Denmark and Sweden dispute who should rescue stranded train

A train travelling from Malmö to Copenhagen was left without power in the Øresund Tunnel for three hours, as it remained unclear whether Danish or Swedish services should provide help, DR reported.

Passenger Saskia Kjellström said the train stopped shortly after entering the tunnel on Monday evening, following a loud bang and a flash of light. The power supply had failed.

At first, lights remained on inside the train, but they later went out. The air conditioning also stopped, the carriages became hot and the toilets no longer worked. Passengers had only the drinks they had brought with them. The train stopped near Peberholm, an artificial island, before it had passed beneath the water, a passenger said.

With the train’s speakers also out of service, staff had to walk through the carriages to update passengers. Kjellström said they were initially told that the Danish side would send a diesel train to collect them.

After a further wait, passengers were told the Danish side had realised the train was on the Swedish side and would not come to get them. Staff then said they would arrange buses from Sweden, Kjellström said.

She said the uncertainty frustrated both passengers and staff, and questioned why there were no clearer rules about which country should respond. If the train was heading to Denmark, she said, it seemed logical for Denmark to help rather than have passengers travel by bus back to Sweden before continuing to Denmark.

DR asked Banedanmark and Sweden’s Trafikverket why the response took so long and what caused the confusion over responsibility. Banedanmark said Skånetrafikken, the train operator, is responsible for carrying out an evacuation if one is needed. Trafikverket had not responded. Skånetrafikken said it follows instructions from Banedanmark and Trafikverket and did not comment on whether it should have evacuated the train itself.