The Ostende-Vienne Orient Experience (O.V.O.E.) railway company has asked for a train path for night trains from Belgium to Salzburg and Innsbruck in Austria and to Milan in Italy. The night trans would be seasonal: from December to March. 

The Regulatory Body for Railway Transport and Brussels Airport Operations has published two positive advices for O.V.O.E.

D-2021-S-03 states there’s no restriction for O.V.O.E. to operate a train to the State of Salzburg and Tyrol on Infrabel‘s tracks as it will not allow domestic train travel in Belgium. D-2021-S-02 says the same for the train to Lombardy. That train is coined as the Italia Express.

Ski

The company wants to use two night trains once a week during the ski season in the coming year. One train will transport ski travelers weekly between Brussels-Midi/South and Antwerp-Berchem and the ski areas between Salzburg and Innsbruck in the winter, from 17 December 2021 to 5 March 2022. Bischofshofen, Kitzbühel and Zell am See are possible stops. 

Italia Express

The Italia Express will run once a week from 24 June 24 September 3 2022 from Brussels-South/Midi via Brussels-North, Liège and across Germany and via Bellinzona and Lugano in Switzerland to Milan.

O.V.O.E.

While O.V.O.E.’s Facebook page is hopelessly outdated, there’s a website. 

“Having diner on board of an original Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et des Grands Express Européens (CIWL) coach, in the original settings.  This concept is made possible by the Ostende-Vienne Orient Experience (O.V.O.E.) company”, the company introduces itself. 

“We offer you a culinary experience on board of an original and restored CIWL-coach from the thirties.  Enjoy the atmosphere of the great days, while enjoying a 4-course diner.”

“The mission of O.V.O.E. is to offer an experience, inspired on the journeys of traveling in rich and style of the thirties. We start with this experience in an original and restored CIWL coach from the thirties. These coaches will be placed on several places in Belgium.”

The maiden trip was planned for 2017. Did that happen? 

There’s some company information to be found on O.V.O.E.  It was founded in 2015 and last published annual financial statements in the Belgian Bulletin (Belgisch Staatsblad, Moniteur Belge) in 2020. 

The company was founded by Kristof Blomme and Bart Warreyn. Both confirmed the news to Belgian press agency Belga. 

More information would be nice

Will O.V.O.E. use its heritage coaches or more modern sleeper train rolling stock? Moonlight Express is using RDC Deutschland rolling stock and European Sleeper is teaming up with RegioJet. But what about O.V.O.E.?

Resources

• ‘Ook nachttrein naar Milaan, Salzburg en Innsbruck op komst’, Sara De Sloover, Bruzz, 06.05.2021.
• ‘Plannen voor nachttrein naar skigebieden (en Antwerpen komt daar ook in voor)’, Belga, ATV, 06.05.2021.
• ‘Des trains de nuit devraient à nouveau circuler vers les stations de ski autrichiennes’, Belga, Le Spir, 06.05.2021.
• ‘Ostende Vienne Orient Experience’, Staatsbladmonitor.be, retrieved on 06.05.2021.

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