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Operator guide · updated October 2026

European Sleeper, the whole network

The cooperative bringing night trains back to Europe.

Three routes and nine departures a week in each direction, from Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam to Berlin, Prague and Milan.

Hover a line to pick it out; click it for the animated route.

Bruxelles-MidiAntwerpen-CentraalRoosendaalRotterdam CentraalDen Haag HSAmsterdam CentraalDeventerBerlin GesundbrunnenDresden HbfPraha hl.n.Paris NordAulnoye-AymeriesMonsHamburg-HarburgKöln HbfAarauArth-GoldauGöschenenBellinzonaLuganoComo S. GiovanniMilano Porta Garibaldi
Routes running0 routesBrussels–Prague since 2023, Paris–Berlin and Brussels–Milan since 2026.
Stations served0 stationsAcross Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Czechia.
Countries crossed0 countriesLowest published fare: €29.99 for a Budget seat to Milan.
The routes

Three nights, three ways south and east

01 · Belgium · Netherlands · Germany · Czechia

Brussels–Prague

European Sleeper’s first route, and still its longest.

Board in Brussels or Amsterdam in the evening, cross Germany in the dark, wake in Berlin, then run up the Elbe valley through Saxon Switzerland to Prague by late morning.

15h 38m end to endShared from €79.99
Watch the route →
02 · France · Belgium · Germany

Paris–Berlin

When Nightjet dropped Paris–Berlin in December 2025, European Sleeper stepped in.

Its second route left Paris Nord for the first time in March 2026: out through northern France and Wallonia in the evening, Hamburg at dawn, Berlin mid-morning.

16h 7m end to endShared from €79.99
Watch the route →
03 · Belgium · Germany · Switzerland · Italy

Brussels–Milan

The newest route, launched on 9 September 2026.

Leave Brussels after dinner, sleep down the Rhine, and wake in central Switzerland for breakfast on the old Gotthard mountain line, then roll past Lugano and Lake Como into Milan before lunch.

16h 34m end to endShared from €49.99
Watch the route →
Full timetable

All six trains, every stop

The standard pattern for autumn 2026, from European Sleeper’s timetable.

Track works can shift times on particular dates.

Brussels–Prague →

Brussels → Amsterdam → Berlin → Prague

ES 453 · Departs Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Arr.Dep.Station
—19:22Bruxelles-Midi
19:5820:02Antwerpen-Centraal
20:4220:44Roosendaal
21:1721:21Rotterdam Centraal
21:3721:39Den Haag HS
22:1722:34Amsterdam Centraal
23:1023:14Amersfoort Centraal
23:4823:55Deventer
06:0106:03Berlin Gesundbrunnennext day
08:2908:32Dresden Hbf
11:00—Praha hl.n.

Prague → Berlin → Amsterdam → Brussels

ES 452 · Departs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday

Arr.Dep.Station
—18:00Praha hl.n.
20:2720:33Dresden Hbf
22:5423:01Berlin Gesundbrunnen
05:0905:12Deventernext day
05:4505:48Amersfoort Centraal
06:2606:31Amsterdam Centraal
07:1007:12Den Haag HS
07:2707:33Rotterdam Centraal
08:1108:16Roosendaal
08:4308:47Antwerpen-Centraal
09:27—Bruxelles-Midi

Paris–Berlin →

Paris → Brussels → Hamburg → Berlin

ES 475 · Departs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday

Arr.Dep.Station
—18:03Paris Nord
20:1820:33Aulnoye-Aymeries
20:5821:02Mons
21:4321:45Bruxelles-Midi
23:0323:12Liège-Guillemins
06:5707:00Hamburg-Harburgnext day
10:10—Berlin Gesundbrunnen

Berlin → Hamburg → Brussels → Paris

ES 474 · Departs Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Arr.Dep.Station
—17:25Berlin Gesundbrunnen
21:4721:55Hamburg-Harburg
06:1306:15Liège-Guilleminsnext day
07:3507:50Bruxelles-Midi
08:5608:58Mons
09:2109:36Aulnoye-Aymeries
11:48—Paris Nord

Brussels–Milan →

From 13 December 2026 the timetable changes: trains run from Brussels via Antwerp, Breda and Eindhoven to Cologne, and no longer call at Aachen.

Brussels → Cologne → Gotthard → Milan

ES 401 · Departs Monday, Thursday and Saturday

Arr.Dep.Station
—19:06Bruxelles-Midi
20:3520:37Verviers
21:0721:13Aachen Hbf
21:5622:07Köln Hbf
05:3805:40Aaraunext day
06:3306:35Arth-Goldau
07:3007:58Göschenen
09:0609:08Bellinzona
09:4009:42Lugano
10:4110:43Como S. Giovanni
11:40—Milano Porta Garibaldi

Milan → Gotthard → Cologne → Brussels

ES 400 · Departs Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

Arr.Dep.Station
—15:45Milano Porta Garibaldi
16:5516:57Como S. Giovanni
18:4218:44Lugano
19:2119:23Bellinzona
20:3020:52Göschenen
21:4922:00Arth-Goldau
22:5522:58Aarau
08:0008:03Köln Hbfnext day
08:4808:55Aachen Hbf
09:4209:46Verviers
11:39—Bruxelles-Midi

Source: European Sleeper timetable ↗, checked 17 October 2026.

