Private Night Train Restores Paris–Berlin Link After State Services Halted

Overview

• European Sleeper, which sent its first train from Paris at 18:03 Thursday, completed the overnight run to Berlin on schedule Friday morning.
• The service runs three nights a week in each direction via Aulnoye and Brussels, with added stops planned at Mons and Liège and a Hamburg call starting July 13.
• Demand has been brisk with about 25,000 tickets sold and some trains full, with one‑way fares starting at €39.99 for a seat and €59.99 for a couchette and summer capacity rising to up to 14 cars for roughly 700 passengers.
• The belgo‑Dutch cooperative leases its trains, draws funding from more than 6,000 small co‑owners, and targets profitability by the end of 2026.
• National operators ended prior Paris–Berlin and Paris–Vienna night routes after France cut a €10 million subsidy, and climate groups welcome the new link as a greener option while warning it remains fragile without public backing.