Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
I'm planning a February trip from Lulea to Narvik by the daytime intercity train breaking the journey at Abiskoturistation, an unstaffed halt, continuing the next day on the morning overnight sleeper from Stockholm.
Query 1: Given that temperatures are literally -15c in the daytime, is there a reliable train tracker in Sweden? I'd rather not be stuck waiting on the platform if the train runs late.
Query 2: What's the punctuality record of the Stockholm- Narvik sleeper? I have a 90 minute connection at Narvik to a bus connection.
In relation to your second question I've experienced an eight-hour delay on the northbound sleeper when the weather was extremely cold, so it's worth having a Plan B.
I've seen a few YouTube videos of people going from Stockholm to Narvik (there's also one with someone going from London, via Brussels, Cologne & Hamburg which was quite a mission but looked pretty good - and the only delay was as you might expect, the German ICE train journey).
As for temperature, if you layer up then -15C will be just fine and very comfortable. Assuming no biting wind at least. But as said above, always plan different options because these trains cover a very long distance and I guess that makes a risk of delay higher (although at the same time, there are fewer trains). On one of the videos I saw, there was a rail replacement bus service that must have taken hours!
I'm planning a February trip from Lulea to Narvik by the daytime intercity train breaking the journey at Abiskoturistation, an unstaffed halt, continuing the next day on the morning overnight sleeper from Stockholm.
Query 1: Given that temperatures are literally -15c in the daytime, is there a reliable train tracker in Sweden? I'd rather not be stuck waiting on the platform if the train runs late.
Query 2: What's the punctuality record of the Stockholm- Narvik sleeper? I have a 90 minute connection at Narvik to a bus connection.
I'm planning a February trip from Lulea to Narvik by the daytime intercity train breaking the journey at Abiskoturistation, an unstaffed halt, continuing the next day on the morning overnight sleeper from Stockholm.
For the avoidance of any disappointment, all stations in northern Sweden are unstaffed! Even the cities of Luleå and Umeå, where private security firms are contracted to open and close the doors and provide visible presence when there are night train departures and arrivals.
Query 1: Given that temperatures are literally -15c in the daytime, is there a reliable train tracker in Sweden? I'd rather not be stuck waiting on the platform if the train runs late.
Abisko turiststation has a heated waiting room. I think that all the stations on the Malmban between Narvik and Kiruna do, because of the climate. However, if it’s a really long delay, the STF hostel is a short walk away, and the reception area and restaurant is available. Since you’ll probably be staying overnight there, it’s no problem for guests to wait for a delayed train in the common areas.
Very hard to predict. We had about two continuous weeks of cancelled trains in January because of winter storms and extended periods of -35° (the cutoff for cancelling trains).
But at least you will get to ride the train on its current schedule. From 13 April 2026, traffic will be reduced after the Swedish Transport Administration decided that the night train between Stockholm and Luleå will be shortened to Umeå and the night trains between Stockholm and Narvik will only run to Luleå.
A new procurement is underway, starting in December 2026. It calls for a night train Stockholm and Umeå and a night train Stockholm and Narvik with carriages to and from Luleå.
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
As an addendum, SJ’s app and website is great, but the live train info doesn’t show all operators. Since VR took over Norrtåg operations a month ago, I’ve noticed that SJ have dropped Norrtåg from their live traffic info.
1409 is good but the map can be glitchy. The train and station info is as accurate as Trafikverket’s own data.
Where are you taking the bus to from Narvik? If it's Tromso loads of people miss that one off of the Stockholm sleeper train but there is another bus a few hours later.
Re Abisko, I would get off at the east station (Ostra) as the waiting area at the station has much better facilities and the supermarket is just 200 metres away.
There are more options there too with Abisko.net & Huskies being my favourite. it's the cheapest place to stay being a hostel and it's 700 metres from the station with the train tracks running right by.
