Night train Brussels – Amsterdam – Berlin will start on May 25, 2023
The European Sleeper night train Brussels – Amsterdam – Berlin will run three times a week from Thursday 25 May. The first trip will be from Berlin to Brussels, on May 26 the train will depart for the first time from Belgium and the Netherlands. The start-up announced this today. Tickets are on sale from February 20. A seat in the reclining carriage is available from 79 euros.
Nervous
“We now have enough carriages to start the train service. We are overjoyed,” says Chris Engelsman. Initially, it was planned that the first train would run in April this year, but getting enough carriages is more difficult than expected, which meant that the start had to be less. “It was quite nerve-wracking at times,” Engelsman recalls.
Now it’s finally done: enough rolling stock is available to run a night train consisting of one sleeping car, eight sleeping cars and one seating car. “Now that we have confirmed the last number of carriages, we did have a small party here”.
Timetable to Berlin
The night train will depart from Brussels on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The train starts at 7:22 PM. After that, the train will stop at Antwerp Central, Rotterdam Central and Amsterdam Central, among others. At 6:48 am the train to Berlin arrives.
Isn’t that too early? Engelsman: “It is quite early, but we have already stretched it an hour, in the failed planning (to Prague, ed.) We would already be in Berlin around 5:45 am. For business travellers, early is often also pleasant”. He thinks that more stretching would also be annoying, because then the train would stop too much on the way.
In Berlin there will be a good connection to the train to Prague, which leaves around 7:15 am. “We expect that this connection will also be feasible in practice. We also dipped margin in the timetable.” In Berlin you can also transfer to the train to Warsaw, although the transfer time to the Polish capital (three hours) is very long.
It is still being examined whether the train in Berlin can be extended to Berlin Lichtenberg.
Train 453 (Monday, Wednesday and Friday)
Brussels South | 19:22 |
Antwerp Central Station | 20:01 |
Roosendaal | 20:44 |
Rotterdam Central | 21:21 |
The Hague HS | 21:42 |
Amsterdam Central | 22:34 |
Amersfoort | 23:13 |
Deventer | 23:49 |
Bad Bentheim | 01:09 |
Hanover Hbf | 02:56 |
Berlin Hbf | 06:48 |
Timetable to the Netherlands
From Berlin to the Netherlands and Belgium, the train departs on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. The train departs Berlin Hbf at 10:56 PM, reaching Amsterdam Central at 6:31 AM in the early morning. An hour later the train is to Rotterdam, and at 9:27 am to Brussels. On the return journey, the train cannot stop at Amersfoort and Den Haag HS, because this is not past in the timetable.
Those traveling from Prague to the Netherlands have ample transfer time in Berlin. The last train from Prague to the German capital leaves at 4:25 PM. This arrives at 20:43 in Berlin. Two hours later, the European Sleeper train departs for the Netherlands. From Warsaw, the last train to Berlin departs at 4:04 PM, arriving at 10:05 PM. Then the transfer time is 50 minutes, provided the train is on time.
Train 452 (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday)
Berlin Hbf | 22:56 |
Hanover Hbf | 02:21 |
Bad Bentheim | 04:22 |
Deventer | 05:17 |
Amsterdam Central | 06:31 |
Rotterdam Central | 07:32 |
Roosendaal | 08:16 |
Antwerp Central Station | 08:47 |
Brussels South | 09:27 |
financing
European Sleeper was founded by the Dutchmen Elmer van Buuren and Chris Engelsman, but everyone was able to buy shares in the company. In the first investment round, half a million euros were raised in fifteen minutes. In a later round, a further two million euros will be saved by a broad group of night train enthusiasts. “There is broad support for the reintroduction of the night train as a sustainable, efficient and comfortable alternative to airplanes,” Engelsman concluded.
Since the announcement of the initiative, a lot has changed. For example, energy prices have a negative effect on ticket prices. Nevertheless, initiators also experience a lot of support. For example, Belgium has decided that night trains do not have to pay infrastructure charges and the Belgian government is also responsible for the energy bill for the train.
“That is a better way to support night trains than the Dutch method,” says Engelsman. He is referring to the subsidy that NS has received for the night train to Vienna. There was no room for subsidy for other night trains. Engelsman pointed out that the state costs relatively little, while helping to set up night trains.
European Sleeper has no doubts about the demand for travel by night train. After years of decline, various initiatives are now starting again throughout Europe to bring night trains back on the rails. Despite the fact that the operation of a sleeper train has been determined, this is generally not without success. The night train Amsterdam – Vienna is probably always fully booked. However, new trains often need a start-up period before the trains are known and start to run properly. According to Engelsman, European Sleeper has taken this into account: “We are taking into account that we will attract fewer travelers in the first period. We also have a budget there for the first start-up period to be able to finance.”
From rented to own carriages
Carriages are rented for the first connection. The comfort of the sleeper train will be comparable to that of the Nightjet, the co-founder thinks. “The carriages are old, but well maintained,” he explains. Bed linen is included in the price, as is breakfast in bed.
The first train will be driven with rented equipment, but in the short term European Sleeper will invest in its own modern carriages with more privacy options. This concerns new equipment or old carriages that are reliably equipped with overhauls. The hope is that this equipment can be deployed from 2025 or 2026.
prices
Anyone who wants to travel to Berlin with European Sleeper can buy tickets from 20 February. A seat can be booked from 49 euros, a berth in a shared compartment from 79 euros. Those who want more comfort should try to conquer a place in the sleeping car. A sleeping place can be booked from 109 euros, included in a shared compartment.
Overview from rates
Seat from | €49 |
Lying spot from | €79 |
Sleeping place from | €109 |
There are places to book in the reclining carriage in four- and six-person compartments. It is also possible to book a compartment completely private. The starting prices are slightly more expensive than the Nightjet. Engelsman: “We want from rates that are easy to book in any case. My estimate is that the average price will be similar.”
There will also be maximum rates, the amount of which depends on which Dutch or Belgian station is being traveled. The transferred maximum fares are not yet known, but will be published on the website of the railway undertaking.
Interrail and sales channels
It is also intended to Interrail becomes valid on the night train. “The intention is to arrange this before the start, but we are still talking to them to shape it exactly.”
The night train will be bookable via the European Sleeper website, but the intention is that the train will eventually be bookable via the national railway companies. “Our reservation system is also connected to the reservation system used by the railway companies. They would also like to sell our train, but we still have to arrange a number of practical matters.” It is also the intention that tour operators can offer the train. At Treinrondreis.nl, for example, the night train will be incorporated into a number of round trips.
to test
A number of test drives will take place before the start on May 25, 2023. RegioJet temporarily plays no role in the night train. “We still have good contact with RegioJet, but for now a collaboration is not relevant. We now drive to Berlin, and not to the Czech Republic. RegioJet is a major Czech carrier, but we are not driving to Prague right now. And RegioJet also has no carriages left.”
Prague and Barcelona
The first train to the Netherlands and Belgium will start in Berlin on 25 May. A day later the first train runs to Berlin. The intended final destination was Prague, which turned out to be unfeasible due to capacity problems on the Dresden – Bad Schandau route. The intention is to drive to the Czech capital in the first half of 2024. However, this is only possible if the company is allocated a path in the new timetable by the infrastructure manager DB Netz. The idea is also that the train will run daily in the course of 2024.
In 2025, a second night train should come, to the South of France or Barcelona. However, this is only possible if a European Sleeper has its own renovated carriages by then. “We are aiming for 2025, but it can also be later, for example 2026.”