A railway renaissance is budding on the Continent. As travellers increasingly seek greener ways of seeing the world, and European governments focus investment on their railways, the night train – which slid off the rails a decade ago as no-frills flights boomed – is making a comeback.
Last week brought the launch of one of Europe’s most ambitious sleeper routes: the so-called Good Night Train from Brussels to Berlin, via Antwerp, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
The route – departing from Brussels Midi – is an easy connection from Eurostar services, meaning UK passengers can have breakfast in London, before hopping on a morning train from St Pancras, then disembark for lunch with a Stella Artois in Brussels and be in Berlin in time for leberwurst at breakfast. They could also choose to hop off in Rotterdam or Amsterdam at dinnertime (or at least enjoy a sandwich while passing through the cities en route to Berlin).
Operated by European Sleeper, the Good Night Train has been launched by Dutch and Belgian entrepreneurs Elmer van Buuren and Chris Engelsman, and joins Austria’s burgeoning ÖBB railways Nightjet services, Sweden’s Snälltåget sleeper between Stockholm and Berlin and resurgent routes on SNCF and Czechia’s ČD Prague to Zurich night train.
French start-up Midnight Trains is aiming to launch “hotel on rails” services from Paris to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Denmark – and Edinburgh – from 2025. European Sleeper plans to expand its network with services to Prague, the South of France and Barcelona by spring 2025.
Hotels are recognising changing habits, too. The Hoxton group – which has handily opened smart new hotels in Brussels and Berlin in the past month – is offering guests a £20 discount if they arrive by train.
The hotels book-ended my trip on the inaugural European Sleeper journey this weekend – celebrated with much fanfare at Brussels Midi station – with journalists, politicians and rail enthusiasts who gathered to send the newly formed service on its way.
Busy with business travellers, Brussels is also a great city to explore as a tourist, particularly by bike. Drivers are accustomed to cyclists, and pedaling along the canal and through its cobbled streets made for a pleasant afternoon, followed by a coffee, or a cocktail or two. L’Archiduc in the centre, with live music through the evening, was just the spot before boarding the train.
At Brussels Midi station, bells rang and trainspotters cheered as the 12-carriage train pulled into platform five. Staff handed out glasses of champagne and cans of beer, branded with the European Sleeper logo.
Georges Gilkinet, Belgium’s transport minister, waved from a cabin window, alongside Engelsman and van Buuren.
As the train departed Brussels for its debut journey at 7.22pm, the station was busy with locals waving and taking pictures.
I was in a two-person Deluxe Sleeper compartment, at the upper end of the ticket options, with prices starting at €129 one way (more basic Comfort Couchettes with four bunks start at €89 and entry-level Budget seats at €59). It was compact, but had everything I could need: bunk beds, with slim but comfortable mattresses and a pillow on each bed and a duvet.
Taller travellers should note that the upper bunk is unsuitable for anyone over six feet due to the curvature of the train roof, though Englesman says that it “offers more privacy”. The rest of the “upstairs” (accessed by a ladder) is potential storage space, with capacity to take far more luggage than you typically would on a flight.
By the two windows, with black-out blinds, was a comfortable seat and small table, as well as an enclosed corner with a wash basin and well-lit mirror. There was also a single plug socket located directly above the sink, meaning any electrical devices without a long lead would dangle below the tap.
Currently, the trains use rolling stock that date to 1955 but have been refurbished. While they are bright and comfortable, they still lack some of the mod cons you might expect. Significantly, they are not wheelchair accessible (though folding wheelchairs can be carried as luggage). Engelmans says that accessibility will be addressed as trains are refurbished – hopefully earlier if the group can lease appropriate stock.
I found that the cabin’s electricity only worked in Germany, though Engelmans is keen to stress that while power sockets “work better in Germany… the lights always work in Belgium and the Netherlands” and that the sockets will tend work in these countries “after a reset”.
There are further sockets located high up along the corridors of couchette carriages which work at any stage of the journey, though this requires you to stand along the cramped walkways and hold your phone aloft like it is Simba, from Disney’s The Lion King.
According to Engelmans, these coaches are still the norm on night trains in Western Europe, the “result of 30 years of neglect” by the big operators. European Sleeper is currently planning a refurbishment project to offer more comfort, privacy and a “modern look and feel” by 2026.
Until then, they are working with existing rolling stock, which also means the trains don’t have Wi-Fi – which tends to be costly to implement. Toilets are communal and there are no showers. To some, this might make the sleeper train seem an unappealing prospect; a journey you might take for practicality, environmental considerations or cost.
But there is something deeply romantic about trundling through the night by train, falling asleep in one country and awakening in another.
Looking out of the cabin’s rectangular windows, I could see the canvas of a changing continent. Hour-by-hour, Europe flickered by: the open green fields of Flanders, the glow of Amsterdam, the wood and concrete of station after station, on this occasion decorated with trainspotters delighted to see a new night train.
This is slow travel. It offers the rarest of opportunities in modern life: a chance to watch the world, not be watched by it.
All of life can be found in a sleeper train, too. A couple huddled under a blanket, heads rested together on one couch, their feet spread across the opposite seats. Families with excitable young children pointing out landmarks. Dog owners, able to holiday with man’s best friend thanks to the space and convenience.
I chatted with a cabin of four 20-something Belgian men who were listening to music and playing card games, their cabin littered with beer cans. “We’re going to Berlin on a bike vacation,” Maurets, told me.
“A car wouldn’t take all of us and our bikes, and we don’t like planes for the environment. There are day trains, but it’s a pain to change trains, so this is much better.”
Further along, the sound of train enthusiasts echoed through the train. A Dutch woman travelling with her stuffed toy penguin, Brix, told me: “I am so happy it’s here. The seats are quite comfortable, and it’s rolling stock that has been going for decades, so that’s a good sign.”
A middle-aged woman from Cambridgeshire said she took this option because, “Why not? Isn’t it nicer to put your feet up, have a picnic and smell the countryside passing by.”
At times, the age of the track and carriages made the journey uncomfortable. Tracks thundered, and the carriage walls creaked. You are unlikely to benefit from uninterrupted sleep – though the man in the neighbouring cabin gave it his best go, judging by the heavy snoring.
Helpfully, Hoxton hotels is offering early, sleeper train check-ins. I got off at Berlin shortly before 8am and headed straight for a shower at its new Charlottenburg hotel. Arriving at these Hoxton properties is like walking into a 1970s film set complete with sleek wooden furniture, velvet sofas and art deco patterns.
This is a trip ideal for the environmentally-conscious: according to the Eco Passenger calculator, the Brussels-Berlin train journey emits roughly 133 per cent less carbon than an equivalent flight. Engelmans and van Burren hope to attract business travellers to European Sleeper too, who could utilise the privacy of a compartment to work as they travel. However, the lack of Wi-Fi and current absence of a dining car there are hurdles to overcome.
But for a lover of the slow ride, that sense of adventure and tradition that only trains can provide, then this journey is enchanting. I am already planning my return this summer. Next time I’ll be copying the Belgian lads: mates, beers and the beautiful European landscape passing by.
Travel essentials
The train
European Sleeper currently runs three times a week, and tickets from Brussels or Amsterdam to Berlin start at £42 for a seat, with a bed costing from around £95, europeansleeper.eu/en
Where to stay
Hoxton Brussels has doubles starting from £187, thehoxton.com/brussels
Hoxton Berlin Charlottenburg doubles from £137, thehoxton.com/charlottenburg
If you travel by train, a discount of £20 is offered for the total value of the stay.
More information
