New Brussels-Amsterdam-Berlin night train officially running

The new night train between Brussels, Amsterdam, and Berlin is officially running. “We have departed!” Chris Engelsman of European Sleeper, the company that offers the night train, exclaimed to EenVandaag, hanging out the train window as it departed from Brussels

Engelsman and his partner Elmer van Buuren have worked for years to start their own night train company, and it is now finally a reality.

They actually planned to launch their first route, to Prague, last year. But it turned out to be more complicated to fit into different countries’ existing rail networks than expected. European Sleeper also struggled to get enough trains. “Now the night train is hip and happening, but it has been ignored for 30 years. There has never been any investment in good carriages,” according to Engelsman.

But the first train on the first route is running, and all the stress and hard work have paid off. Leon Vaessen, a D66 member of the Provincial States for Limburg, rode along with the night train from Roosendaal. He was very enthusiastic about the new service and hoped it would quickly expand. “If we want people to stop taking short flights, there must be good rail alternatives,” he said to EenVandaag.

Ticket prices for the Brussels-Amsterdam-Berlin night train range between 49 euros for a seat in a six-person coupe shared with strangers to 319 euros for sleeping space in a private six-person coupe. Sleeping in a single-person coupe will cost 159 euros, and in a double will cost 129 euros per person. If all goes according to plan, this route will be extended to Dresden and Prague in 2024.

European Sleeper’s second route will be Amsterdam-Barcelona.