While you are sleeping: DIBA’s Members learned all about comfortable night travelling between Brussels and Milan available as of 9 September 2026 – with route extension to Amsterdam in 2027 – thanks to European Sleepers’ Presentation of its Night Train Services
Being intrigued by the feature and expansion of low-carbon travel, DIBA members gathered last week in Utrecht at the Head Quarters of European Sleeper, an independent company building and expanding a European Night Train Service network and having just launched the sales for a night route to Milan.
DIBA’s President Angela Mannaerts opened the evening by celebrating DIBA’s presence and expansion in The Netherlands, briefly introducing the activities of European Sleeper plus investment opportunities in this start-up, and then turning to the introduction of the event’s speaker, Chris Engelsman, CEO and co-founder of European Sleeper.
Chris Engelsman subsequently shared the story behind the project and the company’s plans. He illustrated European Sleeper’s vision, which is based on the philosophy of “travel while you sleep”, turning the journey itself into an experience. The company combines practical comfort with a distinctive travel atmosphere, offering passengers a lower-carbon alternative to flying, a more personal service, and the charm of classic night trains. European Sleeper offers four travel classes, ranging from budget seats to luxury sleeping cars, and the type of travelers varies from backpackers and tourist families to business passengers.
European Sleeper already connects several major European cities, including Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Paris and Hamburg, with further expansion underway.
The next step is the launch of the Brussels-Milan route, with the first train departing on September 9, 2026. The train will also stop in Switzerland and an extension of this route, from Brussels to Amsterdam, is planned for 2027.
European Sleeper aims to expand steadily over the coming years, adding new routes and investing in its own brand carriages to raise the level of comfort as it wades its way through a complex technocratic market.
European Sleeper is currently working on the subsequent project, which is represented by a connection between Brussels and Barcelona with probably a stop in the South of France.
The story and philosophy or European Sleeper have already attracted the support of more than 6,000 private investors, giving the company independence and a strong community-driven foundation. It remains possible for private persons and venture capitalists to invest in European Sleeper thereby enabling it, among others, to acquire its own brand wagons.
The evening provided a compelling insight into a company that is not only reviving night train travelling but also setting a new standard for conscious, cross-border travel across Europe.
DIBA’s President concluded the presentation by thanking Chris Engelsman, on behalf of the DIBA members, for his interesting presentation and European Sleeper’s hospitality, thereby handing him, as symbolic gift, a Romantica Franciacorta Brut D.o.c.g. Magnum bottle from the Avanzi winery, located in Garda Lake area in Lombardy, suggesting the bottle to be opened in September.
The evening continued with a walking dinner provided by European Sleeper combined with red and white wine of the Lombardian winery Avanzi offered by DIBA.
Also present during the evening were representatives of the Italian Embassy in The Hague of ICT-Italian Trade Agency and Emanuele Pirazzoli, the honorary consul of The Netherlands in Palermo, in the photo with speaker Chris Engelsman and DIBA’s President Angela Mannaerts
More information can be found here 👉 Notes DIBA presentation European Sleeper 19 March 2026.
