It was a bittersweet start for European Sleeper’s new Brussels-Venice night train. The startup ran without permission to operate its trains on Italian tracks the day before the first run.
After nine months of work to prepare this seasonal route, on Tuesday, 4 February, the day before the launch, RFI (the Italian infrastructure manager) announced that the train would not be able to enter the country.
Elmer van Buuren, co-founder of the company, claims that RFI has not explained its last-minute refusal. In addition, the startup was notified last week that the train could not run beyond Bolzano, near the Austrian border.
Fortunately, the Austrian operator ÖBB was able to offer an emergency solution. The passengers were transferred to an ÖBB train in Innsbruck to cover the journey to Venice. Despite the transfer, European Sleeper claims that there are no delays.
This incident highlights the challenges facing new rail initiatives in Europe. The situation has raised concerns even at the diplomatic level, with the Italian ambassador to Belgium acknowledging that the problem is due to “a lack of European cooperation”.
