European Sleeper to serve Prague from March 2024

European Sleeper, a cooperative night train operator, has announced that starting from March 25, 2024, its service will extend to Prague, the Czech capital. This expansion was part of the original plan for the company’s first night train from Brussels, but was delayed due to infrastructure works in Germany and a shortage of carriages.

The train, which currently connects Brussels, Amsterdam, and Berlin, faced initial challenges in extending its route to Prague. Infrastructure works in Germany previously restricted track access south of Dresden, limiting the service to Berlin since its launch in May 2023. Additionally, European Sleeper did not have enough carriages to continue to Prague. However, the company now has about six carriages in reserve, which are sufficient to carry more passengers over longer distances.

Co-founder Chris Engelsman expressed the desire to rent twice as many carriages to run daily services between Brussels and Prague with two trains simultaneously. Although this goal has not been achieved yet, the company has been allocated an attractive timetable with well-balanced arrival and departure times for the various stops.

European Sleeper initially aimed to start operations in April 2022, but launching a night train service proved challenging. Now, with the way clear to the Czech Republic, the company is also planning a winter night train between the Netherlands and the French Alps in collaboration with travel company Sunweb. Furthermore, European Sleeper’s proposed night train between Amsterdam and Barcelona received backing from the European Commission and is planned to launch in 2025.

One of the biggest challenges for European Sleeper is acquiring night train rolling stock. The company is preparing to acquire refurbished and eventually new rolling stock. Unlike most operators, European Sleeper is organized as a cooperative. In May 2021, the company raised €500,000 in seed capital within 15 minutes by selling shares to more than 350 small investors from various countries in Europe and beyond. In a new round just before summer 2022, shares worth €2 million were sold to 1,400 new investors. In the current sharefunding, another €2 million will be raised, growing the cooperative to more than 3,500 co-owners.

For more detailed information, you can read the original article on RailTech.com.