Is this a further sign of a renaissance well underway?
Night trains are multiplying in Europe and seem ready to conquer travelers.
While the Austrian company ÖBB and its subsidiary Nightjet are spearheading this railway revolution, other players are also trying to change the sector.
This is the case with European Sleeper.
Last May, the Belgian-Dutch cooperative launched a line linking Brussels to Berlin, via Amsterdam, with six round trips per week.
Ten months later, the company extended the route to Prague.
Since March 25, travelers can now continue their journey to Dresden and the Czech capital, with stops in Bad Schandau, Germany, but also Děčín and Ústí nad Labem, in the Czech Republic.
This Monday, March 25, the first train on this new route left Brussels to travel to the Czech Republic.
An event relayed by the press and many train lovers.
And European Sleeper doesn't intend to stop there.
“Our goal is to add a new route every year so that we can continue to contribute to a more integrated and sustainable European transport network
,” said Elmer Van Buuren, one of the two co-founders of the cooperative, in a statement.
In a railway landscape dominated by national companies, European Sleeper is one of the rare private operators to have entered the night train market.
A new option for Eastern Europe
Prices for Brussels-Prague start at 49 euros for a seat and 79 euros for a berth in a shared compartment.
Prices which tend to change quickly depending on demand.
Count, for example, 89 euros for a seat if you book on April 17, and 119 euros for a berth in a compartment.
For a private cabin, you will have to pay nearly 280 euros.
Still, the alternative should appeal to some, as the train tends to become more popular at a time of climate emergency and a general call to use more gentle mobility.
The opening of this line also represents a new option for traveling to Eastern Europe.
From Paris, it is in fact possible to reach Brussels, then board a train, heading to the city of Kafka.
The company offers three Brussels-Prague and three Prague-Brussels journeys per week, in around 15h30.
Until now, one of the best alternatives was to take a night train between Paris and Vienna (around 15 hours of travel), then to make the trip between Vienna and Prague (4.5 hours by train).
As for European Sleeper, the company should continue its growth, with the launch of a new route which will connect Amsterdam, Brussels and Barcelona at the beginning of 2025 or 2026, with a passage through the south of France.
“There is a lot of potential
,” Elmer Van Buuren told us last June.
“The main difficulties we encounter are the lack of trains to use, but also the problem of coordination between countries, particularly in France.”
The challenge is big.