Night train operator European Sleeper has announced plans for its first route to Scandinavia as part of its expansion strategy.
European Sleeper said that it would operate a new train from Brussels and Amsterdam to Copenhagen in Denmark and then onward to Swedish city of Malmö from April 2028.
In a statement, the Dutch-Belgian company said it would be working with German railway operator RDC to launch the new route to the Nordic region, which will also include stops in Antwerp, Rotterdam and The Hague.
European Sleeper, which launched services in 2023, plans to operate the route three times per week from both Brussels and Malmö. Departures in both directions will be timed for around 7pm with arrival at 10am the next day.
The operator added that it would offer Budget, Classic and Comfort classes of travel, as well as potentially “extra luxurious” sleeping cars on the train featuring a double bed and en-suite facilities.
The new route announcement comes after European Sleeper launched its latest route linking Brussels with Milan on 9 September. This overnight service operates three times per week in both directions with stops in cities including Aachen and Cologne in Germany, Lugano in Switzerland, and Lake Como in Italy.
European Sleeper will also add extra stops on the Brussels-Milan service at Antwerp, Breda and Eindhoven from 13 December.
The company said in its statement that preparations were “also progressing” for the launch of its Brussels-Barcelona route, which is currently scheduled to start in 2028.
In another rail development, emissions data specialist Squake has announced that its Rail Emission Model (REM) calculation methodology will adopt emissions data from the UK’s Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents UK-based train operators.
RDG will make its Green Travel Data (GTD), which gives station-to-station emissions data for all UK rail journeys, available within Squake’s REM. This data will be included in the next update of REM, which is scheduled to take place this autumn.
Philipp von Lamezan, Squake’s CEO, explained: “RDG has built one of the strongest national rail datasets anywhere, so the sensible thing is to use it rather than model around it.”
Paul Bowden, commercial director at RDG, added: “RDG and Squake are helping travel managers, sustainability teams and businesses make better-informed decisions with trusted, data-driven insight, supporting the transition to more sustainable travel and more robust environmental reporting.”
Last week, sustainable travel coalition Travalyst announced it would add Squake’s REM to its data hub as part of efforts to “unify” the industry around a single, open-source approach.