European Sleeper, the Belgian–Dutch cooperative behind several recent night train initiatives, will launch a new three-times-weekly night train linking Amsterdam Central and Brussels-South with Milan from 18 June 2026. This marks the company’s second new international night-train route for next year, following the previously announced Paris–Brussels–Berlin service that begins at the end of March 2026.

The connection to Milan will start with two separate trains: one departing from Amsterdam in the Netherlands and one from Brussels in Belgium. Both will run on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays to Italy, returning the following day to the Benelux. In western Germany, the two trains will be coupled for the onward journey. In the opposite direction, the train will split again before reaching Amsterdam and Brussels.

European Sleeper chose this split-start structure to secure more suitable departure and arrival times for each end of the route. The company expects demand to be strong enough in all three cities – Amsterdam, Brussels and Milan – to support a viable commercial operation. 

The combined train will offer capacity for between 500 and 600 passengers per service. Ticket prices are expected to be broadly similar to those on the company’s existing route to Prague in Czechia, with couchette fares around €80.

Switzerland

The route will include stops in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bern and Brig in Switzerland, Stresa and the Lago Maggiore area in Italy. 

Between Switzerland and Italy, the train will travel over the Simplon Pass, one of the key rail connections between the two countries.

Timetable coordination with infrastructure managers across Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy is still underway. European Sleeper plans to open ticket sales in January or February 2026.

Italy

The Milan service represents the company’s second venture into Italy, following a short seasonal Brussels–Innsbruck–Venice service launched in February 2025. Almost 240,000 passengers have used European Sleeper’s night trains to date, across more than 750 services between Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Dresden and Prague.

Barcelona in 2027 or 2028

The introduction of the Benelux–Milan night train means European Sleeper will postpone its planned connection to Barcelona in Spain. 

The company had previously indicated that both Milan and Catalonia were in advanced planning stages, but only one could be launched in 2026. Milan has now been prioritised. 

The Barcelona service remains on the roadmap, with the company aiming for a launch in 2027 or 2028, though progress has been slowed by bureaucratic hurdles in several countries.

Austria

The Milan announcement comes shortly after European Sleeper confirmed it will restart the Paris–Brussels–Berlin night train from 26 March 2026, operating three times per week. Ticket sales for that service open on 16 December. The route will replace the existing Nightjet service operated jointly by ÖBB and SNCF, which will cease after 14 December.

Alongside European Sleeper’s expansion, Belgium already hosts ÖBB’s established Nightjet connection between Brussels and Vienna in Austria, which will continue operating independently.

Taken together, these developments mark the most significant expansion of privately operated international night trains in north-western Europe in decades, with European Sleeper positioning itself as one of the key players driving the renewed growth of overnight rail travel across the continent.

The rolling stock remains old. And for now, the night train is still more a thing for adventurers and train lovers. 

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