New night train planned between Sweden and Switzerland

Good news for all those who enjoy environmentally friendly train travel and prefer to travel from A to B while sleeping: Europe could get a new night train connection as early as spring 2026. For the first time in over ten years, a direct night train will connect Switzerland with Sweden – likely via various cities in Germany and the Danish capital, Copenhagen . Here's what we can already reveal to travelers:

As the portal"Nordiskbil.com" reports, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the German railway company Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) are planning a new night train connection between Basel, Switzerland, and Malmö, southern Sweden. It's highly likely that this route will also run through Germany, but exact stations have not yet been announced. The only certainty is that the night train will stop in Copenhagen.

It is currently not clear exactly how long the journey will take, but it is expected to take between 13 and 14 hours.

The new night train between Central Europe and Scandinavia is scheduled to begin operations in spring 2026. Timetables and booking options are expected to be available online by the end of 2025.

SBB spokeswoman Sabrina Schellenberg told the Danish newspaper Politiken that they want to reintroduce direct night train service between Scandinavia and Central Europe, especially since there is a lot of untapped potential there. The "demand for cross-border night trains" is high. Currently, there are night trains from Germany to Stockholm , for example, from Hamburg and Berlin , but not from Switzerland.

The only catch: Financing for the new project and regulatory approvals from the participating countries are still pending! This means travelers may have to wait longer until the new night train actually starts rolling.

According to the portal "Nordiskbil," the new night train connection is attractive to both holidaymakers and business travelers. It could also connect to existing night train lines operated by SBB and its partners in Central and Southern Europe, thus opening up further travel-friendly alternatives to short-haul flights.

The direct connection to Switzerland will improve the connection of Sweden and Denmark to important rail hubs in Germany, Austria , Italy andFrance .

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travel reporter