Grand Italian plans
Italy’s state-owned rail company, Trenitalia, has big ambitions to provide train travel for Europeans – not just Italians. Linking Italy with Europe’s major cities is, quite simply, a strategic goal.
The tool is the company’s high-speed train and red pride, the Frecciarossa, and the next major plan is a route between Milan/Rome and Munich, set to launch in 2027. Along the way there will be stops in cities such as Florence, Bologna, Verona and Innsbruck. After that, the line is to be extended to depart from Naples and arrive in Berlin — but not until 2028.
The route will be operated in cooperation with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn and Austria’s ÖBB. Test runs are already underway and will be stepped up on tracks in Germany and Austria in May 2026.
Hopeful news from the Balkans
We have previously written that, down in the Balkans, a long-running track project appears close to completion, with the result that direct high-speed trains can now run on the Belgrade-Budapest route. Most likely starting in July, but the latest rumors, floated by the Swedish travel magazine Vagabond, even point to April. Travel time looks set to be 3 hours and 40 minutes.
But that is not the only piece of good news from the Balkans, where there is hope that the route between Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Zagreb in Croatia will reopen to passenger trains this fall, after lying dormant since the ill-fated civil war of the 1990s began. Sarajevo has since been the terminus – and thus a dead end – on a route that mainly runs back and forth to Mostar and, from time to time, to Ploče on the Adriatic.
A route to Croatia would open up the Balkan rail network in a big way. But we’ll see. There are both technical and financial challenges that have to be solved first.
Ski trains to a popular destination for Danes
Since 2017, ski-loving Danes have been able to take the night train from Malmö to the Swedish ski resort of Åre. And starting with the 2026/27 winter season, it will also be possible to take the train to Sälen. That is because the Swedish rail operator Snälltåget has teamed up with the Swedish-Norwegian ski giant Skistar, which, in addition to Sälen, owns Åre itself, Sweden’s Vemdalen, and the two Norwegian ski destinations Trysil and Hemsedal, to establish a new direct rail route from Malmö to the Sälen mountains.
The train will run every Saturday during the season from Dec. 19, 2026, through Easter 2027, from Malmö to the town of Mora. From there, transfer buses timed to the train’s arrivals will connect to the four destinations that make up Sälen: Lindvallen, Högfjället, Tandådalen and Hundfjället.
The train departs Malmö early Saturday morning and arrives in Mora about eight hours later. The route runs via Lund, Hässleholm, Alvesta, Nässjö, Linköping, Stockholm and Uppsala. In selected weeks, additional trains will also run on a route via Helsingborg, Halmstad and Gothenburg — perfect for ski-loving Jutlanders, who can take the ferry to Gothenburg and board there.
By train north of the Arctic Circle
Another piece of news from Snälltåget is an overnight train journey that goes all the way north of the Arctic Circle. The train will run from Malmö via Stockholm, Kiruna, Abisko and Björkliden, before ending in Narvik in northern Norway.
So far, only a single departure is planned from Malmö on Monday, Nov. 23, 2026, at 1:15 p.m., arriving in Narvik the next day at 4:34 p.m. Snälltåget’s popular dining car will be along for the trip, so you can have dinner on the train before turning in, and the next morning there will be breakfast available before you reach the Arctic Circle.
Over the following three days, you can try some of the winter landscape’s more memorable experiences, including dog-sled or snowmobile trips. November is also one of the best times to see the Northern Lights in the area around Narvik. The return trip is Friday, Nov. 27, at 12:30 p.m., arriving in Malmö on Saturday afternoon at 2:45 p.m.
X2000 is back in Copenhagen
In the fall of 2024, Sweden’s state-owned rail operator SJ suspended its otherwise popular, convenient direct route on the X2000 high-speed train between Copenhagen and Stockholm. First came word that the X2000 would be back in service in June 2025, then in early 2026. And now it is finally certain, says Christer Litzell, a business manager at SJ: The X2000 will begin running to and from Copenhagen Central Station in the fall of 2026.
»It will be an entirely new train, and we’re really happy about that. New interiors, new technology. Great design and a comfortable, modern layout«, Christer Litzell says.
The brand-new train is also one reason it has taken longer to get the service back on the route between the two capitals. That is because it has required a new application process with the Transport Authority, Christer Litzell says.
SJ has been undertaking a major renovation of its high-speed fleet, meaning there has constantly been an X2000 train in the shop, and that forced SJ to drop its Denmark service for a period. Christer Litzell emphasizes that Copenhagen remains an important destination for SJ, also because »it is a hub for onward travel into Europe«.
