Oslo to Gothenburg 26 June 2025

[Henffordd]

I'm busy booking rail tickets for a trip: UK - Norway - Sweden and back to UK. No problem with most of it, but I am only being offered a bus for this bit. Tried Entur, VY and SJ sites (Thanks to Seat61!).

Is there something I should know?

Edit: Ah, found answer. Works on the Swedish part of the line that week - Halden to Gothenburg. However, it's the Norwegian site that gives me the answer...

 

[rvdborgt]

There will be engineering works:

https://www.vy.no/en/traffic-and-routes/traffic-info-for-train-and-bus

"Trafikverket is carrying out work on the line between Halden–Göteborg from Saturday 21 Jun at 00:00 to Monday 30 Jun at 07:00. If you are traveling all the way to or from Gothenburg while the work is in progress, we refer you to bus line 600 with Vy Bus4You."

I asked Vy last week how Interrail passes work on this bus line.

 

[JonasB]

Another option might be train/bus to Strömstad, bus to Halden and then train to Oslo.

 

[Henffordd]

Another option might be train/bus to Strömstad, bus to Halden and then train to Oslo.

Thanks! However, I'm going the other way. And, being lazy, I just booked the bus that both Entur and SJ offered. Three and a half hours of RRB, but I expect the scenery might be interesting.

 

[rvdborgt]

I asked Vy last week how Interrail passes work on this bus line.

They don't feel like offering anything:

During the periods affected by engineering works between Halden and Gothenburg, we refer passengers to Vy Bus4You line 600 as an alternative for travel to or from Gothenburg. However, it's important to note that Interrail passes are not valid on Vy Bus4You, as this is a commercial coach service and not part of the Interrail agreement.
We have chosen not to provide rail replacement buses due to there already being a well-established express coach network in place, and adding extra buses would contribute to unnecessary road traffic and environmental impact

 

[RailWonderer]

Thanks! However, I'm going the other way. And, being lazy, I just booked the bus that both Entur and SJ offered. Three and a half hours of RRB, but I expect the scenery might be interesting.

It's very pleasant with rolling hills and birch trees and the Oslofjord the other side, at least the Oslo - Fredrikstad section is.

 

[nwales58]

I've just found it's far worse than this if you are trying to do Hamburg to Norway.

Göteborg-Oslo, as above, is closed with no RRB 29/05 until 01/06 and 21 till 29/06.

Via Kongsvinger is RRB Karlstad-Kongsvinger over a longer period, though sometime with through trains after 1800.

Malmö-Göteborg is RRB north of Falkenberg (1h30) 09/06-13/07. SJ's 3 X2000/X55 services run via Alvesta taking 1h30 longer.

Hamburg-Copenhagen is RRB Fredericia-Slagelse (2h) 12/07-03/08.

If you want the normal service throughout you are limited to:
the next week until 28/05
one week in June: 02-06-08/06
never in July
then 04/08 onwards.

Further north, avoid Saturdays on Oslo-Trondheim when there are only 2 trains some full already (there are 25 flights a day so probably noone notices the lack of trains).

!

 

[Henffordd]

Thanks, @nwales58, for this. Looks as though, more by luck than judgement, we will miss most of these.

Our route to Norway will be via Hamburg, Hirtsals and the ferry to Bergen (seen the thread on Hirstals - Hamburg). Coming south, we will be staying with friends in Småland for a few days, so branch line from Göteborg to Hestra, and then hoping our friends will take us down to Halmstad (branch line to Halmstad doesn't make any useful connection): booked from there to Hamburg. Misses Falkenberg.

Oh, and SJ claim it's not an RRB, but a scheduled coach. We'll see....

 

[JonasB]

Malmö-Göteborg is RRB north of Falkenberg (1h30) 09/06-13/07. SJ's 3 X2000/X55 services run via Alvesta taking 1h30 longer.

There is a bit of major construction in Varberg. The line through Varberg is one of two remaining single track portions of the West Coast line. A new double track tunnel under the town has been built and in June and early July everything will be closed in order to connect the tunnel and the new station with the existing double tracks north and south of Varberg. It will reduce travel times a bit, and lead to a much needed increase in capacity by removing a bottleneck.

Coming south, we will be staying with friends in Småland for a few days, so branch line from Göteborg to Hestra, and then hoping our friends will take us down to Halmstad (branch line to Halmstad doesn't make any useful connection): booked from there to Hamburg. Misses Falkenberg.

Not sure which Hestra you mean, but if you can fit the Värnamo-Halmstad line in your plan, it is a line that has its charm.

 

[Henffordd]

Not sure which Hestra you mean, but if you can fit the Värnamo-Halmstad line in your plan, it is a line that has its charm.

Thanks! Indeed it has. Last time we visited our Swedish friends we used it - had done a big loop from Stockholm via Gallivare and the Inlandsbanen (the cinnamon cakes were excellent). However the service now seems less good, or at least doesn't work for us.