The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) and Swiss Railways (SBB) are investigating setting up a night train service between Amsterdam and Zurich.
The SBB has recently decided to extend their services starting December 2021, through to December 2024, to offer more reclining and sleeping coaches to customers. However, it has not yet been decided which routes these coaches will be used for. Hessel Koster, spokesperson for the NS, confirmed it is being investigated whether these coaches could be used on a Zurich - Amsterdam route.
There was a year-round night train service between Amsterdam and Zurich, but the service was discontinued at the end of 2016 following a significant fall in passenger numbers. However, it would seem that the popularity of night trains are on the rise - the SBB told Treinreiziger.nl that, in 2019, the number of night train passengers to and from Switzerland increased by more than a quarter.
The route between the Netherlands and Zurich currently only runs in the winter months, specifically for winter sports enthusiasts. However, the SBB hopes to re-establish a year-round service.
Train services between Amsterdam, Munich, Innsbruck, and Vienna are set to start up again in December of this year. The Dutch government is supporting the new service with a subsidy of 6,7 million euros, which will be injected into the project between now and 2024 in the hopes that train services will become a more viable transportation alternative to flying.
Furthermore, a direct train route between Amsterdam and London St Pancras was recently announced by train company Eurostar. The route will offer passport control in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, shaving an hour of travel time and further proving that train travel is growing in potential and popularity.
Outside of the Netherlands, work on a train service between Brussels and Mälmo is currently being carried out, and the SBB also hopes to establish a route between Vienna and Paris.