Spent Christmas with my boyfriend and his family up north. We were supposed to return home on the 26th and spend one night with my parents, so that we got to see everyone for Christmas. But a storm caused cancellations in all communications. Some people are still without power, it’s insane. It’s not the train/travel company’s fault that there was a storm, but seriously, some things could have been handled better. This is how things went down for us (and we consider ourselves lucky):
On Monday morning, the 26th, we read on the SJ home page (SJ is the Swedish railways company) that all trains are cancelled, there are no replacement buses and they won’t have any new information until 6 pm that day. So, we stay with my hun’s family for one more day. This meant that we didn’t have time to visit my parents, which obviously made me angry. And sad. But we booked a new date and I dealt with it. We had a nice second last day.
I call SJ to re-schedule or tickets (and we are travelling with a pet, so everything is more complicated). After 45 minutes of waiting in line, I am told to cancel the original tickets online and book new ones myself. If we don’t want to get home late as shit, there is only one option and it is a travel route that is longer than the regular one and costs twice as much. But I book it and I pay for it.
On Tuesday the 27th, we get on a bus, switch to another bus and then to a train. So far so good, right? Well, when we arrive in Karlstad, there is a powerline on the tracks further ahead, so our train ride straight to Stockholm becomes train, then bus, then train again. So all in all, five switches.
In Karlstad, the train is also an hour late. AND there is an accident that I witness up close, which causes all traffic to stand still for a while. This tiny person (I think it was a kid, but the news say it was a woman, but she was super tiny) just jumps down onto the tracks as a train moves in. She quickly lies down in the middle of the rail as the train drives over her. We had to board our train after that, but we heard the sirens straight away. Later read that she was OK. But the whole thing was so bizarre. It feels like a scene in a movie.
OK, so once we actually get on the train, it takes like 20 minutes before it can leave. And after five minutes of driving there is another error and we are forced to stand still for 20 minutes more. And then we make the switch to bus and then have to wait outside for the last train, which is late because there is no personnel (?!).
The whole trip takes about nine hours instead of five, which would have been the case with the original route on a non-error day. Devil had to spend nine hours in his travelling home. And some of it outdoors in the freezing weather. Not fun, but he’s a trooper.
Today I called SJ for a refund and they refuse to pay us. The new tickets that we were forced to get cost a fortune and they just refuse us.
I am beyond pissed at this point. But also, just thankful that we made it home in one piece.