Where are you taking the bus to from Narvik? If it's Tromso loads of people miss that one off of the Stockholm sleeper train but there is another bus a few hours later.
Re Abisko, I would get off at the east station (Ostra) as the waiting area at the station has much better facilities and the supermarket is just 200 metres away.
There are more options there too with Abisko.net & Huskies being my favourite. it's the cheapest place to stay being a hostel and it's 700 metres from the station with the train tracks running right by.
Heading for Harstad for the hurtigruten the next day. There's two buses in the afternoon, 90 and 150 minutes after the train arrives at Narvik. It's a 2 hr bus ride so a taxi would be very expensive but feasible last resort!
I'm flying to Evenes airport to get to Narvik and onto Abisko in early March myself.
My worst experience was when I arrived back into Stockholm nine hours late ( on a sixteen hour journey) and missed my flight.
I thought that the railway company would cover the cost of the new flight but their policy was to refund fifty per cent of the journey that you were making so they gave me 40 euros back.(Cheers then).
I'm flying to Evenes airport to get to Narvik and onto Abisko in early March myself.
My worst experience was when I arrived back into Stockholm nine hours late ( on a sixteen hour journey) and missed my flight.
I thought that the railway company would cover the cost of the new flight but their policy was to refund fifty per cent of the journey that you were making so they gave me 40 euros back.(Cheers then).
A good reason to have a decent travel insurance policy! Make sure you have "missed departure" cover, which usually covers things like a mega train delay, leading to a missed flight.
Check your buses from Evenes to Narvik. The airport service costs around £25 and only coincides with the larger aircraft. The 200/300 costs around £5 and takes the same time but is only about 3 times a day. If hopping around on the Wideroe routes you might have a multi-hour wait at Evenes. If arriving late there is a hotel about 1km walk away at the service station on the main road, the 200/300 stop there too.
What will be the timetable for Narvik once it's just a branch off the Lulea? Will it arrive at Stockholm at the current Lulea train time at like 6.30 AM?
What will be the timetable for Narvik once it's just a branch off the Lulea? Will it arrive at Stockholm at the current Lulea train time at like 6.30 AM?
No, it’ll normally be around 10.15. Schedules are loaded and tickets are on sale for the new timetable from 13 April 2026. It’ll theoretically be possible to arrive earlier in Stockholm 45 minutes earlier if you change in Sundsvall and Gävle.
Check your buses from Evenes to Narvik. The airport service costs around £25 and only coincides with the larger aircraft. The 200/300 costs around £5 and takes the same time but is only about 3 times a day. If hopping around on the Wideroe routes you might have a multi-hour wait at Evenes. If arriving late there is a hotel about 1km walk away at the service station on the main road, the 200/300 stop there too.
Just checked and I bought a ticket via the Entur App on 18/12 for the 300 bus at 12.40 from the airport into Narvik on 10/03 for 33 kr - which was a very reasonable £2.43 for a senior single ticket.
I had a 3 hour delay at midnight waiting for the Northbound sleeper at Örnsköldsvik in April 2017. It was -10ish (I’ve had colder waits in Scotland). It wasn’t ideal, but there was a waiting room and seating on a covered overbridge. For the delay they upgraded me from a shared berth to a private one. Also they provide free coffee and snacks onboard if the train is over an hour late.
My train South was also several hours late. They have a delay repay scheme. It was still a beautiful and enjoyable journey.
When I was on a delayed train to Narvik last year there was an ongoing discussion in the restaurant car with a passenger who was worried about having missed his bus from Narvik (to Lofoten I think). I was pleasantly surprised to see that SJ seemed to be taking responsibility for helping him sort out his onward travel. I guess that's not something they are obliged to do but nice to know it can happen.
No, it’ll normally be around 10.15. Schedules are loaded and tickets are on sale for the new timetable from 13 April 2026. It’ll theoretically be possible to arrive earlier in Stockholm 45 minutes earlier if you change in Sundsvall and Gävle.
