New international services are beginning to turn a collection of national railway systems into something resembling a Nordic network. The decisive argument may no longer be “plane shame”, but the simple convenience of boarding a train and remaining in the same seat across several countries.
For years, the revival of European rail travel seemed to reach the Nordic region only in fragments. Sweden had international night trains, Denmark served as the railway gateway to continental Europe, and the individual Nordic countries maintained generally extensive domestic networks. Yet crossing borders often remained surprisingly complicated. In 2026, that picture is beginning to change. New direct trains now connect Stockholm with Copenhagen and Hamburg, Malmö with Gothenburg and Oslo, and Copenhagen with Berlin and Prague. Passenger trains have returned to the Finnish–Swedish border after almost four decades, while further services are being prepared that could eventually connect Oslo directly with Copenhagen, Hamburg and Berlin. No single route amounts to a railway revolution. Taken together, however, they reveal something more significant: international rail is returning to the Nordic transport map as a practical system rather than an environmental aspiration.
Finland and Sweden close a missing link
The most symbolically important development may also be the most geographically remote. On 10 August, Finnish operator VR began running passenger trains from Oulu and Kemi through Tornio to Haparanda in Sweden. It was the first regular passenger service across this border since 1988. The timetable provides two return journeys each day, amounting to 28 individual services per week. From Haparanda, passengers can continue on Swedish regional trains towards Luleå and Boden, where connections open the way to Stockholm and the rest of the Swedish network. Timetable coordination is expected to improve further from December. ATN examined the reopening in detail in Finland and Sweden Reconnected by Rail After Nearly Four Decades. Its significance extends far beyond the Tornio–Haparanda border region. Finland has long functioned as a partial railway island. Its 1,524-millimetre track gauge differs from the standard gauge used in Sweden and most of continental Europe, while passenger services to Russia have remained suspended since 2022. Restoring the northern border crossing does not remove the gauge difference or create a through train between Helsinki and Stockholm, but it does restore a passenger corridor into the Scandinavian network. A Helsinki–Stockholm journey over land is now possible, although it remains long and requires several trains. The new service is therefore less a finished solution than the restoration of a missing piece.
A new daytime railway spine across Scandinavia
The clearest transformation is taking place farther south. On 4 May, Snälltåget introduced a direct daytime service from Stockholm through Malmö and Copenhagen to Hamburg. For the first time in years, passengers can travel from the Swedish capital to northern Germany during the day without changing trains. On 15 June, the Swedish operator added another direct service, linking Malmö with Gothenburg and Oslo. The journey takes approximately six and a half hours, following Sweden’s west coast before crossing into Norway. ATN previously covered both the announcement and the launch of the Malmö–Oslo service. What becomes clearer when the routes are considered together is that Malmö is emerging as one of the essential interchange points of Nordic rail. From Malmö, trains run west across the Øresund Bridge to Copenhagen, south towards Hamburg and Berlin, north along Sweden’s west coast to Gothenburg and Oslo, and northeast towards Stockholm. The city is no longer merely a stop between Sweden and Denmark: it is becoming the hinge of an international Scandinavian corridor. The routes also create useful intermediate connections. Hamburg–Copenhagen, Copenhagen–Stockholm, Gothenburg–Malmö and Oslo–Gothenburg may prove more commercially important than the longest end-to-end journeys. That is one of the strengths of an international railway: it does not depend on everyone travelling between its two terminal stations.
Copenhagen becomes the Nordic gateway to Europe
Denmark’s position is equally important. Almost every practical railway journey between Scandinavia and continental Europe passes through the country, making Copenhagen and the Danish main line through Odense, Kolding and Padborg central to the entire Nordic rail revival. Since 1 May, direct ComfortJet trains operated through a partnership involving Czech Railways, Deutsche Bahn and DSB have connected Copenhagen with Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden and Prague.
ATN explored the service in Prague to Copenhagen by Rail: Europe’s Slow Travel Renaissance Reaches the Nordics.
Copenhagen–Berlin currently takes around seven hours, while the complete journey to Prague requires approximately 11 to 13 hours, depending on the timetable. Neither can challenge flying if the comparison is limited to scheduled travel time. The practical calculation is more nuanced. Airports require journeys to and from city centres, early arrival, security controls, boarding procedures and restrictions on luggage. Trains link central stations and allow passengers to work, read, eat or move around during the journey. A direct train adds another advantage: it removes the anxiety associated with missed connections, particularly for families, elderly travellers and visitors carrying substantial luggage. In international rail, eliminating one change can matter almost as much as reducing the journey by an hour.
