The overnight sleeper train that for the past two years has linked Paris and Berlin will get a new life as European Sleeper has stepped in to replace a service canceled by NightJet.
The new service, to be operated by Dutch/Belgian company European Sleeper, will pick up the service in March, with a route that runs from Paris to Brussels and then to Berlin; intermediate stops will be added later. Unlike the Nightjet service, the new train will take all 12 to 14 cars to Berlin; Nightjet split the train mid-journey, with half headed to Vienna and the rest to Berlin.
Essentially, European Sleeper is adding the Paris-Brussels leg to its existing Brussels-Berlin service, with the possibility of adding more runs per week to the current three in each direction. Fares will be in the same range as the canceled service, starting at about €50. Tickets go on sale December 16th.
NightJet canceled the service after two years of construction and maintenance issues along its route, followed by budget-driven cancelation of its French subsidy. Nightjet is operated by the Austrian state railways, a leading proponent of overnight sleepers.
In other sleeper news, Polish railways will soon begin running an overnight sleeper from eastern Poland, serving Krakow but not Warsaw, and ending its run with stops in Vienna, Salzburg and Munich.
