European Sleeper experience

[AdamWW]

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?

Curiously, the times on zugfinder for the opposite direction don't seem (quite) so bad.

It would be interesting to know what is causing the delays (different issues on different days no doubt) and which ones are theoretically within ES's control.
(E.g. if one of the locomotives they use has failed you might argue that they should use a more reliable company, but if their train is blocked by a train ahead failing I don't see what they could do).

I do note the following from their FAQs, which isn't entirely reassuring:

https://www.europeansleeper.eu/faq

Are we reliable? Most of the time — though we’re still a young company, ironing out the wrinkles of international rail. Expect a bit of adventure, and know that we’re improving with every journey.

 

[danshrimp]

I do note the following from their FAQs, which isn't entirely reassuring:

Good! There's no reassurance they can honestly offer here. Better to be frank about it.

I think we've seen a bit of a shift towards this in their marketing of late, with their website offering the opportunity to "travel back in time aboard our vintage night train — where classic charm meets modern comfort", their rebranding of couchettes to "classic", and so on.

Of course one can grumble about whether they should charge the prices they charge for such a "vintage" experience, but they've at least decided it's best to be honest about (and lean into) what it is they're offering and set expectations accordingly.

 

[LUYMun]

For any red pen bashers, the maiden Milan-Brussels train will be hauled by Vectron locomotive 6193 042 as that has been sighted in heading south in the Swiss Alps being recently vinyled with Train Charter Services logos.

 

[superalbs]

For any red pen bashers, the maiden Milan-Brussels train will be hauled by Vectron locomotive 6193 042 as that has been sighted in heading south in the Swiss Alps being recently vinyled with Train Charter Services logos.

It's a nice bit of haulage. And 483003/483004 on the Italian section!