Night trains survive — but their economics remain fragile
The Nordic railway revival is not confined to daytime services. Snälltåget continues to operate its Stockholm–Copenhagen–Hamburg–Berlin night train, offering seats, shared couchettes and private compartments. Its 2026 timetable is extensive but varies by season, illustrating both the demand for overnight rail and the difficulty of operating it throughout the year. A second Stockholm–Hamburg–Berlin night service is undergoing an important change. SJ’s operation ends on 31 August following the expiry of Swedish public funding. From 1 September, Germany’s RDC Deutschland will continue the route commercially as RDC EuroNight. The continuation prevents the disappearance of an important international connection, but the revised service will generally operate three times per week rather than daily. It is both good news and a warning: travellers clearly want night trains, yet their economics remain difficult, especially when operators face high track-access charges, ageing carriages and seasonal demand. Sleeping-car services require more rolling stock and staff per passenger than ordinary daytime trains. A carriage occupied by beds carries far fewer people than one filled with seats. Night trains must also secure suitable paths through several national networks, often while overnight infrastructure work is taking place. Their return should therefore not be treated as inevitable. Every service that survives depends on a workable combination of passenger demand, public support, rolling-stock availability and international cooperation.
Norway begins to look beyond Sweden
Norway remains the most difficult mainland Nordic country to integrate into European rail. Its mountainous geography, relatively low population density and position on the western edge of Scandinavia make international services slower and more expensive to operate. Most journeys towards continental Europe must first pass through Sweden. The new Malmö–Gothenburg–Oslo train nevertheless gives Norway a stronger place within the emerging network. A much more ambitious service is scheduled to follow in 2028. Vy, DSB and Deutsche Bahn plan to introduce two direct trains in each direction every day between Oslo and Berlin. The route will pass through Gothenburg, Malmö, Copenhagen and Hamburg, using Deutsche Bahn’s new ICE L trains. Vy estimates approximately seven hours between Oslo and Copenhagen and 14 to 15 hours for the full Oslo–Berlin journey. It would be the first direct passenger train between Norway and Denmark in more than 20 years.
ATN covered the announcement in Berlin to Oslo by Train: A New Direct Rail Link Will Connect Germany and Norway in 2028.
The 15-hour end-to-end journey will appeal to a relatively specialised market. The real value will lie in the many city pairs created along the route: Oslo–Copenhagen, Gothenburg–Hamburg, Malmö–Berlin and Copenhagen–Gothenburg among them. Proposals for an additional night train from Oslo towards Copenhagen or Berlin have also entered the regulatory discussion, with a possible start no earlier than December 2026. At present, however, this remains a proposal rather than a confirmed timetable addition.
The unfinished route through central Scandinavia
Another potentially important corridor runs east from Trondheim to the Swedish border at Storlien and onwards through Östersund. The Norwegian Meråker Line was electrified in late 2025, removing a longstanding technical barrier at the border. Electric trains can now operate across the entire corridor rather than changing traction systems on the Norwegian side. Yet infrastructure does not automatically create a passenger service. Proposals for direct Trondheim–Stockholm and Trondheim–Sundsvall trains have struggled to demonstrate sufficient commercial demand, and no regular direct Trondheim–Stockholm service has yet materialised. This is a useful reminder of the difference between a possible route and an operating railway. Tracks, electrification and compatible trains are essential, but so are funding, timetable paths, ticket distribution and enough passengers to sustain the service.
From flygskam to practical choice
Sweden was the centre of the flygskam debate that attracted international attention in 2018 and 2019. Literally translated as “flight shame”, the term described the unease associated with flying despite awareness of aviation’s climate impact. Passenger numbers at Sweden’s ten Swedavia airports fell by approximately 4 per cent in 2019, with domestic traffic declining more sharply. The climate debate was one factor, although taxation, economic conditions and changing business-travel patterns also contributed. The movement succeeded in putting railway travel into public discussion, but it exposed a fundamental weakness: travellers could not choose a convenient train if no convenient train existed. That is what makes 2026 different. The message is moving away from personal guilt and towards a usable product. Travellers are not merely being asked to avoid an aircraft; they are being offered a direct train with city-centre stations, space to move, fewer luggage complications and a journey that can become part of the holiday. This is likely to be a more durable argument than shame. Environmental concern may motivate someone to investigate a railway journey, but convenience determines whether that person books it — and whether they choose it again.
