EuroNight Basel-Malmö from April 2026

[U-Bahnfreund]

Did the Swedish, Danish or German government consider subsidies at all?

German government categorically doesn't subsidise long distance trains of any kind

 

[doc7austin]

Important !
Download your PDF ticket now to be able to claim passenger rights (e.g. free rebooking onto other carriers).
I expect that SBB/ÖBB will block the tickets in their systems any minute now.

 

[AdamWW]

Important !
Download your PDF ticket now to be able to claim passenger rights (e.g. free rebooking onto other carriers).
I expect that SBB/ÖBB will block the tickets in their systems any minute now.

From a contractual point of view does that really get them off the hook once they've taken your money?

 

[popeter45]

Important !
Download your PDF ticket now to be able to claim passenger rights (e.g. free rebooking onto other carriers).
I expect that SBB/ÖBB will block the tickets in their systems any minute now.

eh i booked with interrail so kind of already have free rebooking, prob will be a Daytime ICE to Hamburg then DSB Talgo to Copenhagen
should i cancel myself on OBB's website or wait for OBB to contact me?

 

[rvdborgt]

eh i booked with interrail so kind of already have free rebooking, prob will be a Daytime ICE to Hamburg then DSB Talgo to Copenhagen
should i cancel myself on OBB's website or wait for OBB to contact me?

That depends on what you want. They're obliged to give you a threefold choice, see EU Regulation 2021/782, article 18(1). I'm curious what they'll offer, but if you're taking a day train after the cancelled night train, then they'll have to refund your hotel and pay compensation for the delay (€24 for Interrail, 50% on the pass reservation).
For now, I'd just wait. You can always get a full refund, normally until 3 months after the journey date. You may also want to use another night train instead, e.g. Basel-Hamburg, still with the connecting DSB Talgo. IMO this is reasonable rerouting and should be offered without additional costs.

From a contractual point of view does that really get them off the hook once they've taken your money?

No that doesn't, but it's easier arguing when you can show the actual ticket/reservation you bought. They're not allowed to cancel the contract of carriage without the passenger's consent. They first have to offer the threefold choice. I wouldn't be surprised though, unfortunately, if they refund all passengers without asking regardless.

 

[doc7austin]

I assume that both SBB and ÖBB will cancel the tickets, essentially voiding the contract of carriage. That is not ok.

There is intensive debate in other forums.
99% of the route Malmö-Basel is covered by the EU passenger rights legislation.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32021R0782

Article 18

Reimbursement and re-routing
1. Where it is reasonably to be expected, either at departure or in the event of a missed connection or a cancellation, that arrival at the final destination under the transport contract will be subject to a delay of 60 minutes or more, the railway undertaking operating the delayed or cancelled service shall immediately offer the passenger the choice between one of the following options, and shall make the necessary arrangements:

(a)

reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket, under the conditions by which it was paid, for the part or parts of his or her journey not made and for the part or parts already made if the journey is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger’s original travel plan, together with, when relevant, a return service to the first point of departure at the earliest opportunity;

(b)	continuation or re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to the final destination at the earliest opportunity;

(c)	continuation or re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to the final destination at a later date at the passenger’s convenience.

The railway undertaking operating the cancelled service" is NEITHER SBB, NOR ÖBB.
It is BTE BahnTouristikExpress GmbH Fürther Str. 27 90429 Nürnberg, Germany
Their code 3510 is printed on the ticket.

In my eyes, BTE is ultimately liable to fulfil EU passenger rights. Again, in other forums it is claimed that the ticket seller is responsible and not the railway undertaking operating the cancelled service. I don't agree with that assessment.

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

Jon Worth has written a blog post on the debacle.

For governments that have to take a decision to finance an overnight route, it would be easier to justify backing a service that runs every night (not just 3x a week), that would have both tourist and business traveller appeal, and solid reliability, and decent capacity and economies of scale, than it would to back a small irregular train cobbled together from carriages saved from the scrap heap.

A little short term subsidy for this or that route is no way to support night trains – lessons from the end of Basel-Malmö before it even started

So there will not be a Basel - Malmö night train from the spring of 2026. Switzerland's parliament did not approve the subsidy to allow it to run. Without the 10 million CHF the parliament refused to grant to get this going (from a wider fund of 47 million CHF [...]

jonworth.eu

 

[JonasB]

Did the Swedish, Danish or German government consider subsidies at all?

The current Swedish government does not want to spend money on trains.

 

[doc7austin]

Update on the canceled EuroNight train from Malmö to Basel:
SBB confirms that ticket holders can opt for alternative transport from Sweden to Switzerland instead of a full refund.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/drehscheibe/s/X3j80hBsXR