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Is Europe's night train enjoying a renaissance? While some operators are downsizing, European Sleeper continues to expand. After relaunching a Brussels-Berlin extended to Prague By 2026, the cooperative will be deploying a truly European night-time network: Paris-Berlin, Paris-Hamburg and a new strategic axis Brussels-Milan !
The cooperative also unveiled its roll-out schedule for 2026-2027: reservations for the Brussels-Milan line open until January 3, 2027, the arrival of the night train in Hamburg from July 2026, and the Brussels-Milan line via the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland from December 2026.
A strategy that confirms its ambition: to gradually build a genuine European night train network, with a cooperative model capable of achieving economic equilibrium without permanent subsidies. Zoom in on European Sleeper, its current and future routes, fares and approach.
By 2026, European Sleeper will be operating four major international routes:
The network is now organized around two structuring axes:
Launched in May 2023 between Brussels and Berlin, the line was extended to Prague in March 2024. It now runs three times a week in each direction.
Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague are the main cities connected. This link crosses four countries in one night, and forms the basis of the European Sleeper network.
European Sleeper
Passengers can choose between different categories: seats, berths or sleeping cars. Fares vary according to season and how far in advance you book.
After the closure of the Paris-Berlin ÖBB x SNCF Voyageurs route in December 2025, European Sleeper is relaunching the line.
The first departures are scheduled March 26, 2026with three round trips per week operated by the European Sleeper cooperative.
The train will depart from Paris-Nord at 5:45 p.m. and will reach Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 9:59 a.m. the next morning.
On the return journey, trains will leave Berlin at 6:31 p.m. for arrival at Paris-Nord at 10:45 a.m..
With nearly 1100 kilometers between the two capitals The Paris-Berlin route is perfectly suited to night trains. This new link marks an important step in the renaissance of the european night train reconnecting two major capitals directly, without having to fly!
The train will run from Paris to Berlin, passing through several cities in France, Belgium and Germany:
European Sleeper
From July 13, 2026the train will also continue to Hamburg-Harburg south of Hamburg.
The complete itinerary will therefore be :
Paris → Aulnoye-Aymeries → Mons → Brussels → Liège → Hamburg → Berlin
As with most night trains, traffic is designed to avoid commercial stops between midnight and 6 a.m. in order to preserve travelers' quality of sleep.
The line will run three times a week in each direction.
Departures Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday
Departures Monday, Wednesday and Friday
European Sleeper
Good news: European Sleeper doesn't offer just one way to travel, but several levels of comfort, from the most economical to the coziest. So you can tailor your journey to suit your budget (and your need for sleep).
There are three main options:
A seat compartment on the Paris-Berlin night train
If you opt for a bunk, the essentials are covered: sheets, pillows and blankets are supplied. On some of the more comfortable options, you may also be entitled to towel, slippers and even breakfast.
When it comes to configuration, not all compartments are created equal. Comfort compartments accommodate up to three passengers and offer more space and privacy than the Classic compartments with five berths.
Rosalie aboard a Classic Cabin on the European Sleeper night train!
Here we are on a classic" night train, modernized with a rather convivial atmosphere. Comfort is there, without being luxurious. Also worth noting: no private toilets in the cabins.
So, what do we choose?
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Tolt aboard a sleeper cab at the inauguration of European Sleeper's Paris-Berlin night train.
Unlike ÖBB Nightjets, European Sleeper trains do not currently have dining cars. But don't panic: you can buy drinks, snacks, beers, hot beverages and a few snacks directly on board.
Ordering is very simple from your compartment by scanning the on-board QR code. The train staff will then bring the order directly to your seat. You can also contact the stewards on the train.
For the Paris-Berlin route:
Morning service then resumes from 6h30. Passengers who have booked breakfast receive it directly in their compartment, even if they get off before this time.
From July 13, 2026Paris-Berlin night trains will also serve Hamburg-Harburg a railway station to the south of Hamburg.
This will enable us to reach Hamburg direct from Paris overnight with an early morning arrival.
Traffic days will remain the same:
Paris-Berlin via Hamburg
In concrete terms :
The final timetables are still being coordinated with the infrastructure managers of the countries crossed, and will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Hamburg is one of Northern Europe's biggest rail hubs.
