Night trains connect Berlin and Brussels 3 times a week. The EU wants to support the expansion of the network. However, much work remains to be done on cross-border rail connections.
Friday a week ago. On a sunny spring morning, just after 10 am, the premiere is taking place at the Brussels Midi station. Here it comes: the first night train from Berlin. After years of hiatus, the new line will once again connect the two European capitals with three trips a week. Regular travel time: Less than ten and a half hours. Seats start from €49 one way, bunks from €79, and comfortable beds from €109 including breakfast. Passengers on the inaugural flight were enthusiastic despite a 50-minute delay.
“Very good. Maybe a little long, but you sleep most of the time. The staff were nice and we had everything we needed on board. Definitely a good option,” said one traveler. Another finding: “The cabins are older than expected, but are very comfortable and a better way to travel.”
The number of offers has doubled since 2020
People in Brussels are also happy about this new connection. According to Jeroen Roppe of the city’s tourism office, this will give more people the opportunity to explore the Belgian metropolis in environmentally friendly transport. “Paris, Cologne, Amsterdam and London are less than two hours from Brussels by train. Train connections are extremely important to us.”
Regardless, Night Train is currently celebrating a surprise comeback in Europe. Since 2020, the number of connections has more than doubled from about 90 then to more than 200 today. “Nightjets” or “Sleepers” travel between Berlin and Warsaw, Zurich and Budapest or Stuttgart and Venice. The “Night Express” connects Hamburg with Malmö in Sweden.
EU backs pilot project
The European Commission wants to support the expansion of the network and has so far funded ten pilot projects. The aim is for night trains to be able to use more high-speed routes within Europe in the future, thus competing with airplanes not only in terms of price and sustainability, but also in terms of travel time.
European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said: “There is a great demand for rail travel in Europe, but the market needs to improve, especially for cross-border connections.”
Evening train fares are cheaper?
Network “Back on Track” agrees. Patrick Neumann, a spokesman for the initiative, said the initiative wanted to put more night trains on tracks across Europe and hoped to gain more political support for it. “The basic framework conditions must be improved, for example by reducing the price of the night track. Every kilometer costs money, every lap has a price,” Neumann said.
“For international travel, VAT is charged on air tickets in countries where the ‘sleeper’ travels (i.e. Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands), but not in almost all other countries. If you fly, you also don’t pay any Costs. These are injustices that also need to be corrected in climate protection.
Invest in EU countries different a lot of
Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg, a rail expert for the Green Party in the European Parliament, sees three main problems with expanding night train connections. “First of all, not all routes are in good shape because investment in rail networks varies widely across EU countries,” she said.
Secondly, there are too many national standards such as gauge, and it is necessary to change locomotives at the border, resulting in high ticket prices. Third, trains are not competitive with planes because there are no booking platforms and there are not enough modern sleeper trains.
“We always have smaller projects where people say: well, we now buy old rolling stock from Eastern European Railways and we refurbish it somehow. But it’s not up to standard. I think you can get more A lot of people are excited about it, taking the night train,” Deparnay-Grunenberg said.
demand exceeds supply
Currently, tickets on existing routes usually sell out quickly, which, according to the Green MP, is a clear indication that demand has far outstripped supply.
In any case, many passengers on the first journey between Berlin and Brussels wanted to continue their journey on the night train. “I think it’s great and can only recommend trains over planes, also for environmental reasons,” said one traveler. “we are very happy.”