Amsterdam to Barcelona sleeper train delayed until 2026

In a fresh blow, a new sleeper train planning to take tourists from Amsterdam to Barcelona has been delayed until 2026.

Initially, the new route was set to be unveiled in 2025. However, the timeline has now changed, and it will take a further 12 months before the sleeper train will be ready to ride for passengers. According to the company behind the route, the reason for the delay lies with the French railway service, SNCF Réseau.

Nevertheless, despite the delays and the breakdown in communication with SNCF Réseau, European Sleeper co-founder Chris Engelsman remains optimistic that the route from Amsterdam to Barcelona, and they will advance past this bump in the road.

“Things are improving step by step. We also hear from other parties that it is simply difficult to do business with SNCF Réseau,” Chris Engelsman told the Dutch travel agency Treinreiziger.

Further heaping criticism on SNCF Réseau, Engelsmen described their approach to negotiations as “partly understandable but also partly incompetence”. Additionally, he stated they acted in a “very conservative” manner regarding overnight rail works.

Engelsman continued: “They plan a lot of work in advance that does not always happen. They do not even have that many contractors. They are playing it very safe, and that does not make a night train possible.”

Another major stumbling block facing the new sleeper train is the lack of carriages required to fulfil the service. Engelsman admitted: “We need 30 to 35 good carriages. We are working on that now, but they will probably also have to be renovated.”

At the moment, there is no concrete launch date for the new Amsterdam to Barcelona sleeper train. Although Engelsman believes 2026 is the most likely year, he hopes proceedings can be hurried, adding, “But it could also be the end of 2025. We will start as soon as we can. The sooner, the better.”

Brussels to Venice sleeper trains

In more positive news, European Sleeper announced in August that their new overnight service from Brussels to Venice would launch in February 2025, in time for the Venice Carnival and winter sports season. It will stop in nine cities along the way, including Rotterdam and Utrecht. In total, the route will take a total of 21 hours and is set to operate on a twice-weekly basis.

Engelsmen said of the new service: “Passengers will be able to board our train from Belgium and the Netherlands and relax in the comfort of the restaurant car, while the train transports them through Germany and Austria, and across the Alps, ending in the historic cities of Verona and Venice the following day.”

Currently, European Sleeper operate a route from Brussels to Prague three-times a week, which stops in European hubs such as Berlin and Amsterdam.