After consolidating its Brussels-Prague route and launching the Paris-Berlin service, European Sleeper is taking another step forward with the launch of its third regular route—and its very first north-south route: Brussels–Milan.
For this first trip from Italy to Belgium, passing through Switzerland and Germany, part of the team HOORAY! was on board. We're taking you with us.
For all the practical information about this new route (schedules, prices, reservations), check out our comprehensive European Sleeper guide:
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European Sleeper: Brussels–Milan, Paris–Berlin, and Prague night trains in 2026
With the Brussels-Prague route to the east and the Paris-Berlin route (soon to be extended to Hamburg) to the north, European Sleeper had, until now, primarily developed its network between Western and Central Europe. With the Brussels-Milan route, it’s changing course: heading south.
For the first time, the cooperative's trains are crossing Switzerland and traveling on to Italy. This new route now makes it possible to fall asleep in Belgium and wake up—a few hours and a few borders later—at the foot of the Italian Alps.
© European Sleeper - Brussels-Milan: A Third Major Route
On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 9, at Milano Porta Garibaldi, a series of speeches were given to mark the cooperative’s third launch.
The first powerful gesture: Elmer van Buuren chose to address the audience in Italian, despite the language barrier. This decision set the tone for a speech marked by a certain humility: The co-founder of European Sleeper emphasized that the first few weeks of operation would be crucial for tailoring the service to travelers’ actual expectations, rather than presenting this launch as a foregone conclusion—a conscious commitment to staying vigilant during these initial weeks of operation.
For his part, Chris Engelsman emphasized that the cooperative had entered a new era: what might have seemed like a “hobby train” in its early days has evolved into a professional player in the European rail industry. He expressed pride in launching this third route, while noting the difficulty of building a railroad company from scratch. He also highlighted the importance to European Sleeper of the economic sustainability of its business model, as well as the community aspect of the project.
© Mattéo Miossec
Several other dignitaries spoke to mark the occasion: Matteo Arena, founder of Arenaways, the Italian operator partnering on the transalpine section; Raffaele Cattaneo, undersecretary to the president of the Lombardy Region, in charge of International and European Relations; Mascha Baak, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Milan; and Giorgio Maria Zamperetti, Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Belgium (who particularly emphasized how the night train changes one’s perception of time compared to flying).
Overall, the remarks centered on two main ideas: the economic sustainability of the night train model and its ability to rebuild connections between European regions.
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Behind this first night between Brussels and Milan lie several months of preparation and a number of major challenges: operating the European Sleeper in a new country, adapting the route to account for construction work on the Simplon Pass, and establishing a new international connection without relying on public subsidies in the long term.
"For us, this launch means a third European Sleeper train that will run daily with 2 new countries served: Switzerland and Italy (The European Sleeper is now operating in 7 Countries in Daily Life). It also marks the strengthening of our existing partnerships and the start of a new partnership with Arenaways, our Italian operator. “This is another step toward our goal of offering more overnight trains for travel in Europe, and we hope this new route will attract thousands more passengers who choose to travel by train.” - Anne Dubost, Director of Strategy and Business Development at European Sleeper
© Mattéo Miossec
Beyond the unprecedented challenge of launching a line in Switzerland, launching two new lines in the same year was, in itself, a major challenge for the cooperative. For this cooperative in particular, gaining access to the Swiss and Italian networks required "considerable efforts in collaboration with our partners and the respective authorities in each country" ", Anne Dubost points out.
Added to this is the complexity of scheduling coordination: we now have to synchronize schedules across four countries (five starting in December, when new routes in the Netherlands will be added), while adapting to the construction schedules of the various rail networks, which requires "exceptional cooperation on the part of the network operators in each country".
What's next? Anne Dubost confirms that two new lines are already in the works: a route from Brussels to Amsterdam to Copenhagen to Malmö and another from Brussels to Barcelona via Avignon, both scheduled for 2028.
But the company isn't just focused on expanding its network—it's also working to improve the travel experience on its existing routes. As European Sleeper acknowledges, the launch of the Paris-Berlin route and the summer that followed were marked by “many operational setbacks” that affected the quality of the trip for passengers. The cooperative is therefore working to make its operations more reliable, strengthen its customer service, and improve its communication with travelers, while also enhancing the services offered on board.
At the same time, it continues to work with the network operators in each country on the 2027, 2028, and soon 2029 schedules to optimize travel times, and is even exploring the possibility—in the longer term—of purchasing its own cars rather than leasing them!
With the Brussels-Milan route, European Sleeper isn't just adding another destination to its network. The cooperative is creating a new overnight rail service connecting the Benelux countries, Switzerland, and Italy, and lays the groundwork for its goal of one day connecting the Netherlands directly to northern Italy.
Above all, this new connection strengthens the The Night Train's Comeback in Europe. While some of these routes have disappeared from maps over the decades, new connections are gradually taking shape. And with them comes a different way to cross the continent: boarding a train at the end of the day, watching the borders pass by during the night, and waking up the next morning in another country.
It remains to be seen how the line will find its audience and achieve financial stability. But this Wednesday afternoon, at the Milano Porta Garibaldi station platform, a new European rail route was indeed inaugurated!
Issue du monde de la communication et des médias, Sophie est Responsable éditoriale chez HOURRAIL ! depuis août 2024. Elle est notamment derrière le contenu éditorial du site ainsi que La Locomissive (de l'inspiration voyage bas carbone et des bons plans, un jeudi sur deux, gratuitement dans ta boîte mail !).
Convaincue que les changements d’habitude passent par la transformation de nos imaginaires, elle s’attache à montrer qu’il est possible de voyager autrement, de manière plus consciente, plus lente et plus joyeuse. Son objectif : rendre le slow travel accessible à toutes et tous, à travers des astuces, des décryptages et surtout, de nouveaux récits.
