At the turn of the year, SJ will shut down the night train service between Gothenburg and Umeå, that was the site Railways first with to tell. Night trains between Gothenburg and Jämtland will also be discontinued in April 2025.
– We will wait there until the ski season is over, says Lina Edström.
The night trains
SJ takes over the night train traffic Stockholm-Luleå/Narvik
Homework for the Swedish Transport Administration after proposals for narrower night trains in the north
This means that travelers who want to move up the country have to change trains in Stockholm.
– We want to continue running the trains from the west coast. We have run commercially now to see if there is a large enough customer base, but it is not profitable. Therefore, we remove the traffic then. We need grants to be able to drive, says Lina Edström.
SJ: “We have done what we can”
The train service between Stockholm and northern Sweden has been procured, which means that SJ receives government support to run the trains. But no such procurement exists from Gothenburg.
– Our hope is that the traffic on this route will be procured, but we have not heard about it. We wish that the Swedish Transport Administration and the government choose to review it again, says Edström.
Already in 2020, the issue was highly topical, but then SJ chose to continue the traffic under its own auspices.
– We do not go with plus. Now the politicians can take it further, we have done what we can, says SJ’s communicator.
Trafikverket: No priority route
– We fully understand that SJ does not want to continue. Now you can take the express train to Stockholm and get on the night train there. We know it’s not popular to change trains, but we’re not allowed to procure. Even if we were to get it, there are higher priority initiatives that we need to do, says Dan Lundholm, manager of the Swedish Transport Administration’s agreement on night train traffic.
Could the night trains on that route ever come back?
– I dare not comment on that. We get a certain budget from the government, we don’t have unlimited money. And the route is not a priority at the moment. It is a political issue in that case, says Lundholm.