJ’s successful that it uses couchette cars for its nighttime trains, which tin accommodate much passengers than sleeper compartments. Holmberg noted that customers are often unwilling to salary nan higher unsubsidized prices for sleeper berths, which is why couchette cars are much applicable for Snälltåget’s services.

RDC Germany to Continue Operating Service

Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) Germany, which has collaborated pinch SJ for nan German information of nan nighttime train service, besides plans to proceed operating nan afloat Berlin-Hamburg-Stockholm way independently aft SJ pulls out. RDC is preparing to return complete nan operations connected nan German side, ensuring that nan work remains intact, moreover arsenic SJ shifts its attraction to different routes successful Scandinavia.

Snälltåget welcomes nan title but insists that it should run nether nan aforesaid conditions, arsenic this will foster a healthy, sustainable marketplace for nighttime train services. “We are happy to person competition, arsenic agelong arsenic it is adjacent and based connected nan aforesaid commercialized conditions,” Holmberg said.

The Future of Night Trains successful Scandinavia

Despite nan challenges faced by SJ, nan determination to retreat from nan Germany-Sweden nighttime train work signals a displacement successful attraction for nan company. Litzell explained that SJ would attraction much connected location connections betwixt Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen, pinch Copenhagen being nan “gateway” to Europe. SJ has nary contiguous plans to resume nighttime train services to Germany.

The departure of SJ from nan way presents some challenges and opportunities for different operators for illustration Snälltåget and RDC, who now person nan chance to grow their services and seizure a larger stock of nan nighttime train marketplace betwixt Sweden and Germany. The evolving scenery of nan nighttime train assemblage successful Scandinavia reflects nan ongoing struggle to equilibrium operational costs pinch customer expectations, while besides facing nan pressures of title and changing backing models.