On board a European Sleeper night train linking Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin at Deventer station, Netherlands, May 26, 2023. EVA PLEVIER/ANP/AFP
Is there a viable business model for night trains without subsidies? European Sleeper is convinced that there is. On Thursday, March 26, the Belgian-Dutch cooperative is relaunching the night train between Paris and Berlin that SNCF abandoned in December 2025. The historic French rail operator pulled out when the French government decided not to renew, for a third time, a "start-up subsidy" granted after the highly publicized relaunch of this emblematic route in 2023.
Seizing the opportunity, European Sleeper – which already operates night trains between Brussels, Berlin and Prague – stepped in to fill the gap left by SNCF, but without any public funding. This new Paris-Berlin route will pass through Belgium, with stops at Aulnoye (northern France); Mons and Brussels (Belgium); and Hamburg (Germany). It will no longer split off in two halfway, with one half of the train continuing on to Vienna, Austria, as its predecessor did. However, as it did before, it will run every other day in both directions and will not operate on Saturdays. Tickets will range from €50 to €180, and travelers can choose among three levels of comfort.
