Sweden and trains

[earlyr1ser]

Hi there, has anyone on here got experience of travelling long-distance on Swedish trains? We have been to Sweden before & completely love it, but were wondering this year whether to use rail rather than flying for the internal flight to our destination (Åre, the north) - possibly even using the overnight sleeper from Stockholm.

Like many people I much prefer trains to planes, but a quick look at Tripadvisor has given me a proper fright! My rational mind is telling me that only people who have had a terrible experience on the trains in Sweden are going to go to the effort of writing a Tripadvisor review, but before making up my mind, I would really appreciate any information, good or bad, from Mumsnetters. Thanks very much.

what do the reviews complain. about?

Cancellations, dirty trains (yuk), poor customer service. But I do know that a lot of Swedish people do choose to use them for holiday travel and some speak very highly about them. Feeling a bit confused.

Don't have experience of them myself, but seat61.com is always worth delving into as it's a mine of information where train travel is concerned.

I've been on trains in Sweden a few times and can't say anything bad about them.

If you google "reviews trains UK" the links are all filled with 1 star reviews and people complaining non stop. But whilst trains in the UK can be frustrating at times they are not that bad. I suspect the vast majority of journeys are fine but nobody bothers to review a train unless they have had a miserable time.

I'm in sweden hence the user name and not had any problems with train use! Travelled to both Stockholm and
Malmo, always on time, clean and lots of staff that are helpful! Sometimes you may end up on a slower train which stops at lots of stations but if you want to see different parts of sweden then that would be perfect! Certainly better and cheaper than the uk

I've done the overnight sleeper from Stockholm to Storlien, which is two stops on from Åre. It was fine; very congenial - although I'll point out that a) I was with a group of friends and a pack of beers and b) I'm very used to travelling on European night trains, Interailing and generally being on long-distance trains in Europe that have compartments (like the trains used to have years ago in the UK). In my experience, people are friendly, service and facilities are OK and the journey is what you make it.

It's a train, not a 5* luxury hotel, and nothing beats waking up having already almost arrived at your destination. It appears that the Stockholm - Åre night train leaves at 22.35 so you have time to eat before the journey, and arrives at 08.59, so if the breakfast on the train hasn't been sufficient you can head to the nearest bakery for coffee and kanelbullar.

Thanks so much everybody for the helpful advice! :)

I've had great experiences on their trains. Wide seats, on time, decent snacks, wifi.

I took the night train from Stockholm to Luleå (in the north) some years ago. It was great. We got a small private cabin with two bunk beds and a sink - similar to overnight trains in the UK I think. I didn't hear much from the other passengers.

I'm also curious as to what Tripadvisor says now! The train was clean, on time and we easily bought our tickets online.

Well - we did it! Not sure I would be keen to repeat the experience tbh. The buffet car was cancelled for the (nine-hour) southward journey, cue a rush to get supplies in before the train arrived. By the end of both journeys as well, all of the lavatories except for one were out of action, presumably for sanitary reasons as they were not serviced along the way. The one remaining working one was in a remarkably decent state, despite the overflowing hand-towel bin etc - the equivalent scenario in the UK would have been Trainspotting-like.

On the upside: seats were comfy, train was warm (despite -15 degrees outside), staff were jolly and fellow travellers mostly lovely - tho' I did have to hide in a different carriage from a beardy man who hit on me at one point.

Felt more like the kind of thing that would perhaps have been fun when travelling as a student. The children managed pretty well all things considered, but the very thought of having to deal with a meltdown in that kind of setting gives me the cold sweats.

Skiiing holiday was FAB however.