Passengers have been flocking to the new high-speed train line that Swedish railway SJ recently introduced between Stockholm and Oslo. Traffic has jumped 18 percent on the route, compared to last year at this time, while airline traffic has declined.
The numbers of passengers buying tickets “have exceeded all expectations,” SJ chief Petter Essén told newspaper Dagsavisen on Tuesday. “If this trend is maintained, we will of course look at the possibility of adding more departures every day.”
SJ is currently offering three daily departures on the route, which is as much as 90 minutes shorter than it was before the high-speed trains were introduced. Many travelers also view the trip as simpler, from downtown to downtown in each city. It also avoids the need for often expensive travel to the airport and the hassles of security control.
While ridership increased by 18 percent on the route during its first three weeks, airline traffic between Oslo and Stockholm declined by 1.3 percent in August. The trip on SJ’s high-speed train takes around four and a half hours.
newsinenglish.no staff
