11/26 7:30 AM
Helsingborg to Leksand (total travel time: 9 hours)
My trip starts at Helsingborg Central Station, which I know quite well by now. I remember that I missed a train the first time I came here because track 6 was so far away and I was already running out of time. But now I checked which track I had to go on and planned a few minutes extra, just in case there was a change of tracks, which happened to me once. I checked the track on one of the many displays and waited in the big hall, because down at the tracks it is often cold and uncomfortable. The lower part of the station could use some new benches, but as I was told, it belongs to a different operator than the station above. The train started a few minutes late, which was not a problem because I had enough time to change trains in Gothenburg. I think the station in Gothenburg is the most beautiful I’ve been to so far, not only because of the architecture, but also because of the shops inside. After two more changes in Örebro and Borlänge I finally arrived in Leksand. The station is quite small, but it has a heated waiting room, which is necessary when the temperature is below 0 degrees.
When I checked the features of the station, I had the 4T scheme in mind: Trafikinformation (traffic information), Tillgänglighet (accessibility of the station), Trafikantservice (passenger service), Trafikstörningar (traffic disturbance information). The information for local and regional traffic was covered by the displays in the waiting room, where there is also a toilet and a bookshelf with free books. Parking for cars and bicycles was sufficient for a city like Leksand. On the display was a message about a train being 80 minutes late, which was also in Swedish and English, which surprised me. The table with the overview of the tracks was broken, but with only two tracks it was manageable to find the way.
27.11 20:50
Leksand to Umeå (total time: 11 hours)
I was glad that the waiting room in Leksand was still open, because as I saw on the sign, it closes at 21:00. I took a train to Borlänge and the second to Gävle, where I changed to the night train to Umeå.The Umeå station was also heated and clean, and there were some maps of Umeå, so I took one to find my way around. The signs to the bus station and the replacement buses were a bit confusing, and I also had trouble finding platform 1a, which was quite far from the waiting hall. The information displayed was good, except for the fact that the operator’s data was not visible. As in Leksand, there is also a meeting point for people who need assistance, which I don’t remember seeing in Germany. To ensure mobility for everyone, Braille signs are just as important as elevators or loudspeakers. Umeå had all that, although I didn’t test if the elevators worked.
30.11 8:15
Umeå to Jokkmokk (total travel time: 9 hours)
In Jokkmokk, the train station and the bus station are a few hundred meters apart, and I think the train station (if you can call it a station) is only used in the summer. Except for the platform there wasn’t much, no display and not even a sign on the house that this is the train station. The bus station was better signposted and even had a customer information center run by Länstrafikens Norrbotten. There were lockers and a few benches, which I think is enough for the small number of regular travelers. There was a display inside and outside, and the bus drivers were also happy to help me find out which bus was the right one, because they weren’t labeled (at the time).
02.12 10:40
Jokkmokk to Östersund (travel time: 10 hours)
The bus took me from Jokkmokk directly to my hostel in Östersund, which meant I had to go to the train station the next day before I left. As in many other cities, the train station was not marked as such, so if it weren’t for the bus stops, you would have no idea which building the train station is. It has a large heated waiting room with digital monitors, but far too few seats to be adequate for a city of this size. Also, the curved seats may look nicer, but they are definitely more inconvenient than normal seats. Behind my seats there was a big info box with no information material in it, which felt like a wasted opportunity, they could at least hang a map of the city or recommend some places to visit. In general, I think more stations should see themselves as a first stop for tourists and a service for visitors, then they might focus more on making the waiting experience more pleasant.
