A new artery for European night travel is set to open in 2026, with European Sleeper announcing a brand-new service connecting Paris and Berlin via the Belgian capital, Brussels. This service, launching on March 26, 2026, steps in to fill a critical void being left by the imminent departure of the Nightjet service. The Austrian operator ÖBB is axing its Paris-Berlin and Paris-Vienna routes from December 14, citing the end of French government subsidies, a move that had disheartened proponents of the continent’s sleeper train revival.
The Dutch cooperative, which has been steadily building its network since 2023, is planning a frequent service. The train is expected to run three times weekly, with departures from Paris Gare du Nord on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and return journeys from Berlin on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This routing via Brussels is a strategic departure from the previous Nightjet route, creating new travel permutations and linking the de facto capital of the EU into this major sleeper line.
This new service is not just a like-for-like replacement; it’s an upgrade in capacity. Chris Engelsman, co-founder of European Sleeper, emphasized that the Nightjet’s 12-coach train from Paris had to divide its resources, sending some carriages to Vienna and others to Berlin. In contrast, European Sleeper’s train will consist of 12 to 14 coaches running entirely to Berlin, allowing it to carry 600 to 700 passengers, a significant increase that the company hopes will attract a wider ridership.
This announcement has been hailed as a “partial victory” by French campaign groups like ‘Oui au train de nuit!’. These activists had staged colorful protests, including a “pyjama party,” at Paris Gare de l’Est to protest the Nightjet cuts and had gathered over 91,000 signatures on a petition. The arrival of a new, high-capacity operator validates their belief that public demand for sustainable overnight travel remains strong, even if the subsidy models are changing.
Travelers should, however, adjust their expectations to the realities of a cooperative-run service. European Sleeper, which has carried over 230,000 passengers on its existing routes to Brussels and Prague, is known for its “mishmash of old carriages” and has faced mixed reviews for technical glitches. The new route will use 1990s-era German coaches, and notably, will not feature a dining car at launch. Engelsman admitted the high costs of food service make it “difficult to break even,” prioritizing the service’s core viability first.