Storyline: Scandinavia
Thus, Jun 12
It is about seven hours from Boden, Sweden to Narvik, Norway by train. The longest seven hours we had travelling, as we’d soon find out. Although we may have not travelled as extensively as many, our trips, except two short ones in the past, are self organised. Thus, we are on our own if something goes wrong. And so far, many things have gone wrong (thankfully, minor issues in the grand scheme of things) and we’ve managed to eventually reach our destination albeit with some delays.
Our train departure for Narvik is scheduled for 11:14am. After a nice breakfast and before checking out, I head to the train station across the road to find the platform on which our train is supposed to depart. There were only 4 tracks as far as I remember. If we were to continue to Narvik yesterday we just had to change tracks. But we’ll learn later that trip would have been very interesting and perhaps less organised than the one we’d face.
I see on the destination board that the train is cancelled (cue dramatic music – A). Then I go back to the board in front of the train station. Yes, our train, or it appears a part of it, is cancelled. It of course it’s all in Swedish. I don’t see any SJ or any other service desk. There are local bus stops in front of the train station. Same thing. No service desk anywhere to be seen. Perhaps they open just before the train departure. We’ve seen this in small places elsewhere. There is an information sign at the bar. I try to ask the guy working at the bar. He is the only person anywhere in the proximity as far as I could tell. He looks on the SJ website, but it doesn’t seem there is a lot of information there. Yes, the 11:14 train is cancelled from Gällivare to Kiruna. I have no idea where Gällivare is. So, will it run to Gällivare? He doesn’t know, but according to the SJ site looks like it will. You can at least get to there the guy says…
And how would I continue? He doesn’t know. There is a later train to Kiruna on the track board. It doesn’t seem to be cancelled. “Perhaps you can take it”, the guy suggests. But it is a different company and your ticket won’t be valid. “But if one train goes, why would the other not?” He doesn’t know.
At that moment I realise he actually has no idea of the trains passing by. He just works at the bar. And he also is the information officer. There is a computer, he can check the SJ website. I better go back to the hotel and tell Alex. Snapping a photo of the information board I run back and tell Alex to get ready because we have to find out how in the world we’ll get to Narvik today. Good we had our sandwiches, water and wine packed. It could be a long day. Then I go to the front desk and ask Carina if she knows something. The hotel is very close to the train station.
I don’t seem to be able to find a tickets or information person there. So perhaps they inform the hotel. We’ve been in places that such thing had happened. No, she doesn’t know anything and yes, this train station is not manned, she confirms. You buy tickets online or through their app. But they should have informed you, she says. I have nothing in my e-mail inbox. “You have paid for tickets, it’s their responsibility to get you to your destination”, Carina says.
Perfect logic and perhaps it works in Scandinavia. But I remember the time we were headed from Cologne (Köln), Germany to Nyon, Switzerland and Deutsche Bahn kicked everybody off the train in the middle of nowhere shortly after Köln with no information or explanation. Even the onboard train staff didn’t know what was going on. Oh, and this station wasn’t manned either. We had to find our way, from where exactly we were, to how to get to our destination. We eventually did (almost two years later I still haven’t found the time to write about this trip, so no reference to a post here.)
It will be much later, at Bergen, when we’ll finally realise that no train or bus station is manned in Scandinavia. Or at least the one we used.
I showed Carina the photo. Google translates it to: “There are changes to train services between Gällivare-Kiruna due to planned track work. Expect longer travel times than normal. For more information about your journey, please contact your train company.” Unfortunately, she confirms that our train is cancelled. She looks at their website and then calls them. She waits long for an answer. Yes, there is no train, there is track damage before Kiruna. No train can go beyond Gällivare. Perhaps you can board to Gällivare. Same question, what next. I don’t have reservation there and it is now too late to cancel the night in Narvik. She tries to help, but there is so much one can do. And she has her own job to do.
The SJ staff has mixed messages. Back in the room. Alex decides to call them. At first, he gets the same or similar information. Oh, and they say they have sent us a text to our mobile number. What mobile number? The one I had provided when buying the tickets! Ah, here is the flaw. I bought our tickets in March form Canada using their SJ website.
I didn’t have a European cell phone number at the time. We don’t use our Canadian cell phones abroad because roaming is prohibitively expensive. The phone number field was mandatory as was the e-mail address. But there was no comment field or anything where I could mention that whatever phone number I put there will not work when we are in Europe. They only use texts, the guy at the other end says. No emails, although our tickets were delivered via e-mail. (They can’t even imagine that roaming would be so expensive. Go talk to our telecom companies. Or our government… I don’t know. But is it true that with only two major companies Rogers, Telus and Bell, the Canadian mobile providers take advantage of little competition in this country. And as I write this our monthly fees went up. [Perhaps to reflect the added value of crappy customer service – A] There is no one to complain to. And I don’t believe this will be resolved in my lifetime). Alex asks to change the phone number on record and they did. But the text was sent yesterday. No more texts. Don’t worry, the important thing is that we’ll get you there, the guy says to Alex, still not telling us how.
We eventually check out and go to the train station. If anything happens it will be at the train station or there about. I tell Carina that we may be back for another night, but she seems sure the company will take care of us one way or another. In the end she was right. “Let me know how did it go”, says she and writes her coordinates on a sticky note. (In the following days in constant movement I seemed to not be able to find the note and let her know. It is just a few days ago unpacking everything that I found it and e-mailed her and let her know that we eventually made it through the border.)
There are a few people at the train station, all on their phones. Alex calls SJ again. This time another guy tells him that there will be a bus from Boden to Gällivare. No trains at all. Where we’ll find the bus? How someone in some office who knows where, can tell us. Somewhere around the train station. We look at all the busses in front. They seem to be regular commuter buses. Weather gets angry too. Heavy cloud and winds. We wait at the front stair of the train station.
At around 11:10am a double decker coach pulls to the side of the train station. I go ask and yes, this is the bus for Gällivare. The bus driver, a very nice and gentle man lets us in and stores our luggage. We are the only passengers so far. The trick is, there are two night trains coming from Stockholm. He has to wait for them. And they are delayed. There are about 80 passengers continuing on. Another bus arrives. And the rain starts. We sit inside, dry and warm. An hour later the first train pulls in. People seem to be informed, since they rush for the bus, some trying to jump over the fence. Some actually did. 15 min later the second train pulls in. After all the passengers that have to continue board the buses, they pulled out and off we went for Gällivare.
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