Beds, stars and rails: a comfortable renaissance is taking place in Europe. While millions of Americans find themselves stuck between highways, stations and airports in the traffic of tomorrow's Memorial Day, in the old continent there is a return to the past made up of more human rhythms. This week kicked off the European sleeper, the first of many (hopefully) new night trains that will encourage internal travel on our continent. This in particular connects Brussels to Berlin.
One night chuff chuff
The approximately 750 kilometer journey takes place overnight, allowing passengers to sleep comfortably in cabins with their own beds. The next morning, travelers wake up to a breakfast served directly on board and prepare for arrival at the station. “Night trains are a pleasant and very efficient way of traveling,” he says Chris Engelsman, co-founder of the European Sleeper. “He's also a little adventurous.”
Engelsman and his partner, Elmer van Buuren, have structured this project as a cooperative funded by the train enthusiast community. In April 2021 alone, they raised over £15 from 500.000 supporters in 350 minutes. A year later, they raised a further £2 million. An amazing success, which ultimately makes us understand how much there is a need for more human rhythms, even when traveling.
How did the idea for the European Sleeper come about?
The European Sleeper started from an experiment conducted by Engelsman in 2019. He organized an overnight trip between the Netherlands and Berlin, with a jazz festival, DJ, bar and restaurant on board. Despite the lack of sleep, the experience was invaluable in understanding the ins and outs of organizing a train trip.
Initially, the European Sleeper will operate three times a week, with a capacity of around 500 passengers per route. For travel in June, an overnight ticket from Brussels to Berlin in a six-bed cabin costs around 500 euros, including breakfast. There is also a cheaper option, if you buy an entire private compartment with 6 seats, for around 300 euros. The most luxurious cabins, with three beds, are already booked until July.
These are clearly high prices, even if you should consider the sum of a trip and an overnight stay in a hotel with breakfast. The spread of night trains, however, will lower these figures, allowing a more accessible and extensive use of this "old new travel format".
Night trains, back to Green
It's not just Engelsman and Van Buuren who believe in the return of night trains. Other rail operators are also launching new routes, driven by the need to reduce the environmental impact of the transport sector. Traveling by night train it can generate a tenth of carbon emissions of an equivalent flight.
I love this perspective. By rediscovering the forgotten charm of night trains, Europe can resume its journey towards a greener future. It is not just a return to the past, but the beginning of a sustainable adventure. The passengers fall asleep and a new era awakens: slower, more respectful of the planet, more human. And on the horizon, with the first light of dawn, you can already glimpse the destination: a future of travel that has as much flavor of adventure as sustainability.
See you on the next train.
