Take the night train in Sweden, from Stockholm to the Arctic

Our slow travel series explores how you can take more mindful journeys by train, boat, bus or bike – with tips on how to reach your no-fly destination, and what to see and do along the way. Here, Sian Lewis explains how she boarded a night train bound for Sweden’s frozen Arctic Circle from the capital, Stockholm.

Saying goodbye to Stockholm

All aboard for the Arctic! I was standing in Stockholm’s Central Station on a December night, snowflakes beginning to dust the tracks as a white train chugged to a halt in front of me. SJ’s (Statens Järnvägar, Sweden’s national train company) inaugural service of the Arctic Circle Train would soon trundle from Stockholm to the winter-bound north, stopping at Kiruna, 150km (93 miles) north of the Arctic Circle. The final stop comes into view some 19 hours later at Narvik in Norway, Europe’s northernmost railhead.

This overnight train had previously been run for years by a Norwegian company (VY) but SJ had taken it over just in time for its first winter journey of 2024. The Arctic Circle service offers passengers the chance to fall asleep in Sweden’s buzzy capital and wake up in pristine, snow-laden Lappland – all while saving the price of a night in a hotel (or the environmental cost of a plane ticket) in a snug bed aboard the train. You can now even travel all the way from London to Lappland by train if you so desire.

The whistle blew at 6:09pm precisely and after lugging my bag aboard, I went in search of my cabin. Put all ideas of the Orient Express (or even the fictional Polar Express) train out of your mind – the Arctic Circle service may be bound for Sweden’s wondrous wilderness, but it’s not especially romantic or luxurious. Cabins are functional and can be shared between three or six people, while some hardy souls opt for reclining chairs.

You can book an entire compartment for yourself or share it with others – when sharing, travelers choose between women's or men's compartments.

Getting comfortable onboard

I’d splashed out on a second-class cabin sleeping three to myself, which while still pretty compact, did allow me the luxury of privacy. My bed had been made up for me and could also be flipped upwards to form a sofa, and the rest of the narrow space was made up of a dinky sink, a luggage rack and a window from which I could see the last twinkling Christmas lights of Stockholm rush by. Toilets and a shower were tucked away down the corridor.

After unpacking (popping my toothbrush by the sink), I went in search of supper. The train’s bistro dining carriage remained open until 11pm and was full of excited travelers in hiking gear musing over whether they’d see the northern lights at the end of their journey. Since this was Sweden, the food was on the pricy side but it was also delicious – I sampled a prawn salad (139kr Swedish Kroner/US$12.60) and a white wine as the train sped on through the night.

At bedtime, my berth looked far cozier than at first glance, a reading light pooling a warm glow onto my pillow. I clambered up into my bunk, and although I was convinced that I wouldn’t drop off easily, the repetitive rumble of the train soon lulled me to sleep.

Waking up in the Arctic

The next morning, a breakfast box and a cup of surprisingly good coffee blew away any cobwebs. Although it was 8am, the Arctic world outside my window was still an inky blue – at 68° north, the sun never rises fully above the horizon during the Polar Night (December to mid-January). Outside my window, pines heavily laden with snow slid by. We stopped briefly at a tiny platform next to a picture-perfect red cabin, framed by trees and lit by a single lamp post – it was like a window into Narnia.

At 9:14am (precisely on time), 15 hours and almost a thousand kilometers (621 miles) away from the bright lights of Stockholm, we arrived in the city of Kiruna and I stepped onto a platform thick with snow. The air was so cold it hurt to take a deep breath as I watched the train’s engines chug into life and continue north to Narvik.

Adventures in the snowy wilderness

Kiruna is a town on the move – literally. Built in 1899 to serve the nearby mining of iron ore, it’s now being transplanted, house by house, to a new location almost two miles away to avoid subsidence. What’s left of the current city center is an attractive place under a blanket of snow and still makes a great base for Arctic adventures.

