The European Sleeper night train linking Brussels to Berlin (via Amsterdam) since May 2023 will be extended as planned to Dresden and Prague from next week.
"From 25 March, the Good Night Train will be heading to Dresden and Prague," the company said in a statement. "The first successful test run to Prague took place on 12 March to ensure a smooth celebratory inaugural journey." The service's extension is being launched almost one year after the European Sleeper started running between Brussels and Berlin via Antwerp and Amsterdam, among others.
The night train will now also stop in Dresden, Bad Schandau in the Saxon Switzerland National Park, and once in the Czechia, in Decin and Usti nad Labem – two towns on the Elbe river – before finally pulling into Prague. This means four European capitals will then be linked by one train, with the possibility of reaching Paris and London with a connection in Brussels.
Credit: Belga/ James Arthur Gekiere
European Sleeper's overnight train will run three times a week, departing Brussels-Midi on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Departure is scheduled at 19:22 in Brussels and 20:01 in Antwerp. The train will pass Berlin after 06:00, stop in Dresden two hours later and it will arrive in Prague shortly before 11:00. During the journey, 17 stops are planned: in Antwerp, seven in the Netherlands, six in Germany and three in Czechia.
The return train will depart from Czechia at 18:04 and arrive in Brussels at 09:27 the following morning, with two fewer stops along the way. It is hoped the service will be expanded, allowing it to run on a daily basis soon.
Brussels to Barcelona?
European Sleeper's director Chris Engelsman notes that the addition of Dresden and Prague should attract many more passengers. "We expect around 40% of passengers to travel to one of these two cities. The remaining 60% will travel between Brussels and Berlin."
He also stated the company aims to add a new route every year. For instance, it is working to introduce an Amsterdam-Brussels-Barcelona connection in 2025 or 2026, an initiative selected by the European Commission as one of ten pilot projects aimed at improving European cross-border rail connections.
This train is expected to depart from Amsterdam and stop in Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels and Lille before heading to the south of France, halting in Avignon, Montpellier and Perpignan. It would then head to the Spanish cities of Figueres, Girona before finally arriving in Barcelona in the morning.
Since December last year, European Sleeper has competed with Austrian railway company ÖBB's Nightjet on the Brussels-Berlin route. ÖBB's service also runs the nocturnal route between the cities three times a week but travels via the German capital via Cologne, Bonn and Frankfurt, among others. Another Nightjet service connects Brussels to Vienna, the Austrian capital.
