Night train service between Berlin, Brussels, and Paris is set to resume after almost a decade, with high anticipation for strong demand. The initial schedule includes half of the trains from Berlin bound for Brussels and the other half for Paris, both operated by the ÖBB NightJet.
The first departure, heading to Brussels, is scheduled for Monday evening, with German Transport Minister Volker Wissing and Deutsche Bahn’s executive director Richard Lutz expected to attend. Departing Berlin at 20:18, the train is set to arrive at Brussels North at 09:45 and South at 09:56 on Tuesday. The journey spans 13 hours and 38 minutes, stopping at multiple stations including Frankfurt, Bonn, Cologne, and Liège.
Initially running three times a week, plans aim to transition to daily service by October 2024. The collaboration involves carriers SNCB/NMBS, Deutsche Bahn, ÖBB, and SNCF.
Deutsche Bahn notes strong holiday period bookings for the new night connection, highlighting a surge in reservations upon launching such partnerships. Interest in night trains has rekindled in Europe, attributed to concerns about travel’s environmental impact and the airline industry’s high CO2 emissions.
The NighJet is not the first night train between Brussels and Berlin. A night train has been running between the two capitals since the end of May, operated by the Dutch-Belgian railway company European Sleeper.