A NEW train service will link Barcelona directly to another major European city.
The route will make it easier to travel between the holiday hotspots without having to board a plane.
GettyA new sleeper service will run between Barcelona to Zurich[/caption]
AFPThe service will be operated by Nightjet[/caption]
The service will be operated by Nightjet – a European train company specialising in sleeper services.
Nightjet already has a network of routes across several European countries, such as France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
According to The Local ES, the new sleeper service will run between Barcelona to Zurich in Switzerland.
Barcelona will also be connected to other European cities like Berlin, Brussels, Cologne, Florence, Hamburg, and Milan thanks to the new train service.
The new route will reach a top speed of up to 230 km/h (142mph).
There are, as of yet, no concrete details about how long it will take to make the full journey, other than the fact it will run overnight.
The route is slated to launch in December 2024, but other details, such as ticket prices, have yet to be released.
Currently, Spain has no overnight train services connecting it to other countries.
In addition to the Barcelona to Zurich service, another overnight train is also set to launch in the Catalan capital.
Another train service, this time operated by Dutch-Belgian startup European Sleeper, will connect Barcelona to Amsterdam.
European Sleeper have already confirmed that the route will stop at Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, and Lille in the evening and Avignon, Montpellier, Perpignan, Figueras, and Girona in the morning.
The company said in a statement: “The Amsterdam-Barcelona night train will strongly improve Europe’s quality of north-south rail connections.
“Even more so because one travels efficiently while asleep on the night train, and distances are reduced to just a night away.”
European Sleeper will aim to launch the new Amsterdam to Barcelona in the spring of 2025.
Meanwhile, a budget train operator has revealed plans to take on Eurostar, and it’s great news for Brits who aren’t fond of flying.
New Dutch operator Heuro has announced plans for routes between London, Amsterdam, and Paris.
Named as a competition between “high speed” and “Europe,” the plans reveal 15 daily return services between London and Amsterdam, compared to Eurostar’s four.
And 16 daily services would run between Amsterdam and Paris.
Meanwhile, start-up operator Evolyn has revealed plans to launch London to Paris train services with non-stop routes from 2025.
An Evolyn spokesperson said it would be the “first competitor in 30 years” of Eurostar.
The challenges come as Eurostar has ditched a number of popular routes.
Brits can already reach France, which has been dubbed the world’s most popular holiday destination on the train thanks to direct Eurostar services between London and Paris.
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GettyThe route is slated to launch in December 2024[/caption]