Plans for more fast trains between Stockholm and Malmö

Malmö and Stockholm are “two major dynamic areas that are growing enormously and more and more people travel between the regions”, SJ business chief Petter Essén told Sydsvenskan.

The company wants to increase the number of seats on the route by 50 percent and give its fast trains X2000 a facelift. It also plans to invest in new fast trains that can travel up to 250 kilometres an hour and could start running between Copenhagen-Malmö-Stockholm in 2022.

However, it is not clear if the trains would actually be allowed to run at full speed. The Local has previously reported about how trains in Sweden have been forced to slow down due to cracks in the rails and a series of other maintenance issues that the country's Transport Administation is working to solve.

“We're buying these trains to be prepared, because as soon as there's an opportunity to drive faster on the railway we are ready,” Essén told Sydsvenskan.

SJ's plans, which are still waiting for the Swedish Transport Administration's stamp of approval, include adding one more departure (and return) between Stockholm-Malmö Monday to Friday as early as next year. It wants to increase the number of trains to and from Copenhagen to seven a day.

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