In December 2025, European Sleeper announced a new night train connection: Brussels in Belgium and Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Milan in Italy. Independent railway commentator Jon Worth published some thoughts on that news.
Worth has responded with cautious scepticism to the announcement that European Sleeper plans to launch a new night train linking Brussels and Amsterdam with Switzerland and Milan from June 2026.
At first glance, the proposal sounds like a breakthrough: a long-awaited night connection from the Benelux to Lombardy. But, as Worth dryly notes, the key question is whether it will actually materialise.
He points first to the proposed Swiss routing. According to European Sleeper, the train would follow the historic Simplon line via Bern, Brig and Domodossola, calling at Stresa before reaching Milan.
Engineering works
Worth immediately identifies a fundamental operational problem: entering Bern from Basel and then continuing towards the Simplon would require a reversal, something that is already difficult in a station undergoing major reconstruction and suffering from chronic congestion. On top of that, parts of the Simplon route are scheduled for multiple closures in 2026, casting further doubt on the feasibility of the plan as described.
Cologne
European Sleeper also intends to split and combine train portions from Amsterdam and Brussels somewhere in western Germany, in order to serve Amsterdam, Brussels and Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia with suitable departure and arrival times.
Worth sees the logic in this on paper and accepts that these large population centres strengthen the business case. However, he also stresses that such manoeuvres significantly increase operational complexity and costs, particularly for a private operator already juggling multiple international routes.
Schedule
The proposed timetable raises further questions. The Milan service would run only three nights per week, with departures from Amsterdam and Brussels on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and return trips from Milan on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Worth observes that this mirrors European Sleeper’s other routes, all of which operate three times weekly, but taken together the overall network looks increasingly convoluted. He admits there may be an internal logic to it, but from the outside it appears messy and hard to sustain.
Rolling stock
As ever, Worth returns to what he sees as the perennial problem with new night train announcements: rolling stock. Where, he asks, will the carriages come from?
On this occasion he is slightly more reassured than usual. A confidential source has told him that European Sleeper has secured additional carriages from a different source than those used on its existing services.
That said, Worth has no clarity on how many vehicles are available, nor on their condition or comfort level. Locomotives should be less of a concern, he notes, since the route avoids France and its added technical complications.
So will the Brussels–Amsterdam–Milan night train actually run? Worth’s verdict is guarded: it might, just about. Many crucial details remain unresolved, and only in the coming months will the missing pieces fall into place.
No subsidies
Still, he ends on a note of qualified praise. Whatever its shortcomings, European Sleeper continues to experiment and to take risks without first demanding large subsidies. In an industry often paralysed by caution, Worth believes that willingness to try is something that deserves recognition.
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