A Dutch-Belgian company has filed for permission to run an overnight sleeper train from Amsterdam to Barcelona, with stops along the way in cities including Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Brussels.
European Sleeper, a new entrant in the growing network of overnight trains, wants to start the service in late 2023, with details of stops and schedules to be finalized later. Initially they plan to run three nights a week in each direction with the possibility of going to daily.
Night sleeper trains, once abandoned for dead by most companies, have seen a rapid revival in recent years as an alternative to flying and as a saving on a hotel night. Austria’s rail operator gave the movement a push by taking over and expanding a number of routes over the past few years, and now a number of other companies have jumped in.