Railway companies from Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland plan to launch new international night train connections, which would link Brussels to Berlin and Paris in 2023.
The cooperation agreement was officially presented on Tuesday. By the end of 2021, the cooperation between the railway companies would provide the first new night train connections: Vienna-Munich-Paris and Zurich-Cologne-Amsterdam.
In 2023, Vienna-Berlin-Brussels and Vienna-Berlin-Brussels-Paris night train connections would be added to the offer, the Belga press agency reports based on sources at German railway company Deutsche Bahn.
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The cooperation is an important step towards the announced Trans Europ Express (TEE) 2.0, according to German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer.
In September, Scheuer already presented a concept of the TEE 2.0, aiming to connect cities across all of Europe via a combination of high-speed trains and night trains, without the need for excessive investment in infrastructure.
Currently, Belgium has one night train connection, Brussels-Vienna, operated by the Austrian railway company ÖBB. The connection has been temporarily suspended, however, due to the coronavirus. A restart date has not been announced yet.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
