From Stockholm to Luleå: A night train that goes without saying.
By Remi and François.
Stockholm Centralstation
It's 9.55 pm. A December evening after Christmas. The night has been dark since 3.00 pm. Our night train should be leaving right now. The SJ (Swedish State Railway Operator) app informs us via push message that our night train to Luleå will be delayed by 30 minutes due to a vehicle malfunction.
Nobody on the platform seems to care. Passengers wait calmly here for the train with their luggage, some with skis.
We are told that the northbound trains often have long delays on departure, but there are just as many reserves in the timetable. The half-hour would easily be made up, which is precisely what happens.
The night trains to the far north
The night train with train number 92 is one of two night trains travelling to the far north this evening. The earlier one travels to Kiruna (Sweden) and on to Narvik (Norway) and has already left Stockholm at 6.09 pm.
Our train, the latter one, runs to Luleå. The route is identical as far as Boden, then the paths separate.
The distances travelled by these night trains are impressive. Travelling from Stockholm to Narvik means covering around 1400 km on rails and the journey takes an impressive 18 hours and 36 minutes. If you were travelling from Stockholm to the south, it would be as far as Frankfurt am Main in Germany.
In winter, these trains are essential due to the long periods of darkness and the harsh weather conditions. Understandably, hardly anyone would consider travelling this route by car at this time of year. It is dark and frosty, and it is always snowing. The railway is, therefore, an important lifeline and stops 19 times before reaching Boden station. People are always getting on and off the train en route.
Older, but well-maintained rolling stock
Older rolling stock from the 1980s is used for these night trains. However, the older vehicles are exceptionally well maintained and have been renovated several times. They are clean and spacious and run quietly.
Something else is striking: The Scandinavian ‘profile’ of the vehicles is generous. The coaches are wider and higher than in the rest of Europe, in Sweden and Norway despite having the same track gauge. This benefits taller people in particular, as the beds are longer.
The so-called ‘Norrland night trains’ have been operated by the state railway SJ again since the timetable change in December 2024, after some contractual wrangling.
Back to the platform in Stockholm
We board the night train, which leaves Stockholm 30 minutes late and heads north. We quickly realise that everything here is carried out with great routine. The passengers don't seem stressed. They stow their skis and luggage in the spacious and unlocked (!) lockers in the corridor and then go to sleep.
If you don't have your own shower in your compartment, you can use the comparatively comfortable showers at the ends of the carriage. There is plenty of space to change and clean towels are stacked up ready for use. Even shower gel is provided.
In the cabins, there is a washbasin with running water and even more towels. If you want to travel cheaply, you can do without a compartment and sit in the coach.
The trains also have a bistro with a great selection of drinks, snacks and hot meals. The prices are extremely moderate, and various preferences and intolerances are catered to. We are in Sweden, after all.
And with this surprisingly quiet start, we climb tiredly into our beds and quickly fall asleep after the ticket check.
The next morning
The following day we wake up with another person in the compartment, a friendly older gentleman from northern Sweden who is travelling back to Luleå and has boarded somewhere along the way. As he looks out of the aisle window, he raves about these trains and explains that they have been around since his childhood and are therefore simply part of the north.
That fits in with our first impression. We are impressed by the naturalness with which people here travel by train. You can literally feel that Sweden (like Norway and Finland) cannot do without night trains. Therefore, they are heavily subsidised by the state and do not have to be re-implemented at great expense, as is the case in the rest of Europe.
After breakfast in the dining car, we reach Boden on time, where we change to the ‘Intercity’ to Kiruna. A proud category for a train that travels through the wilds of Lapland consists of one locomotive with three carriages and stops everywhere anyway, we think with a wink.
The reason why we are not on the direct night train to Kiruna is that the direct train was quickly fully booked. So the demand is there and we are happy about it.
Breathtaking landscapes
The drive to Kiruna is stunning, in the twilight we drive through the sparse forests of Lapland, see several moose and reindeer and the colourful phenomenon of the so-called ‘Pärlemor sky’ (mother-of-pearl sky) pass by.
We excitedly try to capture the colourful sky with our smartphone cameras, open windows and climb around on the seats. Somehow, it doesn't work.
A fellow traveller from Sweden then calmly and matter-of-factly explains to us that you can only capture these colours with your heart, but certainly never with a camera. Of course he is right, so we follow his advice, sit down and enjoy the magical atmosphere.
While it is getting really dark, our Intercity reaches Kiruna on time, our last stop for the day. It's freezing cold outside, and snow has started to fall. For us, the journey was incredible and special, for others it was taken for granted.
Tips
Would you also like to travel on this naturally crazy Norrland night train? Then search for a suitable connection from Switzerland to Hamburg here on Nightride.com.
Book your night train to Hamburg and head on to Sweden from there
Unfortunately, we have not yet implemented the SJ night trains - but we are working on it! For night trains from Hamburg to Stockholm, it's best to check the websites of the Swedish state railway SJ www.sj.se or Snälltåget www.snalltaget.se. The Norrland night trains can be booked directly with SJ www.sj.se.
Do you need more tips for crazy train journeys in Sweden, Norway or Finland? Then check out www.schwedenreis.li (only in German)!
