Copenhagen to Stockholm by train
Jun 24, 2019, 1:39 pm
#1
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Copenhagen to Stockholm by train
I was in Copenhagen Central and noticed the train to Stockholm departs from Track 26 (per signs) a 15 minute walk along Track 3-4. The existence of C to S seems to be noted ONLY on a monitor at Track 3-4. On their main departure screens this train shows as C to Malmo (with a stop in Copenhagen Airport). Taking an earlier train to C-Airport, de-training and then boarding the C-S train on the same platform .would involve MUCH less walking. [C-Airport has only 2 tracks.]
Why do they make things so complicated?
Why do they make things so complicated?
Jun 26, 2019, 1:48 am
#2
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It's because of the border restrictions brought in at the time of the refugee crisis a couple of years ago. The Nordic countries had open borders way before Schengen, but Sweden decided (unlike Denmark) to require ID to cross the border a few years ago. This has mostly settle down now, but some of the procedures have remained in place.
Track 26 at Kobenhavn H was created out of a non-platform track mainly to relieve rush hour congestion in the station - commuter trains used to use it when it was busy (and ISTR some of the sleeper trains from Germany arrived there back when they ran). However, when the border controls were put in place, they decided that, as it had a single access, it would be perfect for the SJ services as they could do an ID check on the platform. So it remains on platform 26 in case this is required.
(At the time of the border controls, the local trains to Sweden were split at the airport, so all train from Copenhagen arrived on one platform, and returned to the city, whereas all Sweden-bound trains departed from the other platform, meaning everybody had to go through an ID check there, going up into the terminal and back down again. Still less walking, though...)
To be honest, if you're happy to change trains, you can also go all the way through to Malmo C, where there's a much greater choice of trains to Stockholm, often at better rates. It's a longer interchange than at Kastrup, but it's a mostly a long escalator ride up, and there's some lovely places to eat in the station.
Track 26 at Kobenhavn H was created out of a non-platform track mainly to relieve rush hour congestion in the station - commuter trains used to use it when it was busy (and ISTR some of the sleeper trains from Germany arrived there back when they ran). However, when the border controls were put in place, they decided that, as it had a single access, it would be perfect for the SJ services as they could do an ID check on the platform. So it remains on platform 26 in case this is required.
(At the time of the border controls, the local trains to Sweden were split at the airport, so all train from Copenhagen arrived on one platform, and returned to the city, whereas all Sweden-bound trains departed from the other platform, meaning everybody had to go through an ID check there, going up into the terminal and back down again. Still less walking, though...)
To be honest, if you're happy to change trains, you can also go all the way through to Malmo C, where there's a much greater choice of trains to Stockholm, often at better rates. It's a longer interchange than at Kastrup, but it's a mostly a long escalator ride up, and there's some lovely places to eat in the station.
Jun 27, 2019, 11:27 am
#3
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Except for the SJ (and maybe the Snall/Veolia) trains from Denmark, all other passenger trains from Denmark to Sweden have a built-in stop at Malmo-Hyllie station where Swedish passport control (and sometimes at the same time or other times Swedish Customs) does checks on board the train and on the platform. The stop at Hyllie for passport checks continues for all Oresundstag/DSB/Skanetrafiken trains even as a substantial minority of these trains are not having passengers checked for passports/ID.
I would say that out of my last forty bridge crossing this year by non-SJ trains, I have had my passport checked about half the time (if not even close to 2/3 of the time). I have a very irregular pattern of crossing when it comes to crossing but it’s across enough days of the week and times of day and night, that my suggestion is to count on a passport control check when taking the bridge by train, either on the train or at a station. Not a week goes by where I don’t get confirmation of some tourists being turned around by the passport control police at Hyllie. And a sixth of my train trips to CPH from/via a Hyllie stop still seem to involve a two-person police escort for 1 or more train crossing passengers who are being sent back to Denmark for lack of proper ID for the crossing — and most of those this month are tourists from Europe, the Americas or East Asia. Unless you’re clearly a minor in the company of an adult with a passport/national ID indicating regular presence in the Schengen zone, I would definitely recommend having your passport when going to Sweden via the bridge.
I would say that out of my last forty bridge crossing this year by non-SJ trains, I have had my passport checked about half the time (if not even close to 2/3 of the time). I have a very irregular pattern of crossing when it comes to crossing but it’s across enough days of the week and times of day and night, that my suggestion is to count on a passport control check when taking the bridge by train, either on the train or at a station. Not a week goes by where I don’t get confirmation of some tourists being turned around by the passport control police at Hyllie. And a sixth of my train trips to CPH from/via a Hyllie stop still seem to involve a two-person police escort for 1 or more train crossing passengers who are being sent back to Denmark for lack of proper ID for the crossing — and most of those this month are tourists from Europe, the Americas or East Asia. Unless you’re clearly a minor in the company of an adult with a passport/national ID indicating regular presence in the Schengen zone, I would definitely recommend having your passport when going to Sweden via the bridge.
Jul 2, 2019, 4:18 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2015
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I was in Copenhagen Central and noticed the train to Stockholm departs from Track 26 (per signs) a 15 minute walk along Track 3-4. The existence of C to S seems to be noted ONLY on a monitor at Track 3-4. On their main departure screens this train shows as C to Malmo (with a stop in Copenhagen Airport). Taking an earlier train to C-Airport, de-training and then boarding the C-S train on the same platform .would involve MUCH less walking. [C-Airport has only 2 tracks.]
Why do they make things so complicated?
Why do they make things so complicated?