European Sleeper experience

[AdamWW]

Their website shows the route via verviers & aachen as being the one used until early December (when it goes via Eindhoven). Is that a change from the original plan?

A few days ago I got an email from ES saying my departure time from Brussels had been changed (to a later one). I looked at the route and was slightly surprised to see we were going via Aachen because I had it in my mind that the route was via Rotterdam etc - but decided I must have misremembered.

(Shortly after that I got an email telling me that my Eurostar was cancelled because of the strike. This ended up being to my advantage as I could rebook to a more convenient one.)

So has ES replanned because of the strike or for other reasons? The fact that the diversion is for a couple of months suggests the latter.

If the plan was that the first service went via the Netherlands it's rather bad luck on their part that it coincides with their inaugural train.

Ah I was referring to the Brussels - Prague service, which normally goes via the Netherlands. I probably should have said that...

 

[rvdborgt]

So has ES replanned because of the strike or for other reasons? The fact that the diversion is for a couple of months suggests the latter.

Brussels-Prague is being diverted because of the strike:

Disruptions | European Sleeper

europeansleeper.eu

ProRail said they don't know whether they would have enough non-striking staff to operate so they decided just to shut everything down, except for Amsterdam Centraal-Schiphol.

 

[superalbs]

In fact, he has just posted a teaser about tomorrow: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc1RN3NlxBT/?img_index=2&igsi=YjIxczY1MWI1MHli

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Sep 2026 ==


It is a little bit crazy. It's unfortunate that two people have had bad experiences who have large followings but it is what it is. Youtube isn't Trustpilot and you're only seeing one person's trip. Incidentally I posted a video the other day about a truly marvellous journey which I loved - the Doğu Express - and a lot of the audience turned their nose up at the train!

ES are definitely having multiple issues, and at the same time it is also true that it's a miracle they are here at all. Both of these things can be true at once!

I wonder if that's because problems happen very often.

 

[Jealgu]

If you would have actually read this thread you would know that European Sleeper performs better than the average night train operator regarding delays and cancellations.

 

[superalbs]

If you would have actually read this thread you would know that European Sleeper performs better than the average night train operator regarding delays and cancellations.

Okay, I'll just ignore the frequent reports of 400-800 minute delays and trains getting cut short then (as if that is somehow some sort of achievement).

 

[AlterEgo]

If you would have actually read this thread you would know that European Sleeper performs better than the average night train operator regarding delays and cancellations.

Across all routes, and is that up to date? It certainly appears their operation has hit quite a few issues lately, so I'm sceptical!

 

[Jealgu]

It is not that other operators do not have problems. Earlier this summer my SJ euronight got cancelled and my trip to Narvik was few hours late and partly by bus.

 

[BRX]

I happened to notice Simply Railways has a video on the Brussels-Prague train posted a couple of weeks ago, where there's no dramatic commentary, and it looks like everything runs to plan.

 

[Tester]

It is not that other operators do not have problems. Earlier this summer my SJ euronight got cancelled and my trip to Narvik was few hours late and partly by bus.

Likewise - my SJ overnight from Hamburg to Stockholm in June was cancelled at short notice.

Whilst they didn't organise accommodation proactively, they reimbursed my hotel bill promptly and without question.

Stuff happens.

 

[AdamWW]

Likewise - my SJ overnight from Hamburg to Stockholm in June was cancelled at short notice.

Whilst they didn't organise accommodation proactively, they reimbursed my hotel bill promptly and without question.

Stuff happens.

It does, though I've seen repeated tales of European Sleeper not being particularly keen to follow through with refunds and compensation.

 

[AlterEgo]

I happened to notice Simply Railways has a video on the Brussels-Prague train posted a couple of weeks ago, where there's no dramatic commentary, and it looks like everything runs to plan.

That's the inaugural trip from 2024!

 

[AdamWW]

Across all routes, and is that up to date? It certainly appears their operation has hit quite a few issues lately, so I'm sceptical!

I imagine re-routing trains to avoid the Netherlands during today's strike wasn't straightforward so it looks to me as if they are trying to make things work.

Hard to know (to me anyway) to what extent problems they are having are outside their control.

 

[superalbs]

I happened to notice Simply Railways has a video on the Brussels-Prague train posted a couple of weeks ago, where there's no dramatic commentary, and it looks like everything runs to plan.

I wonder if anyone involved here would benefit from positive publicity and attention over night trains. And I also wonder if anyone involved here is at all close to the management of European Sleeper in any capacity, for example receiving exclusive press invites and meetings. Really makes you think!

 

[Jealgu]

I wonder why some Youtubers need to be super negative about European Sleeper, while they are must more, positive or at least mure muted in their negativism in other videos. And that includes you.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I wonder why some Youtubers need to be super negative about European Sleeper, while they are must more, positive or at least mure muted in their negativism in other videos. And that includes you.

Because the service is absolutely terrible compared to the price charged for it. In the days when you'd get a ride on a D-Zug overnight for a pittance it was fine that it was at best rough round the edges, but this train is premium priced but entirely without a premium experience. People allege this of Caledonian Sleeper, but frankly that is light years ahead.

