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sj.se stopped to sell reservations for paper passes - what can I do?

  • January 11, 2025
  • 8 replies
  • 338 views
P

I am trying to book reservations for a journey from Haparanda towards Malmö at sj.se.   

I can keep it short, according to https://www.sj.se/en/customer-service/frequently-asked-questions/158/eurail , sj.se does no longer sell reservations for paper passes, which seems to become a huge problem for me.

Questions:

  1. Why is such a change introduced clandestinely?  I have three outstanding paper passes, which I want to use to travel throughout all Sweden (Finland → Germany and vice versa).
  2. What options do I have for booking SJ trains now?  vy.se doesn't sell SJ trains either, and interrail.eu, according to https://www.interrail.eu/en/book-reservations/how-do-i-make-seat-reservations would send paper reservations for Swedish trains; which is quite useless given the huge postal transfer times towards Finland, beside the fact that in case of travel disturbances, I need to be able to rebook.

I must say, I am pretty angry regarding the way this change has been introduced, why didn't they enter a red banner six months before on their website, “be careful, 1st January we stop selling that reservations”?

It seems that my options now are, either I pay full-price tickets through Sweden and loose the interrail discount, or I travel with reservation-free trains from Umea/Sundsvall to the south, which probably takes me another day and causes costs (lost interrail days and costs for staying overnight) as well.

Not good.

Thanks for any hints.

Best answer by AnnaB

You need to contact SJ customer support. The will sell you the reservations if you have a paper pass. 

Is that still the case?

To contact SJ Customer Support was the recommendation in the Swedish FB group for train travellers when SJ stopped selling reservations for paper passes. If I remember correctly, travellers had been successful getting reservations through SJ Customer Support. 

 

When calling SJ, press 6 to get to Customer Support for SJ Euronight. The normal Customer Support has very poor knowledge of SJ Euronight 

    8 replies

    R
    Railmaster
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    • rvdborgt
    • Railmaster
    • January 11, 2025

    SJ reservations are offered as e-ticket, as you can easily see on the reservations page:

    Of course with extra fees (regular prices are SEK 150/€13.06 and SEK65/€5.66), but that's still not as bad as just paying regular tickets.

    Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
    P
    • p393
    • Author
    • Right on track
    • January 11, 2025

    Thank you, indeed I expected the country list in the overview information to be correct, and thus didn't try.

    But this is only a solution for seats, not for beds in the night train (in the current example: Stockholm → Malmö), correct?

    E
    Railly clever
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    • eurocity101
    • Railly clever
    • January 11, 2025

    It might also work using https://trainplanet.com/en for seat/berth reservations in Sweden (also advised by Seat61 fot those with overseas credit cards). But they charge a booking fee too.

    I'm NOT working for Interrail/Eurail.
    P
    • p393
    • Author
    • Right on track
    • January 11, 2025

    Indeed, trainplanet works.

    A bit complicate, I never before needed to specify my personal identification number for being allowed to buy a train ticket, but it works.

    R
    Railmaster
    Forum|alt.badge.img+10
    • rvdborgt
    • Railmaster
    • January 11, 2025

    It might also work using https://trainplanet.com/en for seat/berth reservations in Sweden (also advised by Seat61 fot those with overseas credit cards). But they charge a booking fee too.

    Their booking fee seems to be quite high indeed, like 20% for the day trains (didn't check night trains).

    Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
    A
    Railly clever
    Forum|alt.badge.img+10
    • AnnaB
    • Railly clever
    • January 11, 2025

    You need to contact SJ customer support. The will sell you the reservations if you have a paper pass. 

    Please note that I don't work for Interrail/Eurail and that I don't reply to personal messages.
    R
    Railmaster
    Forum|alt.badge.img+10
    • rvdborgt
    • Railmaster
    • January 11, 2025

    You need to contact SJ customer support. The will sell you the reservations if you have a paper pass. 

    Is that still the case?

    At the page mentioned above, SJ write:

    If you have an Interrail/Eurail as a paper ticket, you need to contact the retailer you purchased the card from to make a seat reservation.

    In any case, I find it a questionable policy to stop selling reservations for paper pass holders.

    Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
    A
    Railly clever
    Forum|alt.badge.img+10
    • AnnaB
    • Railly clever
    • Answer
    • January 12, 2025

    You need to contact SJ customer support. The will sell you the reservations if you have a paper pass. 

    Is that still the case?

    To contact SJ Customer Support was the recommendation in the Swedish FB group for train travellers when SJ stopped selling reservations for paper passes. If I remember correctly, travellers had been successful getting reservations through SJ Customer Support. 

     

    When calling SJ, press 6 to get to Customer Support for SJ Euronight. The normal Customer Support has very poor knowledge of SJ Euronight 

    Please note that I don't work for Interrail/Eurail and that I don't reply to personal messages.
    R
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