'Train farm': Swedish service joins glorious resurgence of sleeper travel

For one thing, who wouldn't like to take a shower on a train? On the other hand, if the shower stall is so small that you can't get up after dropping the soap, it might not be such a good idea.

This year sees the glorious resurgence of the sleeper train across Europe, with new services between Brussels and Prague and Graz, Austria, to Warsaw. This month, a particularly important night train – from Hamburg to Stockholm – begins to run. It will be a "game changer", according to rail travel expert Mark Smith.

But with a summer date in Stockholm, I couldn't afford to wait until September. So I replicated the journey as best I could, to see what the night train journey is like now that he seems to be back. I traveled with an Interrail pass from London to Hamburg, then headed to Malmö, from where I boarded the somewhat aging sleeper train that ran north on the same route as the new EuroNight service will use.

The service, run by Swedish national rail operator SJ, "will get you from London to Stockholm in about 24 hours", according to Smith, who created the popular website Seat61.com. It will be the "missing link" for travelers from the UK to Sweden, perhaps persuading many to take the train rather than the plane. It starts with the Eurostar from St Pancras to Brussels, then changes to a high-speed line to Hamburg, after which speed will decrease but comfort will increase.

EuroNight covers the 1,070 km from Hamburg to Stockholm in 13 hours, departure at 9 p.m., stopover in Copenhagen and arrival in Stockholm at 10 a.m.

SJ's existing sleeper service from Malmö is ending quickly - I only managed to get four hours of sleep on the six hour journey. Nevertheless, the squeaky bunk bed was comfortable, and the gentle rocking of the rat-a-tat was comforting.

In truth, such a trip is too short for bunk service, but the Malmö to Stockholm sleeper is the best facsimile for the new service. Despite Denmark's best efforts to derail me (trains were stopped across Zeeland for three hours after an electrical fire in a critical junction box), I crossed the Øresund rail and road bridge from Copenhagen just in time to join the overnight train and its vintage Swedish-made sleeping cars.

The new service will use cars mothballed by Austrian rai...