It may be that you can only afford to run a fairly poor quality service even at those prices without subsidy, but that doesn't make it not overpriced, it just means overnight trains aren't viable without subsidy on the relations they are running.

 

[BRX]

I wonder if anyone involved here would benefit from positive publicity and attention over night trains. And I also wonder if anyone involved here is at all close to the management of European Sleeper in any capacity, for example receiving exclusive press invites and meetings. Really makes you think!

If the Nox guy knows the ES sleeper guys and they invite him to their events, I don't see a problem with that. In fact it sounds like a positive thing - it gives me hope that if they are both successful they might jointly improve prospects for night trains rather than undermining each other through destructive competition.

And positive publicity & attention for night trains is a good thing. They are free to use youtube to promote this, just as anyone else is free to use it to publish negative reviews.

 

[Jealgu]

Because the service is absolutely terrible compared to the price charged for it. In the days when you'd get a ride on a D-Zug overnight for a pittance it was fine, but this train is premium priced but entirely without a premium experience. People allege this of Caledonian Sleeper, but frankly that is light years ahead.

How much subsidy does Caledonian Sleeper get? How does that compare to European Sleeper?

 

[Bletchleyite]

How much subsidy does Caledonian Sleeper get? How does that compare to European Sleeper?

CS is subsidised heavily, yes. But that's not the customer's problem. The customer's problem is how the product compares to a combination of day train and hotel, or of flight and hotel. And everything I've seen and read about ES is that the answer to that question is "extremely poorly".

It's a bit of fun for InterRailers like the old D-Zuege and Euronights were. I've done those as an adventure in my early twenties. But anyone thinking a business traveller with any sense would even contemplate using it has their head in the clouds, frankly. And I just don't see how there's any chance they can fix that - there's too much wrong with it which will require a lot of money to fix - a brand new fleet, for one.

 

[AlterEgo]

If the Nox guy knows the ES sleeper guys and they invite him to their events, I don't see a problem with that. In fact it sounds like a positive thing - it gives me hope that if they are both successful they might jointly improve prospects for night trains rather than undermining each other through destructive competition.

And positive publicity & attention for night trains is a good thing. They are free to use youtube to promote this, just as anyone else is free to use it to publish negative reviews.

It's absolutely fine to do publicity for someone else's product or business on YouTube as long as the interest or collaboration is explicitly disclosed. In any case the audience is not stupid; they know the channel's biases and they will stop watching when the capture has become too transparent. If not even 5% of your subs are watching any more then this is fairly instructive. You cannot survive without authenticity in this niche.

I wonder why some Youtubers need to be super negative about European Sleeper, while they are must more, positive or at least mure muted in their negativism in other videos. And that includes you.

I suppose the answer is some YouTubers had a poor experience and some had a good one. I was on the inaugural in 2024 to Prague and it was pretty good, boarding issues aside! The fact is, sleeper travel is not cheap, especially in a private room, and it has to be good and deliver on its promises if we are serious about getting people who are not pure enthusiasts to use them. There is a reason Nox is taking a different angle on the market and if - if - they can make it work it has the potential to he a compelling proposition.

 

[BRX]

Because the service is absolutely terrible compared to the price charged for it. In the days when you'd get a ride on a D-Zug overnight for a pittance it was fine that it was at best rough round the edges, but this train is premium priced but entirely without a premium experience. People allege this of Caledonian Sleeper, but frankly that is light years ahead.

It may be that you can only afford to run a fairly poor quality service even at those prices without subsidy, but that doesn't make it not overpriced, it just means overnight trains aren't viable without subsidy on the relations they are running.

It's not a premium priced train. There is a range of price points. Most people travelling on it aren't paying premium prices. They are using it much as the old night trains were used in the 90s - a place in a shared couchette compartment. The train will get you from one side of Europe to the other, in a couchette, for around £100 if you don't book last minute and less if you book further in advance. Tomorrow they are (hopefully) taking me from Brussels to Milan for just under £70.

People can choose the higher comfort levels, or they can choose to book out a compartment for one or two people, for proportionately higher prices. The website shows you what you're getting and I think it's fairly honest. I don't think it's aimed at business travellers - that's not what the marketing (or timetabling) suggests - it's mainly aimed at leisure or budget travellers. For that market, slack timetables and delays (within reason) aren't such a big deal. Bus replacement - if it's happening often (it seems impossible to get number on this) is a problem, I will concede that.

Have you tried it yourself?

 

[StephenHunter]

CS is subsidised heavily, yes.

For one thing, it's very useful for Scottish MPs.

 

[superalbs]

I wonder why some Youtubers need to be super negative about European Sleeper, while they are must more, positive or at least mure muted in their negativism in other videos. And that includes you.

I had a rubbish experience and reported that to my viewers.

If I pretended that it was okay, this would be lying. And what would be the point in pretending that my experience was okay? I'm not getting paid to say that, so why would I lie?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Sep 2026 ==

If the Nox guy knows the ES sleeper guys and they invite him to their events, I don't see a problem with that. In fact it sounds like a positive thing - it gives me hope that if they are both successful they might jointly improve prospects for night trains rather than undermining each other through destructive competition.