At Camp Ripan, an outward-bound hotel focused on sustainability, guide Anders Karkea helped me step into snowshoes and we went searching for the prints of reindeer and ptarmigan in a white wonderland of birch and spruce trees. We didn’t see a hint of wild winter beasties but under a blanket of snow, Lappland was wonderfully silent and serene, save the gentle shushing of our snowshoes.

While winter hiking is a wonderful way to seek out Lappish nature, the most exciting way to get around these parts involves more than two legs. I was spending the night at Fjellborg Arctic Lodge, and the only way to get there was by husky sled. In the midst of the Arctic Night (4pm), and after a 10-minute lesson on the basics, I stood on a wooden sled behind four friendly sled dogs as they mushed over the frozen surface of the Torne River. We rushed past the eerie and empty wilderness with only the light of my head torch until we spotted the welcoming lights of the lodge, a cluster of cozy red cabins surrounded by pines and complete with crackling wood fires and a traditional sauna.

This far north you’re not just in Sweden – you’re also exploring the land of the Sami, the indigenous inhabitants and reindeer herders of Lappland (they call their home Sápmi). At Nuti Sami Siida, a Sami-run eco-adventure company, visitors can meet reindeer (they like to snack on moss if you’re keen to make friends) and learn more about Sami culture around a roaring fire in a traditional laavu tent. It was crisp and beautiful, but so cold (-30°C/-22°F) that my eyelashes were frozen white after five minutes of admiring the reindeer, and the heat of the tent’s roaring central fire (plus a lingonberry juice fortified with vodka) was very welcome indeed.

On the rails again to Abisko

I reboarded the train in Kiruna for a shorter hop north, just over an hour’s journey to Abisko. This would be my last stop but the train ventures on, following the Iron Ore Line built in the late 1800s to transport ore from the mines of Kiruna. You can follow it to the port of Narvik in Norway, where a cable car soars high above frozen fjords, or to the Swedish coastal city of Luleå – at the swish new Arctic Bath hotel you can try ice fishing or dip straight in the Luleå River for a proper Scandinavian swimming experience.

Abisko is Sweden’s capital of the Northern Lights, boasting the highest probability of spotting the elusive aurora borealis between September and March. The weather report had promised me only gloomy grey skies, but Lappland weaved its magic once again and a shimmering swirl of green danced across the sky as I stepped off the train.

I crossed the road to the STF Abisko Turiststation, a state-run hostel that offers budget-friendly dorms in a jaw-dropping location facing the soaring peak of Mount Nuolja. This is an equally rewarding place to visit in summer when the Midnight Sun delivers endless hours for adventuring and hikers can trek a slice of the Kungsleden – Sweden’s most famous long-distance hike – which winds from here through the wilderness for 467 kilometers (290 miles). For now, the sun felt like a distant memory as I stood in the frosty air, strange emerald lights ribboning above the mountain’s summit and branching out like reindeer antlers across the starry skies.

How to make it happen 

Tickets

SJ releases tickets approximately four times a year and some cabins on the Arctic Circle train get snapped up quickly; booking ahead is a good idea. Choose from a reclining seat (from 475kr/US$43), a bed in a second-class couchette sleeping six (from 835kr/US$76), a bed in a second-class sleeping compartment sleeping three (from 1075kr/US$98). I splashed out on a private second-class sleeping compartment (from 2096kr/US$191).  

Food and drink

Food and drink are easy to access on board and include tasty suppers such as a Swedish shrimp sandwich (139kr/US$12.64), a smoked salmon bagel (75kr/US$6.82) and a burrito with black beans (69kr/US$6.27). The bar is also well-stocked with wine, beer and whisky.

Facilities

Luggage storage is available in each cabin. The train doesn’t offer wi-fi but does have power sockets. Bring earplugs and an eye mask to help block out the rumble and random lights of the train, and don’t forget a good book – Agatha Christie’s snowbound adventure, Murder on the Orient Express, would be an apt choice.