The network is still fragmented
The expansion should not be exaggerated. International Nordic rail continues to suffer from several structural weaknesses:
• Tickets involving multiple operators can be difficult to purchase in a single transaction.
• Passenger protection may be limited when separate tickets are used and a delayed train causes a missed connection.
• Engineering works frequently alter international timetables.
• Some services operate only during part of the year or on selected days.
• Night-train capacity is limited and private compartments can be expensive.
• Finland’s different track gauge prevents conventional through-running into Sweden.
• Low-cost flights remain faster and can be cheaper, particularly for individual travellers booking well in advance.
The European Commission proposed new rules in May 2026 intended to make multi-operator journeys easier to find and purchase as a single transaction, with stronger protection when connections are missed. If adopted and effectively implemented, such measures could be almost as important as the new trains themselves. A railway network is not truly integrated if the passenger must understand its institutional divisions before buying a ticket.
The Fehmarnbelt transformation
The largest physical change is still under construction. The 18-kilometre Fehmarnbelt immersed tunnel will connect Rødbyhavn in Denmark with Puttgarden in Germany through a double-track electrified railway and four-lane road. The rail crossing itself is expected to take approximately seven minutes. Together with upgraded approach lines, the fixed link is designed to reduce Copenhagen–Hamburg rail journeys to around two and a half hours. Its official target remains 2029, although large infrastructure projects are always vulnerable to delays, particularly where their benefits depend on the completion of connecting works in more than one country. When the corridor is complete, it could fundamentally change the competitive position of rail. Copenhagen–Hamburg would become an easy intercity journey, while Stockholm, Gothenburg and Oslo would all gain faster access to Germany and the wider European network. The tunnel will not simply shorten one Danish–German route. It will strengthen the land bridge between Scandinavia and continental Europe.
What about the rest of the Nordic region?
The emerging network cannot encompass the entire Nordic world. Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland have no national railways and necessarily remain dependent on aircraft and ships for international passenger travel. Finland is regaining an overland passenger connection to Sweden, but geography and track gauge still make the route far less straightforward than travelling between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The rail revival is therefore primarily Scandinavian, with Finland becoming increasingly connected at its northern edge. Calling it “Nordic” remains meaningful because of its wider regional consequences, but the benefits will not be evenly distributed.
A network begins to emerge
ATN reported as early as 2023 on the EU-supported pilot services intended to improve rail links between Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Several of the routes discussed then — including Prague–Berlin–Copenhagen and expanded services towards Sweden and Norway — have now moved from plans into passenger timetables. That is why 2026 deserves to be considered a turning point. It is not the year in which Nordic rail becomes seamless, fast or complete. Nor is it the year in which trains suddenly replace aircraft across Northern Europe. It is the year in which separate developments begin to reinforce one another. Haparanda reconnects Finland and Sweden. Malmö links Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Oslo. Copenhagen connects Scandinavia with Berlin and Prague. Night trains preserve overnight access to Germany. The Oslo–Berlin project points towards the next stage, while the Fehmarnbelt tunnel promises to compress the entire north–south corridor. Seven years after flygskam made Scandinavia the centre of a global conversation about flying less, the practical alternatives are finally beginning to catch up with the rhetoric. The Nordic railway remains a network under construction. For the first time in decades, however, it increasingly looks like a network.
Related ATN coverage
Connecting Europe by Train: EU Pilot Services in Scandinavia
Prague to Copenhagen by Rail
Berlin to Oslo by Train
A New Rail Link Connects Malmö and Oslo
Finland’s Railways: Building the Future of Nordic Transport
Finland and Sweden Reconnected by Rail After Nearly Four Decades
Suggested Online Sources
Snalltaget.se
Snalltaget.se/en/malmo-gothenburg-oslo
Snalltaget.se/en/berlin
Sj.se/en/about-the-journey/sj-euronight
Rdc-deutschland.de/en/press/press-releases/germany-takes-over-the-euronight-berlin-hamburg-stockholm-from-1-september-2026/
Vy.no/direct-trains-from-oslo-to-berlin-new-route-from-summer-2028
Femern.com/fehmarnbelt-tunnel/
Audiovisual.ec.europa.eu