Did this route in November - we were quite unlucky with being cancelled at Bergfors and sent back to Kiruna due to OLE issues ahead of us - but otherwise, there’s a LOT of pathing allowance and the like, so a lot of delay can be made up.
Info dissemination is probably better than most companies elsewhere.
Edit: Full ticket refund was sorted within the day, and a coach was put on (which myself and my friends couldn’t take, as we had to go to the airport!)
Regarding the Stockholm to Narvik sleeper, this video may be of interest to you
As you will probably gather from the video title, the journey didn't exactly go to plan, with delays mounting up as the journey progressed, and Narvik passengers having to travel by replacement bus for part of the way (eventually arriving in Narvik 7 hours late)
On the plus side, it is mentioned in the video that the SJ equivalent of Delay Repay was easy to use, and that a full refund was given without any quibbles
I was planning to do Narvik-Lulea on Friday but the line has been closed for another derailment. Does anyone have any insights on timescale before I re plan
I was planning to do Narvik-Lulea on Friday but the line has been closed for another derailment. Does anyone have any insights on timescale before I re plan
At the moment SJ is showing trains running on Friday, while Banenor is just saying that there is a derailment in Sweden and they will come back later when they know more. Buses are running instead, possibly all the way from Boden.
At the moment SJ is showing trains running on Friday, while Banenor is just saying that there is a derailment in Sweden and they will come back later when they know more. Buses are running instead, possibly all the way from Boden.
I'll have to monitor that, it'd be better if the train from Lulea could run as far as Kiruna but maybe the derailment prevents that. Hopefully a bus will run......
Banenor is now saying that the estimated time for things to be sorted out is 12.00 on 19 February. That is from 08.29 (local time) today. The derailment was between Narvik and Bjørnfjell.
Luckily I have an interail so pretty flexible to get to the sleeper at Lulea. Looking at other options makes me realise how bad Norrtag is. All the Haparanda trains cancelled day after day, half the Umea and Kiruna to Lulea trains too. Really bad.
Luckily I have an interail so pretty flexible to get to the sleeper at Lulea. Looking at other options makes me realise how bad Norrtag is. All the Haparanda trains cancelled day after day, half the Umea and Kiruna to Lulea trains too. Really bad.
Norrtåg have not had a good winter. They are consistently 2-3 trains short due to faults and frozen components. When Trafikverket closed lines due to extreme cold over the winter (-35° is generally their threshold) Norrtåg have complained that parking trains leads to frozen bogies, brakes etc. Luleå - Haparanda has been proactively cancelled because it’s an isolated service that’s easily replaced by scheduled bus service. And it has very low ridership.
Separately, I think VR are still bedding in as the new operator. There have been some grumbles from staff (expressed in an anonymous letter in VK, a local newspaper) and ticketing is still a bit shambolic. On-train ticket sales have ended but there’s still no ticketing app to replace the old one that Vy used.
Norrtåg have not had a good winter. They are consistently 2-3 trains short due to faults and frozen components. When Trafikverket closed lines due to extreme cold over the winter (-35° is generally their threshold) Norrtåg have complained that parking trains leads to frozen bogies, brakes etc. Luleå - Haparanda has been proactively cancelled because it’s an isolated service that’s easily replaced by scheduled bus service. And it has very low ridership.
Based on what I've heard and read the cancellations of Luleå - Haparanda are due many trains being serviced at the same time and on many days there are no operational trains left to run. The line to Haparanda has ERTMS signalling and therefore requires a train equipped with ETCS, which limits the suitable trains considerably.
As far as I know, most of Norrtåg's trains have ETCS equipment, so that is usually not a problem. But Norrtåg has a shortage of trains in general which can lead to cancellations. If everything goes as planned they will recieve five more trains later this year which should improve the situation.
Does anyone know what the schedule may be looking like within August? Some days say no tickets, some say trackwork planned, and some september days are available to book...
