unsaveSave
GOTHENBURG. This spring, the night train service between Gothenburg and Norrland will be stopped.
SJ states that the route is too unprofitable – but 75,000 travelers rage against the decision.
– The state and government must step in, says Linnea Granqvist, 31.
In mid-August, the announcement came – SJ is closing the night train service between Gothenburg and Umeå, Östersund, Åre and Duved in 2025. The trains, which leave Gothenburg’s central station at 7.30pm on weekday evenings and arrive in Umeå and Östersund respectively around breakfast time the following morning, have been run SJ for many years.
At the home of Linnea Granqvist, 31, in Östersund, anger was aroused. She has both family and friends in Gothenburg and has taken the night train many times.
– I was so irritated, frustrated and angry, she says.
She is going to Gothenburg herself for a birthday party in November and has booked travel on the night train.
– I wouldn’t have been able to make that trip without taking time off from my job otherwise. This makes it possible to travel between Gothenburg and Östersund in a completely different way.
expand-left
full screen By spring, there will be no more night train traffic between Gothenburg and Norrland. Photo: Carolina Byrmo
Collected 75,000 names – gaining political support
After the announcement from the Swedish Transport Administration, Linnea started writing an email to infrastructure minister Andreas Carlson (KD). But then she felt that it would be better to show that there are many people who agree with her.
The last time the night trains between Gothenburg and Norrland were threatened, Linnea’s brother started a petition. She decided to do the same – collect as many signatures as possible in support of continued night train services, and hand over the list to the government.
– I understand that SJ cannot run things that are not profitable. Then the state and the government have to step in, says Linnea Granqvist.
expand-left
full screen Linnea Granqvist, 31, has collected 75,000 names in support of continued night train traffic between Gothenburg and northern Sweden. Photo: Private
Her petition was a huge success. Just over a month after the start, she has collected over 75,000 names in support under the title “Save the night trains between Gothenburg and northern Sweden”.
On her side, she has tourism entrepreneurs, work commuters and leisure travelers.
– There are people who have called, written on Messenger and got in touch to say how important the night trains are to them. There are many who talk about visiting their family, children and grandchildren, and others who say that this is necessary to be able to continue working at their job.
At the departure board at Gothenburg’s central station, Helén Eliasson (S), chairman of the regional board in the Västra Götaland region, looks for departures to northern Sweden without results.
– And it looks like it will become even more sparse, she says.
Eliasson and her political colleagues from right to left have sent one joint letter to the government and the Swedish Transport Administration in the matter. They want to see a solution that stops the closure.
– They destroy much of what we want to do as a region to increase travel by train. The message has been very sad and boring. Many people are upset and that is probably why so many parties stand up for this.
FACT Stop for the night train traffic between West Sweden and Northern Sweden
• From the turn of the year, traffic between Gothenburg and Umeå will be stopped.
• In April 2025, the night train service between Gothenburg and Jämtland will also be phased out.
• The announcement came in mid-August 2024.
• SJ states that the low profitability is the problem.
• In an email to Aftonbladet, the Swedish Transport Administration explains why it is generally difficult to achieve profitability on night train routes: “Few passengers can fit in a sleeping car and a high occupancy rate is probably required on all departures”.
Read more The proposal: Change trains in Stockholm
In recent years, SJ has operated the route even though it has not been procured, and the train company believes that the Swedish Transport Administration should procure info close procure The Swedish Transport Administration has the option of purchasing traffic on routes that lack commercial routes. This means that the authority steps in and assists with financing to the actor who can run the route at the best possible price. it to create financing because it is difficult to get profitability in night train operations.
– If we are to continue, we need government support in the same way as we get for the night trains between Stockholm and Jämtland, said Jan Kyrk, business manager at SJ, in connection with the announcement of the closure to Järnvägar.se.
The Swedish Transport Administration, for its part, believes that there is no reason to procure the route because there are already good travel opportunities between Gothenburg and Stockholm, where travelers can then change trains and travel on with the night train towards northern Sweden.
The authority’s mission in terms of procurement means that basic accessibility must be procured for routes that lack a commercial basis.
– Since the Swedish Transport Administration already procures night train traffic from Stockholm to Duved, Jämtland has basic availability with night trains, writes Lennart Kalander, head of department for national planning at the Swedish Transport Administration, in an email to Aftonbladet.
For those who want to travel by night train from Östersund to Gothenburg with a change in Stockholm, on a weekday in October 2024 it means a change time of around 90 minutes in Stockholm – between 05:04 and 06:33 in the morning.
– Should people choose the night train instead of the flight, if we want environmentally friendly travel, then there needs to be flexibility. It is quite convenient to stay and sleep until 7.30–8.00, instead of getting up at 05 when you got on a train at 21.30 the night before, says Linnea Granqvist.
Will have a meeting with the minister
When Aftonbladet talks to Linnea Granqvist, she is out on a two-week train trip. At the moment she has been hiking in Corsica and is waiting for a further train. But on Monday she will be back home in Sweden – and then she will go straight to Stockholm.
There awaits the submission of the nomination to Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson.
– My goal is for us to keep the night train traffic. Yes, it has taken some time to arrange a meeting, but I hope we can have a good dialogue, says Linnea Granqvist.
The nice train has previously stated that the company is interested in starting seasonal traffic between Gothenburg and northern Sweden, even if weekday traffic is not part of those plans. The infrastructure minister states in an email to Aftonbladet that he is interested in the development of those plans.
He further writes that Swedish railway traffic “must be operated on a commercial basis” and regards the collection of names as an expression of something positive.
“With more passengers, the interest and incentives can increase for those actors who could possibly take over the route for commercial traffic,” writes Andreas Carlson (KD).