European Sleeper tests old carriages on Brussels night route

European Sleeper is using carriages up to 70 years old on its night train from Aarau to Brussels, SRF reported after sending reporter Harry Stitzel on the journey. The service is aimed at passengers who are conscious of both price and the environment.

The train was due to arrive in Aarau at 11 p.m., but the platform was confirmed only shortly before its arrival. It eventually pulled in about 80 minutes late. The carriages showed clear signs of age, having already completed many journeys.

A standard seat cost about 47 Swiss francs on the day of the trip. A bed in a six-person couchette cost around 100 francs, while a comfort couchette compartment shared by up to four people cost about 200 francs. Prices vary from day to day.

One passenger, a lawyer, said many travellers chose the service because they did not want to fly. Travelling overnight allows them to sleep during the journey, she said.

The optional breakfast was modest, and the coffee received a poor assessment from the SRF reporter. The views on the journey, however, were described as particularly attractive. The train’s delay was largely made up by the time it reached Brussels, thanks to a faster route.

European Sleeper co-founder Elmer van Buuren said night trains were much more difficult to operate profitably than daytime services. They require more staff, take longer to travel and allow a train formation to be used only once a day for a single journey.

State railways including SBB and Deutsche Bahn withdrew from their own night train operations years ago. SBB now provides night train services in cooperation with Austrian Federal Railways. Several planned connections have been cancelled because subsidies were unavailable.

Van Buuren said European Sleeper had chosen carriages from the 1950s because small private companies faced major obstacles in financing modern trains. Starting with older vehicles was preferable to waiting until everything was perfect, he said.

For comparison, a Swiss flight from Zurich to Brussels with Swiss cost at least 190 francs when booked well in advance, while a return flight cost at least 193 francs. A daytime journey from Zurich with SBB and Eurostar was available from 70 francs without a Half Fare Travelcard, but took about seven hours and required a station change in Paris.

SBB plans to test a direct connection from Basel to Brussels from July 2027.