From the city, it's easy to reach :
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Thanks to this new night-time link, it will be possible to leaving Paris in the evening and continuing on to Scandinavia the next day without a plane.
This extension reinforces the European and interconnected dimension of the Paris-Berlin line, which becomes a veritable rail corridor between Western and Northern Europe.
For European Sleeper, the addition of Hamburg reinforces the attractiveness and economic strength of the future Paris-Berlin route.
By connecting Paris, Brussels, Hamburg and Berlin on a single night-time route, the cooperative is consolidating its strategy of prioritizing the launch of long-distance routes with high load factor potential, capable of achieving economic equilibrium without permanent subsidies.
European Sleeper will offer several levels of comfort:
European Sleeper
These different options allow you to travel from economy seats to private cabins Depending on your budget and desired level of comfort.
In 2026, European Sleeper will open a new overnight service linking Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy! In other words, you'll soon be able to fall asleep in Brussels (accessible from via the OUIGO Paris-Brussels line from €10 for example), Antwerp or Eindhoven... to wake up in Milan.
With this new north-south axis, the cooperative is laying the foundations for a genuine night-time rail corridor between the Benelux countries and Italy.
The first departure is scheduled for September 9, 2026. Sales will open on March 17, 2026. Initially announced for June 2026 from Brussels and Amsterdam, the route has been postponed to September, and will initially start only from Brussels.
From December 14, 2026, European Sleeper will change the route of the line with a new route via Antwerp, Breda and Eindhoven to Cologne, Switzerland and Milan.
European Sleeper
This new route also illustrates a very concrete reality of European railways: launching an international night train is not just a matter of connecting major cities on a map. It also involves dealing with network saturation, available night-time capacity and the operational constraints of several countries.
The choice of a route via Breda and Eindhoven rather than Amsterdam could thus enable European Sleeper to make its future connection to Italy even more reliable, while strengthening Cologne as a strategic hub for its European network.
The cooperative is thus laying the foundations for a genuine night rail corridor between the Benelux countries and Italy. Although Amsterdam is no longer included in the route announced at this stage, European Sleeper confirms its ambition to gradually connect the Netherlands with northern Italy by night train.
A cooperative version of a Benelux-Italian mini Nightjet!
Here are the times revealed on the European Sleeper website:
From December 14, 2026, the main cities served will be Brussels, Antwerp, Breda, Eindhoven, Cologne, Lugano, Como and Milan.
Tickets will start at €49.99 in a shared Classic compartment. Private compartments start at €179.99.
Passengers can choose between Budget, Classic and Comfort classes, with Women-Only compartments as well.
Directly on the cooperative's website:
At the inauguration of the Paris-Berlin night rail service at the end of March 2026, Benjamin - aka Tolt - was on board! Here's his feedback:
👆 In this video decryption:
- The autopsy of a failure: Why did SNCF and ÖBB throw in the towel despite the success of the project?
- What is European Sleeper? Portrait of Elmer van Buren and Chris Engelsman, the two entrepreneurs who want to wake up your nights.
- Public VS Start-up cooperative: the clash of models
- In-flight test: We tested the "Comfort Plus" class. Unfiltered verdict on sleep, service and equipment. -
- The future : Barcelona, Milan, Zurich... what's next for the rail revolution?
As a cooperative, European Sleeper is unlike any other operator. Founded in 2021 by two Dutch rail enthusiasts, Chris Engelsman and Elmer van Buuren, its mission is clear: to connect European cities with comfortable night trains that are accessible to as many people as possible.
Initially financed by its co-owner members (including Anne herself, who says she bought "two European Sleeper shares" before even applying), the cooperative quickly grew into an international team of around 20-25 people.
Unlike the major incumbent operators, European Sleeper does not yet own its own rolling stock. In our 72nd podcast episode, Anne Dubost Director of Strategy and Business Development at European Sleeper, explains: "We don't own wagons, cars or premises today, we rent the equipment to partners".
To run its trains without owning any equipment, the cooperative relies on :
An agile operation, but also a complex one, especially when launching lines crossing several countries.
