From 4 May 2026, the independent rail operator Snälltåget will introduce a brand new daytime direct service connecting Stockholm - Malmö - Copenhagen - Hamburg. Departures from both Stockholm and Hamburg in the late morning will bring passengers to their destination the same evening, offering a comfortable, relaxing and climate-friendly way to travel between Germany and Scandinavia.

In her interview with Swedish news outlet DN, SJ's CEO Monica Lingegård said: “Given the regions’ finances and the need to be careful with taxpayers' money, you need to ensure that you do not compete with commercial traffic unnecessarily. That we let commercial traffic live and grow in a good way”. However, it seems SJ's stance on taxpayer-funded competition changes depending on which side of the subsidy cheque they are on.

SJ:s krav på ekonomiskt stöd från Trafikverket och Jernbanedirektoratet har fått ALLRAIL att se rött. ALLRAIL, som har MTR, Flixtrain och Transdev, som medlemmar, kräver att de svenska och norska regeringarna stoppar det ”orättvisa skattefinansierade stödet” till SJ.

Over the past two years, SJ has been actively lobbying authorities and the tourism industry in Jämtland (Sweden) and Trøndelag (Norway) for direct Stockholm-Trondheim services. While being presented as an SJ "investment", it would actually be funded by taxpayers and probably create a monopoly.

ALLRAIL Secretary General Nick Brooks participated in a panel discussion on the theme “Seamless rail ticketing”, in the framework of Rail Transport Day, which was organised by the RailNetEurope (grouping of infrastructure managers and allocation bodies) and the Swedish presidency of the EU Council in Stockholm.