GERMAN Rail (DB), Danish State Railways (DSB) and Norwegian state-owned passenger operator Vy have announced that they will launch a new direct service from Berlin to Oslo via Copenhagen in summer 2028. The services will be operated with DB ICE L trains now being delivered by Talgo.
What DB describes as one of the longest services in Europe will operate twice a day in each direction, offering an end-to-end journey time of approximately 14 to 15 hours. At this preliminary stage it is planned that the service will call at Hamburg in Germany, as well as Padborg, Kolding, Odense, Copenhagen Central and Copenhagen Airport in Denmark.
The new service will also call at Malmö, Lund, Helsingborg, Halmstad, Gothenburg and Trollhättan in Sweden, and in Norway at Halden, Sarpsborg, Fredrikstad and Moss before arriving in Oslo. Vy says that it will provide the first direct service between Oslo and Copenhagen in over 20 years, noting that the previous train was withdrawn due to competition from low-cost airlines.
Demand for cross-border rail travel has increased since then, however, with Vy doubling the number of services it operates to Gothenburg in Sweden in 2024. Services were extended to Malmö on a trial basis last summer, and this year Vy will operate regular services at weekends and during holiday periods.
The ICE L is due to enter service between Hamburg and Copenhagen in December 2027. Each train will have a restaurant car, a family section and first class seating. Direct trains between Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway are one of the 10 pilot projects supported by the European Commission (EC) under its action plan to remove the barriers to establishing new cross-border services.
“In view of high fuel prices, long-distance trains remain a good alternative to cars or planes,” says Dr Michael Peterson, DB board member for long-distance passenger transport.
“Collaboration with DSB and DB means that we will be able to connect Norway more closely to Europe, and in the long term this could open up direct trains to more European cities,” says Vy CEO, Gro Bakstad.