And positive publicity & attention for night trains is a good thing. They are free to use youtube to promote this, just as anyone else is free to use it to publish negative reviews.

I'm certainly not against collaborating with brands and even train companies to showcase things - I've done it myself and have another trip coming up soon. However, the question asked of me was about why some people don't give this train an extremely negative review. With all the obvious points about different people having difference experiences and opinions aside, of course.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Sep 2026 ==

CS is subsidised heavily, yes. But that's not the customer's problem. The customer's problem is how the product compares to a combination of day train and hotel, or of flight and hotel. And everything I've seen and read about ES is that the answer to that question is "extremely poorly".

It's a bit of fun for InterRailers like the old D-Zuege and Euronights were. I've done those as an adventure in my early twenties. But anyone thinking a business traveller with any sense would even contemplate using it has their head in the clouds, frankly. And I just don't see how there's any chance they can fix that - there's too much wrong with it which will require a lot of money to fix - a brand new fleet, for one.

I have to say that the carriages used on my trip, while not clean and having the most modern amenities, were not exactly bad. But cost and reliability (delays/cancellations/carriages) are a huge issue. I am sure that I am far from the only one who doesn't take this operation seriously.

When booking to sample their new route, I hesitated over a 6hr connection after the trip. Ultimately I decided to book absolutely nothing, and just hope that I can find something on the day. It's not exactly a good reputation, imagine booking this to go and sign an important deal lol.

 

[StephenHunter]

Many of those delays and cancellations aren't the fault of ES.

 

[superalbs]

Many of those delays and cancellations aren't the fault of ES.

And? Only enthusiasts will be interested in the intricate reasons for delays, most people will just see the number and just never rely on that train to do anything again. It's fine if you have nothing to do after you arrive, for example the rest of my day after this trip to Brussels was spent bashing locos in the tunnels, but if you have plans or connecting transport then you can forget about this train frankly, as assigning blame to elsewhere isn't going to make your connection come back for you.

 

[befated]

If you swore off every transport service that ever had a major delay you'd never leave your house. (see e.g. the current ATC issues)

I think the issue here is '800 minutes late' sounds worse than 'cancelled', when in reality if your Nightjet gets cancelled (as apparently happens a lot more often than with ES) you probably won't be far off 800 minutes late once you've stayed in a hotel and got a reasonably-timed day train.

Looking at the stats in post #629 (too long to quote) suggests ES is generally quite reliable.

 

[superalbs]

If you swore off every transport service that ever had a major delay you'd never leave your house. (see e.g. the current ATC issues)

I think the issue here is '800 minutes late' sounds worse than 'cancelled', when in reality if your Nightjet gets cancelled (as apparently happens a lot more often than with ES) you probably won't be far off 800 minutes late once you've stayed in a hotel and got a reasonably-timed day train.

Looking at the stats in post #629 (too long to quote) suggests ES is generally quite reliable.

It isn't. Here's a look at recent days on the Praha-Brussels route.



(images show the past few weeks of delays on European Sleeper, ranging from 4 mins to 815 mins, with a lot of figures in the hundreds)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Sep 2026 ==

And how could I forget the Paris-Berlin train, which is also a mess. Of course these figures don't show when the train gets turned before its destination, which is also pretty common.




(images show the past few weeks of delays on another European Sleeper service, again with a lot of figures in the hundreds)

 

[Krokodil]

So how does another sleeper compare? I've had plenty of issues on NightJet - it's an occupational hazard of travelling through Germany.

 

[superalbs]

So how does another sleeper compare? I've had plenty of issues on NightJet - it's an occupational hazard of travelling through Germany.

Also a mess, it is a terrible idea to rely on NJ to get you somewhere on-time too.

My last two rides were 30 minutes late, and 2.5hr late, but the former also departed 2hr early sooooo.

 

[StephenHunter]

So how does another sleeper compare? I've had plenty of issues on NightJet - it's an occupational hazard of travelling through Germany.

Also, the Dresden-Prague route has no alternative if another train breaks down.

 

[BRX]

It isn't. Here's a look at recent days on the Praha-Brussels route.

View attachment 211306
View attachment 211307
(images show the past few weeks of delays on European Sleeper, ranging from 4 mins to 815 mins, with a lot of figures in the hundreds)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Sep 2026 ==

And how could I forget the Paris-Berlin train, which is also a mess. Of course these figures don't show when the train gets turned before its destination, which is also pretty common.

View attachment 211309

View attachment 211310
(images show the past few weeks of delays on another European Sleeper service, again with a lot of figures in the hundreds)

You can do a zugfinder search on many trains with a long distance portion across germany and find similarly bad statistics. The extrapolation is not so much "ES is awful" as "long distance train travel across germany is awful".

It looks like the Brussels–prague train had a particularly bad patch in august, visible on zugfinder i think because it only runs every other day. It's not possible to look back that far for other trains. Was that one of the periods when there were a lot of problems caused by heat & speed restrictions?