This is the crown jewel of rail traffic, says SJ's business manager Jan Kyrk.
But it's a jewel that needs polishing. Passengers are promised better punctuality, cleaner trains, and renovated carriages.
To start with, the trains will be thoroughly cleaned.
It will take some time. We'll be able to handle maybe five-six carriages a week and there are 75 carriages, says Jan Kyrk.
The daily cleaning of the trains will also become more thorough, he promises.
Longer stops
Punctuality will increase by changing the timetable, so that the margin for passengers with connecting trains becomes larger.
This means longer stops, for example, for passengers from Malmö or Gothenburg who want to catch the night train northbound in Stockholm.
Furthermore, the really long trains that run when many people want to travel, for example around Christmas and New Year's or during sports holidays, will be operated with two locomotives.
With two locomotives pulling the train, we'll get fewer damages on the locomotives, they won't wear out as much, and we'll get better punctuality since we'll get better acceleration, simply put.
The carriages, owned by the Swedish Transport Administration, are old and worn out. New ones will be purchased, but it's expected to take several years before they're in place. SJ has suggested that the old carriages should be renovated in the meantime, including toilets and ventilation.
"Developing really well"
We've received a response on that. We feel fairly confident that the Swedish Transport Administration will think this is good and that it will be implemented, says Jan Kyrk.
Since 2020, the night traffic on the route has been operated by Norwegian-owned Vy, but the company decided in the spring to withdraw from the contract and then SJ was asked.
We think this is fantastic traffic and night train travel is developing really well, says Jan Kyrk.
