Despite the current travel bans and restrictions, you may soon be able to take direct trains from Sweden to Germany and Belgium within the next two years, through night trains. By Amitha Ameen
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Sweden recently announced that it is planning to launch night trains to Germany and Belgium by 2022 to enable fast connections to central Europe and the UK. “This is something we’ve been pushing for, for a long time,” Swedish MEP Jakop Dalunde from the Swedish Greens, who is also a member of the EU’s TRAN committee, told Euronews.
The night trains will connect Swedish cities to Hamburg in Germany and Brussels in Belgium and will offer visitors a chance to explore Europe is a more sustainable manner. Sweden was the first country to initiate the ‘flight shame movement,’ which appeals to people to consider alternatives to flying, as the latter has a more drastic environmental impact. Travelling through trains will mean lesser harmful emissions compared to flights.
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In the past few years, train travel had been dying a slow death thanks to a steep rise in budget airlines with multiple routes on offer. But in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, authorities are looking at new ways to help boost the economy once travelling is allowed, and trains will most likely take the forefront.
With next year slated to be the European Year of Rail, an initiative to boost train travel that even includes proposals for ultra-rapid train networks connecting capital cities in half the time might make passengers reconsider their transport methods.
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Night trains or sleeper trains have already made a comeback including an already popular route between Prague and Croatia. France has announced a night train between Paris and Nice, and a line between Vienna and Brussels has been introduced too.
Related: World’s Top 10 Luxury Train Journeys: How Many Have You Been On?
