Overview

• Sweden’s Trafikverket and the government will not renew the four-year contract that pays 95 million SEK annually for the Hamburg–Stockholm leg, ending on July 31, 2026.
• SJ says it will cease operating the Berlin–Hamburg–Stockholm sleeper when the agreement ends, citing a lack of commercial viability without subsidies.
• RDC Deutschland announced on Monday that it will continue the Berlin–Hamburg–Stockholm connection beyond summer 2026 as a privately run service.
• Snälltåget, which already runs seasonal Dresden–Berlin–Stockholm trains, plans to add departures if SJ withdraws and has applied to operate in November and December next year.
• SJ also pointed to lengthy Danish approvals for seat and sleeper cars and pressure from airlines as obstacles, reflecting wider cuts to night-train support reported in countries such as Switzerland and France.