SJ has chosen to block ticket sales for several of its departures in Sweden, starting May 12.

The decision was made due to the strike notice that has been given for the train industry.

The Seko union warned earlier this week of a strike for train staff if the parties do not reach an agreement during their contract negotiations. Now SJ has chosen to block the sale of new tickets for several of its departures, including between Stockholm and Gothenburg, and Stockholm and Malmö, reports Aftonbladet.

”"This is a precautionary measure to reduce the impact on travelers due to the strike notice," says Jonas Olsson, press communicator at SJ, to TT.

”"Our maintenance supplier Euromaint has signaled in the dialogue with us that they will have difficulty maintaining all trains according to the existing plan if a strike breaks out. We therefore decided to block the tickets to avoid the risk of ending up in a situation where we sell tickets for departures that are at risk of being cancelled."”

The blocked tickets mainly concern departures on X2000 trains, and so far there has been no decision to cancel the departures in their entirety. According to SJ, those who have already purchased tickets can – at this time – expect the trains to depart.

”"But given the notice of strike that Seko has given, we will have to return to that issue later," says Jonas Olsson.

According to SJ, customers who have booked tickets on the routes can cancel or rebook their journeys free of charge. Ticket sales for all trains on the routes are not blocked for now, but apply to a selection of SJ's departures.

Source: TT-DI.SE