The European Sleeper night train from Amsterdam to Barcelona will likely start running in 2026, and not 2025 as initially planned. The company is having trouble negotiating with the French railway manager SNCF Réseau and is also waiting for more train carriages.
Despite the issues with SNCF Réseau, European Sleeper co-founder Chris Engelsman is optimistic about the new connection to Barcelona. “Things are improving step by step. We also hear from other parties that it is simply difficult to do business with SNCF Réseau,” he said.
But things are improving, he added. Last year, the European Commission made the new European Sleeper connection one of ten pilot projects for passenger transport in Europe. These projects receive political and administrative support to remove barriers in their way. And that support is helping, Engelsman said. “It is now only a matter of time.”
European Sleeper is also waiting for new carriages for the new train. “We need 30 to 35 good carriages. We are working on that now, but they will probably also have to be renovated.”
