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There are few things more satisfying than going to sleep in one European city and waking up somewhere different. You don’t have to worry about the airport queues or bow down to a painfully early alarm. Just climb aboard, get into bed and wake up in Scandinavia.
That will soon be an option for travellers heading between Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Malmö, thanks to a brand-new sleeper train planned for 2028.
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European night-train operator European Sleeper has announced its first route into Scandinavia, with the new service expected to begin in April 2028 in partnership with German railway operator RDC.
The train will connect the Benelux with Denmark and southern Sweden, creating a direct overnight link between the four cities. That means you could potentially spend your evening eating waffles in Brussels or wandering around Amsterdam, get on a train, go to sleep and wake up ready to explore Copenhagen or Malmö the next morning.
So, how will the new sleeper train work? The planned service will depart from Brussels and Malmö at around 7pm local time, arriving at the other end of the route at roughly 10am the following morning. It is currently planned to run three times a week.
There will be several different options for spending the night on board, including seats, couchettes and sleeper compartments. European Sleeper and RDC are also considering a more luxurious option with double beds and private en-suite bathrooms, although those details aren't confirmed yet.
In other words, you could potentially swap a short-haul flight for a night on the rails and wake up in a completely different country without having sacrificed a day to travelling. The route will also make it easier to reach Scandinavia from further afield. London, Paris, Stockholm and Oslo will all be accessible with one additional change, according to European Sleeper.
The Scandinavian service is part of a pretty busy expansion period for European Sleeper. The company is also preparing to launch its Brussels-Milan night train in September 2026, while a Brussels-Barcelona connection is planned for 2028.
European Sleeper already operates overnight services linking cities including Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague, so this new route will push its network further north.
Admittedly, there’s a little while to wait. The Scandinavian route isn't expected to start until April 2028, with the companies still working with infrastructure managers on the timetable ahead of a formal capacity application in 2027.
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