European Sleeper cultivates a strong bond with its members: "We have members who [...] help us with the purchase of rolling stock [...]. We're well surrounded both on the public side [...], the community and then the passengers who are on the train."
With 230,000 passengers already carried, the cooperative relies on :
This is a major advantage in a sector where innovation depends heavily on the ecosystem.
The cooperative's first permanent route was launched in May 2023: three weekly round trips between Brussels and Berlin. Less than a year later, in March 2024, the line was launched. extended to Prague three round trips a week, via Amsterdam and Berlin.
Gradually, European Sleeper is seeing better occupancy. Anne confides that the company is approaching equilibrium: "We're getting close, we haven't reached it yet to be really transparent (...), but in the high and mid-season months, we're breaking even".. The real challenge: the off-season months, when revenues do not yet cover costs.
In early 2024, European Sleeper also tested a seasonal Brussels-Venice service. It will not be repeated, as it is too demanding for a small team and too complex (5 countries crossed).
But the experience has been a formative one: testing restaurant cars, operational apprenticeships, new countries where the company is now applying for access to the network, timetable analysis... A real pilot's logic, taken on board.
European Sleeper
European Sleeper wants to demonstrate that night trains can achieve economic equilibrium without subsidies in the long term.
"We want to show that a night train service can break even. And that at the same time, it's possible to offer a night train service without the need for subsidies, or at least without permanent subsidies." - Anne Dubost | European Sleeper
Some routes, on the other hand, will never be able to do without public aid (she cites Paris-Aurillac as a counter-example). But for the Brussels-Prague or Paris-Berlin routes, Anne considers that profitability is within reach.
The load factor is decisive: a night train is not profitable from the very first month, it takes time to ramp up, and above all, the high season only partially compensates for the low season, which remains the real sticking point.
Distribution is also a major lever: their tickets are sold via their website, but also via Trainline, Omio, SNCB or Czech Railways.
"For us, it's an opportunity to be visible where users usually buy their tickets. - Anne Dubost | European Sleeper
Where Midnight Trains aimed for a premium offer, European Sleeper offers several levels of comfort. A more mass-market vision, accessible and capable of broadening the customer base.
"We offer several comfort classes [...]. We're aimed at the low-budget with seat compartments [...] starting at €30, and then after that we have sleeper compartments and car-bed compartments." - Anne Dubost | European Sleeper
At a time when several operators are reducing their night train services due to a lack of subsidies (Paris-Vienna and Paris-Berlin on the Nightjet side Stockholm-Berlin...), European Sleeper maintains its roadmap.
Anne's message is clear: yes, the context is difficult, and yes, night trains need start-up support; but no, they don't have to depend on lifetime subsidies if the offer is intelligently designed.
European Sleeper aims to prove the viability of the model, starting with the strongest lines, including the Paris-Berlin!
In 2026, European Sleeper:
The cooperative is gradually helping to structure a more coherent and accessible European nightlife network!
In short, European Sleeper is an ambitious, agile cooperative, clear-sighted about the challenges and convinced that a night train can be popular, comfortable and profitable. In the end, Brussels-Prague was just the starting point. Along with Paris-Berlin, Hamburg and Milan, European Sleeper could well re-shape the fabric of European night trains!
In the meantime, for all the latest European Sleeper news in real time, don't hesitate to subscribe to our Locomissive (the HOURRAIL! newsletter, in your mailbox every other Thursday):
Issue du monde de la communication et des médias, Sophie est Responsable éditoriale chez HOURRAIL ! depuis août 2024. Elle est notamment derrière le contenu éditorial du site ainsi que La Locomissive (de l'inspiration voyage bas carbone et des bons plans, un jeudi sur deux, gratuitement dans ta boîte mail !).
Convaincue que les changements d’habitude passent par la transformation de nos imaginaires, elle s’attache à montrer qu’il est possible de voyager autrement, de manière plus consciente, plus lente et plus joyeuse. Son objectif : rendre le slow travel accessible à toutes et tous, à travers des astuces, des décryptages et surtout, de nouveaux récits.
