Via Utrecht? That is an intressting route. There is a direct HSR line from Brussels - Liege - Aachen - Cologne.
Picking up all those Dutch tourists
I think they are trying to make sure the train ride is long enough to make sense for a sleeper. If it’s too short, your might end up with awkwardly short sleep times.
The route for the geographical challenged like me.
Oh sweet! Apparently those europeansleeper trains have 26 bike slots too, plus some more in peak season. That is way more than what the ÖBB nightjets offer.
URL gives me a 404 error. But I found this link that mentions it which is both working and Cloudflare-free:
https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Blog/Night-trains → https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Routes/Brussels-Vienna
From the site:
Travel at high speed and in all comfort between Brussels and Vienna.
I suppose all trains are sustainable but night trains are typically more sustainable because they tend to be slow (more efficient) trains. But the Brussels-Vienna train is fast. Though if it gets people off planes I guess it still scores some points for that.
It’s good ES add this route to the network, and the route fits with their other operations.
However, it’s a long way around. I remember when there was a train every night from Brussels to Milano, sometimes extending to Venice, via Namur, Luxembourg, Basel, Bern, Brig. That old straighter route would be more efficient, and reconnect people who currently have no night train south.