“We have asylum seekers on the train who don’t have tickets and we are now waiting for the police,” was the message conveyed to passengers on a train bound for Gothenburg on Wednesday.
The train was left waiting at Kil station after the police were called, according to a report by Sveriges Radio Värmland.
SJ staff duly explained the extended stop to passengers, several of whom expressed their disgust at the wording of the announcement.
The story furthermore generated debate on social media after a passenger reported the incident.
SJ has now distanced itself from the comment and apologized for singling out the family.
“We should not identifying individual passengers in this way. It is not part of our routines and we can only express our deep regret,” SJ spokesperson Elina Yli-Torvi told Sveriges Radio.
SJ found itself at the centre of a controversy last year when an 11-year-old refugee of African origin was kicked off a train near Kumla in central Sweden because she was unable to show her ticket.
The girl was eventually found the following morning after having been taken in by a local resident.
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