The Dutch cooperative European Sleeper, a key player in the continental night train revival, has announced its newest and most ambitious route: a service connecting Paris and Berlin. This new line, launching on March 26, 2026, will be the company’s first to serve the French capital, marking a major expansion from its existing Berlin-Brussels-Prague network, which has already served over 230,000 passengers.
This move directly fills the vacuum created by the Austrian operator ÖBB, which is cancelling its Nightjet services from Paris to both Berlin and Vienna in December. The cancellation, blamed on the end of French subsidies, had been a major blow to the night train movement. European Sleeper is now betting that its high-capacity, “no-frills” model can succeed where the state-subsidized one failed.
The new service will run three times per week. The proposed schedule includes evening departures from Paris Gare du Nord on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and return trips from Berlin (Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This consistent schedule is designed to appeal to both leisure and business travelers.
The company’s co-founder, Chris Engelsman, highlighted the service’s high capacity of 600-700 passengers, thanks to 12-14 dedicated coaches. This, he noted, is a significant advantage over the split Nightjet service. The train will also take a new route via Brussels, a strategic move to link three major capitals, with final details pending.
The onboard experience will be in line with European Sleeper’s existing brand. The coaches will be 1990s-era German stock, and, in a candid admission of the financial realities, Engelsman confirmed the service will launch without a dining car. He cited the “challenge” of profitability due to high rental and staff costs, a common hurdle for the burgeoning company.