Berlin – A little more patience please. The planned night train from Berlin to Amsterdam and Brussels has been waiting a little longer than last announced. If the new international connection starts in April 2022, the operators are now talking about summer 2022. “We still need a little time to be able to offer our passengers a very good offer,” said Chris Engelsman from the Dutch-Belgian start-up. European Sleeper company of the Berliner Zeitung. But the night train, which should offer a climate-friendly alternative to air travel between the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, will definitely come. An important element has now been established: the timetable.
“It was terrible,” says Engelsman from the Netherlands. He means the difficult process of getting those responsible for the rail network to get an acceptable route for the self-operated, i.e. not subsidized, train. While planes, trucks and buses in Europe can easily move from one country to another, the hurdles in international rail traffic remain high.
Berlin plays an important role in the success of the new train
The criticism was not directed against the contact persons with whom the night train operators had to do while looking for a good slot, stressed Chris Engelsman. “They were willing to help us.” But the rules in force in the respective countries would have made the undertaking arduous. Sometimes trains of this type enjoy a high priority, then again the operators have to put themselves at the bottom in the figurative sense. “There was a lot of discussion,” said European Sleeper. “We all have routes now,” said Ales Ondruj. He is spokesman for the Czech rail company Regiojet, which will operate the night train between Prague and Brussels for European Sleeper.
As an important market, Berlin played a major role in efforts to design a good roadmap, Engelsman said. The departure should not take place too late at night and the arrival not too early in the morning. “We had to find the right balance.” Ultimately, the planners assume that Berlin will make a significant contribution to the expected number of passengers.
Initially three times a week, from now on daily
The now coordinated timetable stipulates that the journey starts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.22 p.m. in the train station Bruxelles Midi / Brussel Zuid. After stops in Antwerp (8:01 p.m.), Rotterdam (9:22 p.m.) and The Hague (9:42 p.m.), the journey continues to Amsterdam. The new night train is to continue its journey from the main train station there at 10:34 p.m. According to the plan, Berlin Central Station will be reached at 5.52 a.m. Via Dresden Hauptbahnhof (7.49 a.m.), Bad Schandau, Decín and Ústí nad Labem, you will travel to the Czech capital. The station Praha Holesovice is reached at 10.14 a.m., the main train station Praha hlavní nádrazí at 10.24 a.m.
RegioJet
Breakfast is ready! Another look inside a Regiojet sleeping car.
On Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays it should return from Prague at 7:31 p.m. The night train leaves Dresden Central Station at 9:02 p.m., and departure from Berlin Central Station is scheduled for 11:05 p.m. Amsterdam should be reached at 6:26 a.m., Rotterdam at 7:27 a.m. and Antwerp at 8:47 a.m. Arrival in Brussels is expected at 9:54 a.m.
“The timetable is equally attractive for tourists, city and business travelers,” said European Sleeper. Comfort levels, prices and the exact start date are to be announced in early 2022. It will be possible to rent entire compartments. Bicycles are also transported. It shouldn’t stop at three journeys a week: “The goal is for the train to leave every day as soon as possible.”
Car group planned via Berlin to Warsaw
The Czech company Regiojet, with which European Sleeper works, would like to use seated, couchette and sleeping cars on the new connection. “The fares should be competitive compared to buses and low-cost airlines,” said spokesman Ales Ondruj. Nevertheless, the quality should not be compromised: “There is the full Regiojet on-board service – including breakfast, WiFi, coffee and other free offers.” other parts of Central Europe. As reported, the Czechs are planning a night train from Berlin to Ljubljana and Zagreb, which should start in December 2022.
Why does the night train to Amsterdam and Brussels only start operating a few months later? Good, comfortable sleeping cars are crucial for success, it said. “European Sleeper is working on the availability of further cars with which we can offer an attractive and good price-performance ratio.” Engelsman hopes that operations can begin in early summer.
In the meantime, European Sleeper and Regiojet are already working on expanding the range. The goal is to also create a night train connection to and from Warsaw, said Engelsman. In a first stage, the train from Brussels and Amsterdam will get an additional group of wagons from December 2022, which will be detached in Berlin and transported from there to the Polish capital, said the Dutchman. From there, the wagons roll back west in the evening. “Maybe there will be a separate night train to and from Warsaw later,” it said.
The railways have to contend with disadvantages in international traffic
You can travel from Berlin to Amsterdam without having to change trains – but for the last seven years only during the day with the Intercity. In December 2014, Deutsche Bahn (DB) discontinued night train connections from Berlin to Paris, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. The expenses were well above the income, so the reasoning. High costs for the use of rail routes and stations, for locomotives and for shunting contributed to the negative balance.
It is not only in this respect that rail transport is inferior to buses and airplanes in international transport, there are also other structural disadvantages for railways. In contrast to air transport, energy taxes are incurred, and long-distance train tickets are subject to seven percent VAT in Germany, while international flight tickets are exempt.
With European Sleeper, an unusual player is trying to establish itself in the difficult market. The start-up describes itself as a cooperative company. “At the end of May 2021, we raised EUR 500,000 in start-up capital within 15 minutes by selling shares to more than 350 small investors in Europe and beyond,” said Engelsman. He and his colleague Elmar van Buuren grew up in the Netherlands on railway lines that were used by night trains. Now they have turned their childhood memories into a profession – and hope for success.
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