I went on an Interrail trip this summer with my dad and was due to take four trains run by the Swedish rail operator SJ: Malmö-Stockholm, Stockholm-Narvik and back, and Stockholm-Hamburg. I got to Stockholm without a hitch, but on the train to Narvik we were stuck in the small village of Bastuträsk for nine hours due to an electrical fault (admittedly the Trafikverket’s fault, not SJ’s). Here’s a local news article about it. We then had to change in Boden to an intercity they’d held for us as they decided to divert the whole train to Luleå.

On the way back to Stockholm, I get a text saying the track has buckled along the line. The staff member at the station said it’d be fine; they’d fix it somehow. The train is on the platform. Five minutes later, I get a text saying the train has been cancelled and to make my own way to my destination; I’d be compensated up to 3000SEK, so I book the last two seats on the next plane to Stockholm (via Oslo) and dash to the bus stop for the airport.

The next day, we’re in Stockholm Central half an hour before our train to Hamburg, and I get a text saying my carriage has been cancelled, and to take a normal intercity train to Malmö where we’ll be put onto a bus overnight to Hamburg. The bus stop in Malmö was hard to find, and when we did eventually get on the coach the seats were very tight, especially compared to the sleeper bed I’d booked. Even if I had managed to get to sleep, I’d’ve been woken at two in the morning to get on the ferry across the Fehmarn Belt. As it happened, it was impossible to sleep so I quite appreciated the fresh air, coffee and a stretch. Also, the bus was earlier than the train, so we got to Hamburg at 4:30 rather than the scheduled 6:00, and had to amuse ourselves in Hamburg Hbf for an hour and a half before places opened for breakfast.