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ÖBB Nightjet stops Brussels – Berlin sleeper train service from 28 March 2025

Posted by Timothy on

From Thursday 28 March 2025, ÖBB Nightjet will stop its sleeper train service between Brussels in Belgium and Berlin in Germany. Mark Smith, The Man in Seat 61, posted the news. 

The Berlin to Brussels Nightjet only started operating in December 2023.

“ÖBB have cancelled the Brussels-Berlin Nightjet sleeper train indefinitely from late March onwards.  A combination of difficult-to-bypass late-notice trackwork in Germany and (no doubt) the fact that it now runs on the same three days of the week as the European Sleeper mean they seem to have given up”, Smith writes.  

“I too have given up, rather than add yet another note about trains supposed to run but not running, I have simply removed this train as an option. You can take the (faster!) European Sleeper instead. The Paris-Berlin, Paris-Vienna and Brussels-Vienna routes continue, but check cancellation dates due to trackwork at www.nightjet.com.”

The news is confirmed on NMBS / SNCB International. “From 27 March 2025, Nightjet will no longer be operating the Brussels – Berlin route. However, you can still travel by overnight train between Brussels and Berlin on European Sleeper’s Good Night Train“, it says. 

Marketing

It may be just our perception, but it seems the Nightjet from Brussels to Berlin was less known than the European Sleeper. Certainly amongst our colleagues. Is European Sleeper doing a better marketing job?

Also, objectively, the Nightjet to Berlin took more time. While the Europan Sleeper runs via Antwerp and the Netherlands, the Nightjet travels via Liège, Cologne, Mainz and Frankfurt. 

Three days only

Also, when this Nightjet service was launched, it ran six days a week. Since December 2024, it ran only three times a week.

UPDATE 13 MARCH | 28 March

It seems the last day of running will be 28 March 2025, Thibault Lapers of Mobilithib reports.

UPDATE 13 MARCH | Back On Track Belgium calls for responsibility from infrastructure managers

“The day before yesterday, the Austrian night train operator ÖBB announced that the Brussels-Berlin night train would be suspended indefinitely. The reason is renovation work on the German rail network, which would prevent the train from running. For now, this is officially a temporary suspension, but no restart date is planned, and the train has been plagued by all sorts of problems since its launch”, Alexander Gomme of Back On Track Belgium reacts to the news. 

Train path reliability: a disaster

“Not only planning, but even more so, train path reliability is one of the main problems preventing us from having night trains in Europe. It is striking that 20 or 30 years ago, such track work was perfectly planned several months, often more than a year, in advance. Today, some countries, such as Germany, sometimes interrupt lines at short notice without planning a reasonable diversion route.”

Two major European cities are no longer connected

“It is still possible to travel to Berlin by night train with the other night train operator serving Brussels, European Sleeper. This is the night train to Prague, which also stops in Berlin at 6 AM.” 

“The European Sleeper train takes a different route than the ÖBB. Indeed, European Sleeper goes via Amsterdam and Osnabrück, while the ÖBB goes via Mannheim. In both cases, these are major detours, one to the north, the other to the south.”

Already five fewer night trains in one year

“With Brussels – Berlin, the Paris – Berlin train is being canceled along with the two trains that ran together between Mannheim and Berlin. This already brings the number of night trains to minus five this year! Where is the renaissance?” 

Call for responsibility from infrastructure managers

“As in the past, infrastructure managers should assume their responsibilities, announce work well in advance, and propose an alternative solution. If this was possible in 2000, it will also be possible in 2025. Belgium and Infrabel achieve very good results in this regard: work is always announced well in advance.”

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