EUROPE: Night train start-up companies European Sleeper and Moonlight Express have decided to join forces rather than develop competing initiatives to launch overnight services from Belgium and the Netherlands.
On June 16 the companies said they would work together under the European Sleeper brand to launch a Brussels – Amsterdam – Berlin – Praha service in partnership with Czech private operator RegioJet in 2022, with ‘extensions and optimisation’ to follow.
Dutch co-operative European Sleeper and Belgian company Moonlight Express independently began developing plans for night trains last year. On April 6 European Sleeper set out its plans to launch the Praha – Brussels service with RegioJet, and its initial share offering on May 27 was reserved within 15 min by around 350 investors.
Belgium-based Moonlight Express had announced plans to launch a Brussels – Liège – Berlin open access service in April 2022, as well as ambitions to connect the Belgian capital with the south of France and Barcelona.
The companies said they had built a good relationship and co-ordinated activities as they face the same technical and procedural challenges. ‘We have been very complementary and like-minded for quite some time and believe in a real co-operation’, said Chris Engelsman of European Sleeper.
Louis Lammertyn of Moonlight Express said ‘we both have the same ambition to put Belgium on the European night train map. After working side by side for a year, we decided to team up and we are all very pleased about that.’
- Read Railway Gazette International’s overview of existing and proposed overnight train services in western and central Europe.
