Alstom strengthens its Nordic rail services leadership with night train maintenance contract in Sweden

“Reliable night train services depend on more than maintenance—they require strong local presence, long-term asset expertise and continuous investment. This contract reinforces our role as a trusted partner for Sweden's rail network while strengthening the capabilities needed for the future of night train travel. It also highlights the growing importance of lifecycle services in delivering sustainable long-distance mobility”, says Mikael Granberg, Services Director at Alstom Sweden and Finland.

“We are happy to continue our partnership with Alstom and look forward to further enhancing the travel experience for our customers together”, says Arvid Fredman, Director of Rolling Stock, SJ.

Supporting the future of night rail travel

The night trains, consisting of 12 locomotives and 75 carriages primarily operate on two routes, Stockholm–Umeå and Stockholm–Narvik. The maintenance of these trains places high demands on expertise as it presents various challenges due to the technical complexity of sleeper cars and onboard service functions, as well as the age of the vehicles.

Supported by its FlexCare Perform solutions, Alstom’s extensive experience maintaining a wide range of rolling stock and rail assets, plays a crucial role in ensuring high availability and stable train operations. These lifecycle capabilities help operators maximise performance from existing fleets while preparing for future fleet renewal and transition programmes. A key part of this work is proactively managing obsolescence, with Alstom developing and applying solutions for component replacement, refurbishment and life extension, helping to keep these trains reliable over the long term.

“We have gathered broad expertise in rail maintenance in northern Sweden, combining experience from legacy rolling stock with modern technology. With these maintenance contracts, we are taking the next step in developing both our capacity and our specialist expertise in the region. This agreement further positions northern Sweden as a centre of excellence for rail maintenance and lifecycle services, supporting customers' long-term operational ambitions,” says Lisa Harlin, Project and Site Manager at Alstom.

The work will primarily be carried out in Luleå. There, Alstom has developed strong and comprehensive maintenance expertise, reflecting its extensive capabilities across different generations of rail technology. This ranges from rolling stock from the 1980s to modern multiple-units and locomotives, with the ability to deliver high quality across the entire lifecycle of rail vehicles. Around 60 employees based in Luleå, Umeå and Kiruna deliver customer-focused, safe and high-quality maintenance.

Building on this foundation, Alstom is further investing in depots in the north. These sites will serve as regional hubs for developing greater and more advanced maintenance capacity creating stronger and increasingly self-sufficient rail maintenance capabilities that can support future growth in rail transport across the region. The new night train maintenance contract supports this development. 

Contributing to sustainable, long-distance mobility

Night train services play an important role in Sweden by connecting the northern and southern parts of the country. They offer a more sustainable alternative to domestic air travel and long car journeys, while enabling accessible travel over long distances. As interest in sustainable long-distance rail travel continues to grow across Europe, maintaining reliable and attractive night train services is becoming increasingly important.

Through its combination of local presence, industrial expertise and lifecycle service capabilities, Alstom continues to strengthen its role as a long-term partner for rail operators seeking to deliver reliable, sustainable and future-ready mobility solutions.

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