Brussels, Belgium

European Sleeper, a startup railway company launched the first direct sleeper train between Berlin and Brussels in more than a decade this week, and it is now operational. Passengers were served champagne on board to commemorate the event.  

Advertisment

The aim of the company is to push for less polluting alternatives to air travel in Europe. 

The sleeper train is the only direct nightly service between the two capitals since 2009. The first train left Brussels at 7:22pm (1722 GMT) on Friday and was scheduled to arrive in Berlin at 8:01am (0601 GMT) on Saturday. 

European Sleeper was set up in 2021 and its first overnight route is from Brussels to Berlin. The railway will be expanded to Dresden and Prague in 2024, with further routes planned. 

Advertisment

European Sleeper's co-founder Chris Engelsman said, "We're making good progress" when it comes to the financing side for extra carriages and "this is one of the areas where the European Commission can help". 

With the inauguration of the Brussels-Berlin route, Engelsman also hopes to capitalise on a sudden increase in interest in rail which is seen as a green alternative to cheap airfares. 

Engelsman said, "It's a nice way to travel - especially by night train, it is a very pleasant way, it's very comfortable and it's also an adventure. Your holidays start when you are boarding." 

Advertisment

He also weighed in on the challenges, as he stated that establishing the service had been tough due to the lack of cross-border slots and a lack of cooperation across national railway networks. 

"We think there is a major challenge in the administrative and bureaucratic processes on the track access, the infrastructure managers because they are organised nationally in essence and they are all different. The rules are all different. The regulations are terrible," Engelsman added. 

Engelsman said that he got Belgian subsidies to establish the route. An upcoming night service train from Amsterdam to Barcelona, which is scheduled to start in 2025, will be one of ten pilot cross-border train services slated to get financial backing from the European Commission, he further mentioned. 

'Nice way to travel' 

Laurence Couvreur, 49, a passenger and doctor living in Brussels, told news agency Reuters, "I think it's the best (means of transport). It's the best for the climate but it's also a nice way to travel." 

"It's a nice way to meet people, to meet people from the country, to take time. For me, it was already nice before (the Brussels-Berlin night service was suspended in 2009). And that it came back - I find it amazing - except the price," Couvreur added. 

On being asked about why she picked the train, Heather Grabbe, 52, a passenger and political scientist living in Brussels, told Reuters, "I love trains both because they are sustainable. I believe that we must have low-carbon transport and trains are by far the best way of travelling with much lower impact on the environment than flying and also than driving. So I want to support the train industry." 

(With inputs from agencies) 

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.