European Commission supports plans for night train Amsterdam to Barcelona
BARCELONA – We have written before about the Dutch-Belgian railway company European Sleeper, founded in 2021, that wants to set up a night train connection from Amsterdam to Barcelona. With the ‘Good Night Train’ it should be possible to travel from the Netherlands and Belgium to the Costa Brava and Barcelona by the end of 2023. These plans received an extra boost this week from the European Commission .
Starting international long-distance train connections is not an easy task. The problems with rail capacity allocation in the different countries and poor cooperation between national infrastructure managers technical expansion of the international network in the European Union. However, the demand for green mobility is increasing, so the European Commission wants to help.
The European Commission will support a total of ten pilot projects to stimulate the expansion of international day and night trains. In addition to the support for the night train from Amsterdam to Barcelona, the European Commission has also provided assistance for a better connection between Amsterdam and London via the NS and Eurostar. Furthermore, a Spanish project: the connection between Barcelona and the south of France, such as Toulouse and Montpellier, must be improved.
Good night train
The first Good night train May 25 to ride starts between Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Deventer and Berlin . Ticket sales for this night train will start on February 29 (2023) with prices from 49 euros for a seat and 79 euros for a couchette.
In June 2022 it was announced that there are also plans for a night train from Amsterdam via Brussels to the South of France and Barcelona. After that, however, it became quiet at the railway company. In November 2022, the initiators of European Sleeper heard that the plans for a night train from Amsterdam via Brussels to the South of France and Barcelona still exist, but that there are also necessary problems that need to be overcome.
The problems have to do with the available carriages, but also with partners to work together. Running a train costs a lot of money and that has to be paid. For example, the travel organization Sunweb says that the train is too expensive and good cooperation with the French railway company SNCF does not seem to be that easy.
In addition, European Sleeper says that no more passenger trains with locomotives cross the border between Belgium and France. Only the Belgian Railways do not yet have locomotives that can pull passenger trains in both countries, but those trains cannot continue to the South of France. That would mean that three locomotives would be needed to get to the south of France from Barcelona and that makes running a night train in France very expensive.
How was it again?
There is like HERE can be seen, an application submitted to the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) on 13 June showed that European sleeper intends to travel from Amsterdam Central via The Hague HS, Rotterdam Central and Roosendaal to Barcelona by night train. It is intended that this should be a reality from December 10, 2023, or sooner if practically possible. The frequency of the new train service will initially be 3 times a week, but the running days will still be determined on the basis of the capacity request. Depending on the availability of equipment, the frequency is based on the daily trips.
The ‘Good Night Train’ will make several stops in the Netherlands, Belgium and France before arriving in Barcelona, Spain. According to European Sleeper, a route to Barcelona is a big wish and must be economically viable. Barcelona is already connected via Amsterdam with a train (via Paris) but with many intermediate stops, transfers and daily trips, as we wrote HERE.
Out THIS DOCUMENT What is stated on the ACM website is to determine the travel times and where the train will stop if it is noticed that the train will not stop in Paris. The train was scheduled to depart at 5:50 p.m. from Amsterdam Central Station and at 11:20 a.m. the next day from Barcelona Sants. Otherwise, the train would leave Barcelona Sants at 6:40 p.m. to arrive in Amsterdam Central at 12:10 p.m. the next day.
In THIS DOCUMENT the ACM website states that a train with a capacity of 884 people is used: 108 sleeping places in a sleeping car; 540 places in a couchette; 36 places couchette with bicycle places; 120 seats in coaches and 80 seats in ‘coaches’ (?).
About the good night train
European sleeper to put night train travel back on the map, by shutting down a new Belgian-Dutch railway company in 2021. Because not only the founders are real train enthusiasts. Anyone who has ever traveled by night train will enthusiastically tell you about the adventure on board. It’s a nice way to travel, because stress doesn’t exist when you get closer to your destination while you sleep. Moreover, it is better for the earth than many other forms of travel, according to the website from European Sleeper.
