The overnight train can rival day trains to the popular destination with set-up parties, says Chris Engelsman, who With his own company, European Sleeper Offers excursions. In this way, the train becomes a serious alternative to the plane. You leave Amsterdam at half past ten and arrive in Berlin before seven in the morning. This way you can also save on hotel accommodation.”
The regular train between Amsterdam and Berlin has been a topic of discussion for years due to the large number of stations, both in the Netherlands and Germany. Because the train stops at many stations along the wayCritics say the journey is unnecessarily long and people prefer to get on the plane. The governments of both countries have been trying to shorten travel time by canceling stopovers, but for years they have faced insurmountable objections from municipalities wanting to stop the stopovers.
Three trains a week
Engelsmann has been working to reintroduce international night trains for several years now. As a test, he recently ran trains between Amsterdam and Berlin. This was so successful that it established a regular schedule. The first round will take place on May 25, from Berlin to Amsterdam and on to Brussels. Next year it will be three ten-carriage trains a week. “If possible, we want to drive every day the following year.”
Amsterdam is part of the new connection between Brussels and Berlin. Only a seat can be reserved, but sleeping places are also available on the plane. Ticket prices range from €49 per seat to €79 per carriage. Ticket sales will begin February 20th, says Engelsmann. According to him, he will start calling with rented gigs. “But in the short term, we will invest in our private strollers with more comfort and the potential for more privacy.”
There are no Sunweb trains
Originally it was planned that the train would also be from Berlin By car to Prague: The European Sleeper arranged everything, but ultimately never got the space on the right track to realize it. The bottleneck lies between Dresden, Bad Schandau and Prague. There is only room for one long-distance train every two hours on the route. The company was able to gain capacity on the outward flight to Prague, but not on the return flight to Holland and Belgium. Since the train could only run if there was capacity on the return journey from Prague, the train to Berlin was now shortened.
Amsterdam’s ambition is for rail kilometers to often replace short and medium-haul journeys. in a City council expert session It has been argued that in 2050 all flights within a radius of 250 km around the city (Brussels, Düsseldorf) should be replaced by train travel. 30 percent of all flights to destinations between 250 and 500 kilometers (Hamburg, Paris) must be possible by rail. And even for trips of up to 750 kilometers (Berlin and Stuttgart), 6 percent can still travel by train.
noticeable Travel organization Sunweb announced last month Not driving your own trains to winter sports destinations this winter. According to the company, it was not possible to compete in terms of price with cars and aircraft.