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If you want to travel by train between Amsterdam and Barcelona – two of Europe’s most marvellously culture-packed coastal cities – it’s all a bit of a faff. Involving several trains and nearly 17 hours of travel, the two capitals of the Netherlands and Catalonia aren’t very conveniently linked at all.
However, Dutch-Belgian rail company European Sleeper announced back in 2023 that it had plans to change that, by setting up a direct night train route between Amsterdam and Barcelona – and, excitingly, those plans got official support from the European Commission. In other words, a ‘Dam-Barca route is on the cards!
A direct night train link between Amsterdam and Barcelona is exciting for a whole host of reasons. For foodies, poffertjes and patatas bravas are just one train away; for clubbers, two of the continent’s finest nightlife spots are now within easy reach. And art lovers? Well, you can now get between one city filled with Van Gogh and Rembrandt and another teeming with Picasso, Miró and Gaudi with ease.
European Sleeper’s new Amsterdam-Barcelona route will eventually stop at Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Lille, Avignon, Montpellier, Perpignan, Figueras and Girona.
However, while the service was initially due to launch in 2025, some issues have stopped this project in its tracks lately. European Sleeper’s CEO said there had been ‘significant challenges’ in getting the new service on the move, announcing in September that the launch will be moved to 2026. That’s since been pushed again to 2027.
Bit of a long wait, eh? In the meantime, check out all the new sleeper trains we can’t wait to ride in 2025.
Did you see it’ll soon become much easier to see Italy by train?
Plus: Germany is expanding its long-distance rail routes to reach ‘hundreds’ of extra cities.
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