Every day SJ's passengers rely on its more than 1.500 departures across more than 400 stations.

Embracing the OSDM standard

The Swedish public transport market is deregulated, and has been since 2010. Sweden has been at the forefront of liberalising the railway sector with extensive deregulation reforms. While deregulation does mean increased competition, deregulation also makes it more important for different operators to collaborate with one another.

That is evident in the fact that more than 50 different operators are sold through the SJ website. This is one of the reasons that being OSDM-ready upon go live was such an important concept for SJ. OSDM effectively allows travellers to buy a trip across Sweden with multiple transport operators, with a single purchase.

SJ has earned recognition as Sweden’s most digitised travel company, reflecting its commitment to innovation and customer value. SJ is an operator known for pushing the boundaries for customer value and perspectives, embracing the OSDM standard means being able to offer new services to existing customers while attracting new customers at the same time.

SJ was the first major OSDM implementation where a multi-tenant solution made way for individual solutions connected via OSDM. Sweden, with one of the most competitive and open rail markets in the European Union, has adopted OSDM as the standard for its national ticket distribution on 16 April 2024. This is true for rail and other transport modes, both for retail and distributors alike.

Coming together in a true partnership model

With S3 Passenger as the foundation of their sales and booking platform, SJ accelerated their time-to-market, reduced sales costs, and facilitated smoother operations.

For SJ, the partnership with Sqills was a strategic choice that offered more than just a software solution. It created a collaborative approach that empowered both teams to refine each other's perspectives and address distinct business needs. This open partnership meant saying “no” when needed, aligning business requirements closely with actionable solutions, and maintaining clarity on each party’s role in delivering the best results. Being open and transparent with one another brought out the best in each party.

Revolutionising disruption management

SJ is no stranger to customer-centric innovation, and the way they handle disruption management demonstrates their commitment to evolving with shifting customer needs.

If something goes wrong for whatever reason, SJ wants to ensure problems are kept to a minimum and solutions are communicated both swiftly and clearly. Passengers must receive clear, actionable information in real-time, allowing them to make decisions based on their current situation. That is why SJ opts for a proactive approach to handling disruptions. The central principles that guide this are:

• Proactive and self-service solutions: Travellers are given the tools they need at their fingertips to manage disruptions independently.

• Personalised communication: Each journey is unique, even passengers seated on the same train do not necessarily share the same journey. SJ tailors solutions and messages to the specific circumstances of each individual.

With S3 Passenger, SJ has been able to automate core tasks like timetabling and equipment allocation, with human oversight only where necessary. Additionally, the platform provides Automated Conflict Identification for seamless change management. When traffic disruptions occur, S3 Passenger identifies impacted bookings, and with the Full Journey Rebook Override & Recommendation Interface, SJ can offer alternative travel arrangements or accommodations, even across multi-operator journeys.

S3 Passenger ensures that SJ’s customers are presented with clear options, even in case of disruptions. By understanding each customer’s unique journey and understanding their customer history, SJ can provide tailored solutions that offer passengers flexibility while maintaining control.