Night train linking six northern European coastal cities confirmed for next spring

A new overnight train linking six coastal cities across northern Europe will begin running next spring, its operator confirmed this morning, after the last of the track access agreements was signed. Nordlys Rail, a start-up backed by a group of regional transport authorities and private investors, said the first departure was planned for the end of April.

The service will run three nights a week in each direction on a route of roughly 1,400 kilometres, calling at six port cities and the inland town of Velde, Wrenhaven's twin, where passengers from the Wrenhaven ferry will be able to connect. The full journey will take around 16 hours, with most travellers expected to board for single overnight legs.

Speaking at a briefing this morning, Nordlys Rail's chief executive, Henrik Aasland, said the company had leased 18 refurbished sleeper carriages and two dining cars, all of which are being fitted with new interiors at a works in the south of the route. Compartments will range from six-berth couchettes to private two-bed cabins with a washbasin.

For a long time people said the night train belonged to the past. We think it belongs to the next twenty years.

Prices and questions

The company has not yet published full fares but said a couchette berth on the shortest overnight leg would start at around €59. Ticket sales are expected to open in January. Further details, including timetables for each city, will be released in the coming weeks.

Questions remain over how the operator will cope with engineering works, which often take place at night, and whether demand will hold up outside the summer season. Corinne Albescu, an independent transport analyst, said several earlier night train ventures had struggled to fill trains on winter weekdays. "The routes that survive are the ones with a strong business and student market, not just holidaymakers," she said.

Officials in Velde welcomed the announcement this morning and said they were in talks about a shuttle bus between the station and the ferry terminal. More details are expected later today.