I traveled 600 miles by train from London to Berlin instead of flying, and I don't plan to do it again. Here's why.

05.08.2023 - 14:27 / insider.com / London

Last month I traveled by train from London to Berlin and back.

It's not an experience I plan to repeat.

A new sleeper service launched in Europe in May, shipping passengers between Brussels and Berlin. I decided to test the European Sleeper out, and paired it with a Eurostar from London to get me to Belgium in the first place.

Some travelers are choosing to make their trips more sustainable by avoiding flights wherever possible and instead opting for long-distance trains, coaches, and car-sharing apps. France and Austria have even banned some short-haul flights.

I'm no stranger to public transport. I took the train to and from my high school in the UK for seven years, took the six-hour coach journey between Newcastle and Liverpool many times, and spent a year studying in Germany where I traveled on its network of trains, trams, and buses.

But a sleeper train was completely new to me. My longest train journey had been five or six hours.

I arrived at London's St. Pancras Station after a 30-minute rush-hour tube journey, breezed through the security checks, and boarded the 9:01 a.m. Eurostar train to Brussels. But due to a security incident at Lille, the two-hour journey ended up taking four-and-a-half hours. I spent the time reading, writing, and napping. By the time I arrived in Brussels, it was around 2:30 p.m. local time.

I'd never been to Brussels before and wanted to use this trip as an opportunity to explore the Belgian capital, so I had deliberately booked my two trains – each with a different provider – with a six-hour layover there. The Eurostar delay cut into a lot of this, but I'm glad I left myself with plenty of wriggle room in case of journey disruptions. I also enjoyed the opportunity to stretch my legs, even if I did spent most of my time in Brussels in the line for a must-visit cheese-sandwich shop.

I headed back to the station for the second leg of the journey, this time the 6:01 p.m. European Sleeper, headed for Berlin. Because of the Schengen Agreement, I didn't have to go through security checks and could just rock up to the platform and board the train.

I'd decided to book their lowest-price ticket, which was a seat in a six-person compartment rather than a bed. It cost me 119 euros (around $130).

For the first hour, I was alone. The interior of the compartment seemed a bit dated – I was surprised to find there was nowhere to charge my phone – but at least I had plenty of space, I thought.

I was wrong.

Two passengers got on at Antwerp, an hour into the journey. Then, three more got on at Amsterdam at around 9:30 p.m., and our compartment was full.

I'm glad I brought food with me – I couldn't see any information on board about where to buy food and overhead a member of staff telling