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The Guardian
11-02-2025
- The Guardian
On board the maiden sleeper from Brussels to Venice: we got there in the end
At 6.45pm on Wednesday, the Good Night Train trundled out of platform 3 at Brussel-Zuid station. It departed 40 minutes late due to trespassers on the tracks, but the train soon picked up pace, the golden lights of the Belgian capital sweeping through the carriages where groups were stashing skis, families were settling young children and solo travellers stood at the open windows swapping names and stories amid the clamour and confusion on board. This was the inaugural European Sleeper service from Brussels to Venice … only the train wasn't going to Venice. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Two days earlier, passengers had received an email explaining that the train would be running only as far as Verona, and that a regular Trenitalia service would take us on to Venice. Then, on the evening of departure, we learned that owing to unspecified Italian bureaucracy, the train wouldn't enter Italy at all, but would be terminating at Innsbruck, with two connections taking us to Verona and then on to Venice. Having spent the past three years travelling on Europe's sleeper trains, observing the renaissance of night-time travel, I remained unfazed. For me, the destination is a bonus, the journey the reason for buying my ticket to ride. Strikes, engineering works and red tape are part of the reason Europe's railway resurgence is meeting resistance. Chris Engelsman and Elmer van Buuren, the founders of European Sleeper which runs the Good Night Train, are all too aware of the problems, but appear to be doing their best in the circumstances – though communication could be better. They are pursuing funding to rent more carriages and improve the interiors of what are largely refurbished German carriages from the 1950s. They know the lights and heating are temperamental, the couchettes battered and bruised, but their goal is to revive night trains at an achievable cost for everyone from students to large families, and I salute their drive and passion. On board I spoke to Engelsman, who explained that the Brussels-Venice route has been introduced as a winter service, scheduled to depart from December to mid-March, with this inaugural journey a test-run of sorts. As long as we arrived in Venice, I wasn't bothered how many trains it took, and apparently nor was anyone else, most of whom shrugged and pulled out a bottle of wine when asked. Squeezing down the corridors in the direction of the dining car, I peeked into the five-person couchette compartments where mini house parties were in full swing, friends cracking open cans of Jupiler beer, the sweet smell of Ibérico ham and cheese wafting from the open doorways. I got chatting to Sophie and Aurélien, travelling to Innsbruck with their four-year-old son Rodolphe. Hoping to show him snow for the first time, they had searched for a destination that wouldn't involve flying, climate change driving their decision. Attracted by the €200 fare for a four-person, private couchette, they were travelling on a sleeper train for the first time. Rodolphe was happy to have space to spread out his colouring pens and books. When I first travelled on the Good Night Train in May 2023 – the inaugural route from Brussels to Berlin – there was no dining car, only a harassed-looking attendant wandering up and down serving nachos and instant noodles. So it was a joy to receive an email with a link to book a two- or three-course dinner (€29 or €35). I opened the email within seconds of its arrival and managed to secure a place on one of four shared tables, but was unable to book a meal for my companion as there was only one sitting with a maximum of 16 covers for the whole evening. Fortunately, we realised in advance he wouldn't get dinner on board, so he had fried aubergine and pepian de choclo at Cantina Valentina, a Peruvian restaurant at The Hoxton hotel in Brussels. The Hoxton group has fast become my go-to hotel while travelling on sleeper trains owing to its policy of allowing guests to check in at any time of day – perfect for dawn arrivals. As part of its climate-friendly initiatives, the group also offers The Good Rate for guests travelling between hotels by train, knocking £20 or €20 off the stay at each end, enough for a meal before embarking on an onward rail journey. On board the Good Night Train, over a starter of beef goulash, followed by chicken curry and rice then tiramisu, I spoke to other passengers. Although some were irritated to receive a link to reserve meals only to find the slots were already booked, others were content to pack food or buy toasted sandwiches and stand around drinking and chatting in the carriage, the windows soon steaming up from the heat of packed-in bodies. Like Jouni, a Finnish passenger, most had booked the train for the sake of travelling by train, curious about the service and keen to support the European Sleeper initiative, charmed by the old carriages which reminded them of youthful Interrailing. Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion By midnight, the parties had died down and the train was rattling along, curtains drawn across darkened compartments. Climbing up to my berth, I pressed in earplugs – a must-have on board a rattling train this old – and made a concerted attempt to sleep. I surfaced at 8am, bleary-eyed but pleased to find the dining car busy, with stories of the previous night's antics being shared over laughter and strong coffee. An hour before arriving in Innsbruck, sunlight flooded through the windows as the train curved around the Inn River, with the Ellmauer Halt peak rising up from the Kaiser mountain range. At Innsbruck, we were soon on board the ÖBB Railjet service to Verona, which wound its way through the Brenner Pass. From Verona, it was a swift change on to the final leg to Venice and, as the lagoon's waters came into view, the old city aglow from the sunset, I felt a rush of pleasure and achievement that we'd made it this far by rail. As we ambled out of the station, I realised we were only two hours behind schedule – no bother. A 10-minute walk brought us to the contemporary Avani Rio Novo hotel in Dorsoduro, a comfy boutique hotel with beautiful views across sunkissed rooftops. On recommendation from a friend, we walked for 15 minutes to Santa Croce and the La Zucca, a family-run osteria that's been around since 1980. It serves a menu that changes daily with everything from spiced lamb and radicchio lasagne to fried chicory and glazed carrots in sesame. Here, we bumped into fellow passengers from the train, swapping stories of railway exploits over chocolate mousse and hoping that European Sleeper can cut through the red tape before its next departure. A one-way ticket from Brussels to Venice starts at €89 a seat. Standard couchette from €179pp for up to six people. There are two services a week in February and March – visit for details. Doubles at The Hoxton start at €165. Doubles at The Avani Rio Novo start at €190 B&B
Euronews
07-02-2025
- Euronews
Maiden voyage of Brussels to Venice night train "couldn't even enter Italy": Here's why
The maiden voyage of a night train from Brussels to Venice didn't make it to its final destination yesterday due to issues at the Italian border. Instead, the train stopped in Innsbruck in Austria, 313km short of its destination, and passengers were moved onto a different train to complete their journey to Venice. Train operator European Sleeper had called the route a "significant milestone" for the company, saying their "mission is to reconnect Europe's cities by night, providing travellers with more options for sustainable and comfortable." Innsbruck was intended to be a "prominent stop" rather than the train's final destination. 'It seemed that everything was settled' Elmer van Buuren, one of the two founders of the Dutch private railway company European Sleeper told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, that the Italian railways gave them little notice: "It took nine months, hundreds of phone calls and meetings to start this project. We have set separate appointments with five services similar to ProRail, in each country crossed. It seemed that everything was settled, when, last week, the Italians began to change their minds and called us to tell us that we could not go beyond Bolzano. Now it turned out that we couldn't even enter Italy. They did not provide any reason. It is a typical phenomenon especially of the railways in Europe." Why was the European Sleeper train stopped at the Italian border? Train travel expert Mark Smith, who runs the website the Man in Seat 61, was on the train. He reports that the locomotive engines needed to escort the train into Venice were not available. He says European Sleeper were only informed of the engine issue on 4 February, the day before the train left Brussels. "The train was due to terminate in Verona as two locomotives are needed to 'top and tail' the train in and out of Venice, as the Italian network no longer allows light engine movements around Venice. They couldn't get two for this departure, should be solved for later ones," Mark Smith wrote on X. "They then got a phone call day before yesterday from their Italian operator, unable to take the train south of Innsbruck. Again, ES [European Sleeper] hope to fix this for later departures. It's not easy, running a train across 5 countries!" The train had travelled from Brussels in Belgium to Breda and Eindhoven in the Netherlands before moving on to Cologne and Munich in Germany. What is the advice to passengers booked on the Brussels-Venice night train? There are currently Brussels-Venice night trains scheduled throughout February and March. The service is scheduled to run twice weekly for six return journeys, with the company saying, "This unique route caters to travellers seeking winter sports getaways, city breaks, cultural experiences, and the world-renowned Venice Carnival." At the time of writing, it is not clear if European Sleeper can ensure that the locomotive engines needed to transport their train within Italy will be available. European Sleeper and the Italian Ministry of Transport did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Cross-border train travel in Europe is tricky Some are seeing the night train's shortened route as reflective of wider issues with European cross-border train travel. It has historically been difficult for authorities and train operators to coordinate their services to allow trains to pass seamlessly over borders, as flights do. This is seen as a barrier to travellers opting for trains over planes, despite them being much better for the climate. A report by the European Commission found that the total number of long-distance passenger cross-border services in the EU remained the same from 2001 to 2019, and overall they make up only about seven per cent of train journeys in Europe. To help boost these numbers, Victor Thévenet, rail policy manager at sustainable mobility NGO Transport and Environment, says that planning a train journey needs to be much simpler. 'People need to be able to combine different rail operators and for this, you need to have your different tickets in one single ticket,' he tells Euronews Travel. Buying train tickets in Europe can be complicated but the EU has a solution There is currently no Skyscanner equivalent for trains. This makes booking and managing international train journeys difficult and often more expensive. The EU has a plan to remedy the situation in the form of the Multimodal Digital Mobility Services legislation. It was delayed last year but it is hoped it will be given another chance this year.
