A Dutch startup is launching a new night train service next yr that can connect several main European cities.
From April 2022, European Sleeper aims to link Brussels and Prague, taking in Amsterdam, Berlin, and other destinations along the way.
The project goals to capitalize on surging demand for climate-friendly travel, as the EU tries to encourage more passengers away from short-haul flights.
“There used to be a lot more night trains than nowadays and I want to bring them back,” European Sleeper co-founder Elmer Van Buuren informed the newspaper.
“Individuals can sleep and get rested while being transported, and then get up in a new city on time for a professional meeting. It is kind of magical.”
Van Buuren thinks that creating a few night train lines is an easier and cheaper investment than “building high-speed lines everywhere”, due to the difficulties of coordinating between nations and get attractive timetables.
However, he rejects the idea that a revamp of night trains could herald a new golden era for railways.
“In case you look at the overall of traveling throughout Europe, the train will never be the major way of traveling”.
However, he argues, “more and more people are discovering” the comfort of avoiding “all kinds of queues” at the airport”, and he thinks trains are there to offer a good alternative.