Bookings are open to March 2027 and, for Milan, to September 2027.

Classes and fares

Seat, couchette or sleeper

European Sleeper sells four classes on every route: Budget (a reclining seat in a six-seat compartment), Classic (a couchette in a shared 5- or 6-berth compartment, bed linen included), Comfort Standard and Comfort Plus (3-person sleeper compartments; Comfort Plus adds breakfast).

Whole compartments can be booked privately, and women-only compartments are offered.

ClassBrussels–PragueParis–BerlinBrussels–Milan
BudgetSee bookingSee bookingFrom €29.99
ClassicShared from €79.99 · private from €249.99Shared from €79.99 · private from €279.99Shared from €49.99 · private from €179.99
Comfort StandardSee bookingSee bookingFrom €99.99
Comfort PlusSee bookingSee bookingFrom €129.99

“From” fares, one way per person, as published by European Sleeper.

Prices rise as trains fill.

Where no figure is published we say so rather than guess.

How it got here

From crowdfunding to three routes

A start-up cooperative, funded by thousands of small shareholders, running leased classic carriages over other people’s tracks.

  1. April 2021European Sleeper announces a Brussels–Prague night train; in June it merges with Belgian start-up Moonlight Express.
  2. May 2021A first crowdfunding round raises €500,000 from more than 350 small investors.
  3. 25 May 2023First service, Brussels–Amsterdam–Berlin, three nights a week.
  4. 26 March 2024The route is extended through Dresden to Prague.
  5. Feb–Mar 2025A seasonal Brussels–Innsbruck–Venice train runs, after a troubled start at the Italian border.
  6. 26 March 2026Paris–Brussels–Berlin launches, months after Nightjet withdrew from Paris.
  7. 13 July 2026Hamburg-Harburg is added to the Paris–Berlin route.
  8. 9 September 2026Brussels–Cologne–Gotthard–Milan launches.
  9. 13 December 2026The Milan train is re-routed via Antwerp, Breda and Eindhoven.
Coming next

Planned routes

01

Brussels – Amsterdam – Copenhagen – Malmö

Announced August 2026 with RDC, targeted for April 2028, three times a week.

Departures planned around 19:00, arriving about 10:00.

Euronews, August 2026 ↗
02

Brussels – Barcelona

In preparation since 2023 as an EU pilot project.

European Sleeper’s August 2026 release says 2028; press reports suggest 2029.

Euronews, August 2026 ↗
Questions

European Sleeper, answered

A Belgian–Dutch cooperative, based in Utrecht, that runs open-access night trains.

It was founded by Elmer van Buuren and Chris Engelsman, raised its first money from small investors through crowdfunding, and ran its first train in May 2023. Background ↗

Three routes in autumn 2026: Brussels–Antwerp–Rotterdam–The Hague–Amsterdam–Berlin–Dresden–Prague; Paris–Mons–Brussels–Liège–Hamburg–Berlin; and Brussels–Cologne–Arth-Goldau–Göschenen–Lugano–Como–Milan. Timetable ↗

Each route runs three nights a week in each direction.

Brussels–Prague leaves Brussels on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; Paris–Berlin leaves Paris on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday; Brussels–Milan leaves Brussels on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

Published “from” fares for a shared Classic couchette are €79.99 one way on Brussels–Prague and Paris–Berlin and €49.99 on Brussels–Milan, where Budget seats start at €29.99.

Private compartments start at €179.99 to €279.99 depending on the route. European Sleeper ↗

European Sleeper sells four classes on every route: Budget (a reclining seat in a six-seat compartment), Classic (a couchette in a shared 5- or 6-berth compartment, bed linen included), Comfort Standard and Comfort Plus (3-person sleeper compartments; Comfort Plus adds breakfast).

Whole compartments can be booked privately, and women-only compartments are offered.

Reviews tend to praise the friendly stewards, low fares and the old carriages with opening windows, and to warn that the rolling stock is decades old and that delays happen: the Milan launch run in September 2026 arrived about four hours late.

Treat it as characterful rather than luxurious. The Telegraph ↗

Yes, with a compulsory reservation bought from European Sleeper. Background ↗

No.

Nightjet is run by Austria’s ÖBB.

European Sleeper is an independent cooperative.

Its Paris–Berlin train replaced the Nightjet that ÖBB withdrew in December 2025.

Brussels–Amsterdam–Copenhagen–Malmö, announced with RDC in August 2026 for April 2028, and Brussels–Barcelona, in preparation since 2023 and now aimed at 2028 or later. Euronews ↗

Sources

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