EUROPE – From summer 2028, travellers will be able to board a direct train from Oslo to København, Hamburg, and Berlin for the first time in over 20 years. The new service is the result of a cross-border collaboration between Norway’s Vy, Denmark’s DSB, and Germany’s Deutsche Bahn (DB), the companies announced on May 9.
The Oslo–Berlin route will be one of Europe’s longest train journeys, with a travel time of approximately 14-15 hours. The service will use Deutsche Bahn’s new ICE L carriages, which feature a restaurant car, family section, and first-class section. Two daily departures are planned year-round.
‘It is fantastic that we are now getting a new, fixed train route in place between Oslo, København, Hamburg, and Berlin,’ said Gro Bakstad, CEO of Vy. ‘The collaboration with DSB and Deutsche Bahn 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.’
Flemming Jensen, CEO of DSB, echoed this sentiment: ‘We are proud that together with Vy and DB we will soon be able to offer one of Europe’s longest train routes. The path to strong train connections in Europe is through strengthening the good partnerships we have with other train companies.’
The route’s preliminary plan is to have stops at Moss, Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg, Halden, Trollhättan, Gothenburg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Lund, Malmö, and København Airport before continuing to Odense, Kolding, Padborg, Hamburg, and Berlin. Once the Fehmarn Belt tunnel between Germany and Denmark opens, planned for 2029 but likely delayed to 2031, the journey time between København and Hamburg will be reduced by 1.5 hours.
DB sees growing demand for international trains
The new service reflects a broader trend in European travel. Deutsche Bahn reports that nearly a third more people have switched to trains for their European journeys since 2019, totalling over 25 million passengers. On routes like Stuttgart–Paris, trains have even overtaken planes due to unbeatable travel times of under 3.5 hours.
Michael Peterson, CEO of DB Fernverkehr, added: ‘f you want to experience Europe, jump on the train! With high fuel prices, long-distance trains are a good alternative to cars and planes. With the new international route from Berlin via København to Oslo, we are connecting Northern Europe and three capitals by rail.’
DB international service expansions summer 2026
- A direct København –Hamburg–Berlin–Praha connection from mid-June, with two daily round trips.
- An additional summer ICE train from Köln to Brussels, extending to Ghent, Bruges, and Ostend on weekends between 3 June and 31 August.
- Four daily ICE trains between Köln and Antwerp from 7 September, with stops at Brussels Airport.