Night Trains Are Back: European Sleeper Adds a Nordic Route, Launching April 2028

On 25 September, AVALW reported that roughly 200 regular sleeper connections now cross the continent. The report, published by the creator site, described the situation as "reshuffling rather than pure growth," with new lines appearing as older ones quietly disappear from timetables.

It also cited a survey of 11,000 people in which almost half said they would like to travel more by train and less by plane. That is the most recent dated development in the dossier, and it frames the rest: the network is shifting, not simply expanding.

The Dutch-Belgian open-access operator European Sleeper will run its new service three times a week in each direction in partnership with German railway company RDC, according to the route announcement. Trains leave around 7:00 PM and arrive at about 10:00 AM the next morning, stopping at Brussels-South, Antwerp, Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Malmö. It is the company's first direct night route into Scandinavia. Brussels-South already functions as the Western European hub, with Eurostar transfers to London St Pancras in 80 minutes and to Paris-Nord in 85. Malmö Central connects to Copenhagen Airport via the Öresund Bridge and to Gothenburg and Stockholm on SJ's X2000.

Ticket sales for the Nordic service are not open yet. The operator says reservations typically open 90 to 180 days before departure, which puts a realistic booking window somewhere in late 2027.

Four cabin classes, from seats to en-suite

European Sleeper is splitting the train into four tiers. Budget Class offers six reclining seats with power sockets. Classic Couchette has four or six bunks, shared washrooms and morning coffee. Comfort Sleeper covers private one to three-berth cabins with washbasins and breakfast. A Premium En-Suite option with double beds and private shower is still under evaluation, not confirmed.

The Nordic plan follows the operator's existing Brussels to Milan service, which runs three times weekly via Aachen, Cologne, Lugano and the Lake Como region. Stops at Antwerp, Breda and Eindhoven are being added. A Brussels to Barcelona route is targeted for mid-2028.

How much of the revival is real

The environmental claim circulating in that coverage is that an overnight train produces around 90 percent less carbon dioxide per passenger than the same trip by plane. The dossier does not name the source of that figure, so treat it as a claim rather than a measurement.

A separate explainer from the Cultured Wanderer traces the decline: night services were scrapped through the 1980s and 1990s as budget airlines and high-speed daytime rail took the traffic. It credits ÖBB Nightjet and Thalys with driving the current revival through upgraded rolling stock and premium cabins. That piece is undated, so it cannot be fixed to a news peg.

For anyone planning around the new route, the practical advice from the Consumer-facing guide at europeantourism.org still applies: book high-speed and night trains early, keep regional journeys flexible. Sleeper berths are reservation-compulsory on every operator named in the dossier.

The European Sleeper announcement is dated only by its April 2028 launch. No ticket prices have been published.