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Travelling by night train in Sweden - our experience with a sleeping car

What is it like travelling by night train in Sweden? We took a sleeper train from Lund to Stockholm on our way home from our sailing trip in Poland and Germany. This is the first time we have travelled by sleeper in a very, very long time and here are our experiences.

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Travelling by night train in Sweden

I (Helena) travelled a lot on night trains in Sweden when I was younger. For example, I went to the mountains a few times with my parents. When I was a bit older, I travelled by night train from Stockholm to Kiruna, and then continued to the North Cape by minibus. Now it was time again for the first time in ages!

On the way down to the sailing trip in Poland, we travelled regular daytime train. When we returned from the sailing trip, we took the night train up to Stockholm. The interesting thing was that it felt like nothing had changed.

Nattåg i Sverige

Pushchair, pram or sleeper?

When travelling by night train in Sweden, you can book a seat carriage, couchette carriage or sleeper carriage. The couchette car has six beds, the comfort is a bit more basic and you make your own bed. The sleeping cars have three ready-made beds. You can also choose between first and second class, sleep in a mixed compartment, single-sex compartment or book your own compartment.

We chose a sleeping car (2nd class) and booked a compartment for ourselves as we wanted to have good conditions to sleep well - I was going straight from the train to work!

sovvagn på nattåg i Sverige

Beds in a sleeping car

There were three beds in our compartment, and we used the bottom two. To crawl up to the top one you have to make a bit of an effort, but there is a ladder ... In both the middle and upper bed you can tighten a small safety net so you don't fall out. And maybe that's a good thing, considering that the train heaves a lot!

Säng på nattåg i sovvagn i Sverige
Säng i sovvagn på nattåg i Sverige

Storage and electrical outlets in sleeping car

There was a small strap in the compartment so we could secure at least one of our suitcases. There were also electrical outlets so we could charge our mobile phones.

Förvaring i kupé
Ladda mobilen på nattåg i Sverige

Sink and toilet

Inside the compartment we had a sink. In the bathroom cabinet there were also six small tetra packs of drinking water, as well as mugs.

Handfat i sovvagnen
Vatten vid handfatet

We had a toilet in the corridor. Apparently there was a shower room somewhere too, but we managed with some water and deodorant, haha. Note the wooden walls and the thermometer, which seems to be from a bygone era. Maybe there are more modern night trains in Sweden too, what do we know?

Toalett på nattåg i Sverige

How did we feel about travelling by night train in Sweden?

I (Helena) slept really well, although I woke up a few times when we were turning and thought I was on a sailboat. Peter found it difficult to sleep, because of the twists and turns.

I have to admit that I was a bit surprised that the night train looked exactly like it did when I last travelled, some 20 years ago. On the other hand, we weren't really missing anything, and I was pretty well rested when I got to work. And as I said, there might be newer night trains as well.

Have you ever travelled by night train in Sweden and what did you think?

Nattåg i Sverige

Facts about night trains in Sweden

  • Lines: Night trains in Sweden run Göteborg/Stockholm-Östersund, Åre, Duved and Göteborg/Stockholm-Boden, Luleå, Kiruna, Abisko, Björkliden, Riksgränsen, Narvik and Stockholm-Malmö.
  • Electricity/WiFi: Electrical outlets are available in all compartments. WiFi is being introduced and is available in some couchette and sleeper carriages.
  • Pets: Pets are allowed in the animal compartment in the seating carriage and in dedicated sleeping carriages.
  • Smoking: Smoking is not allowed on board night trains in Sweden.

The compartments of night trains in Sweden

  • Doors and locks: unlocking the door of the sleeping compartment and the shower compartment with the key cards provided in the compartment. 
  • Embedding: In the sleeping carriages, the beds are made up and in the couchette carriages you can make your own bed with bedding provided in the compartment.
  • Luggage: Both sleeping and couchette cars have luggage racks. In most carriages it is also possible to store luggage in luggage compartments in the corridors. However, luggage may not be stored elsewhere in the corridor. You are responsible for your own luggage.

Shower and toilet

  • Sleeping car: In the sleeping car, the shower and toilet are in the compartment (1 class) or at the end of the corridor (2 class). The key to the shower is in the compartment, as are the towels.
  • Caravan: In the caravan you will find a toilet at the end of the corridor.

Service on night trains in Sweden

  • Waking up/sleeping in: You can request a wake-up call if you wish, otherwise you will be woken up about 30 minutes before arrival. On some trains it is possible to stay overnight after arrival.
  • Food and drink: If there is a bistro on the train, it is usually open between 06:30 and 23:00. Check the SJ website to see what applies on your train. If you are travelling in a 1 class compartment or with a Gold Card, breakfast is included in the bistro.
  • Other: There is a button in the cabin to contact staff.
  • Read more: You can find more information at SJ website.

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