Sweden halts border rail

At press time, Sweden’s national rail operator, SJ, was planning to stop rail service to and from Denmark on Jan. 4, 2016, saying it didn’t have the manpower to comply with a new Swedish law requiring that all travelers to Sweden have their IDs checked.

Sweden’s government has temporarily suspended its participation in Europe’s Schengen Agreement, which allows for open borders between 26 participating countries, in order to stem the flow of refugees into the country. More than 150,000 refugees applied for asylum in Sweden in 2015.

The cross-border train travels between Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden, on the Öresund Bridge, the longest road and rail bridge in Europe.