Leo Express files plans for extraordinary 2026 Bratislava–Ostend and Venice–Northern Germany services

Leo Express has formally notified Schienen-Control in Austria of its intention to launch two unusual new open-access rail services: a year-round Bratislava–Ostend line from December 2026, and a seasonal Venice–Heringsdorf / Kiel service beginning in summer 2026. The filings, submitted on 11 December 2025, appear in the Austrian regulator’s register of planned new commercial rail…

European Sleeper to launch Amsterdam and Brussels to Milan night train service, delays Barcelona plans

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.

Reorganising train travel in Belgium by 2050: going for the Swiss or the Dutch model?

On 4 December 2025, the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport has published the executive summary of a groundbreaking study – ‘Lange termijn exploitatiemodel van het spoornetwerk‘ – that redefines how Belgium plans the future of its rail system. This is the first feasibility study ever produced for an integrated long-term timetable covering the entire…

QATAR AIRWAYS | Seoul Incheon – Doha – Brussels

Autumn 2024. Ten years after my first trip to Seoul in 2014, I am returning to the Republic of Korea, better known as South Korea. Not solo this time, but with Oriol, who has never been to Korea. On the itinerary: flying with Qatar Airways to Incheon via Doha, the capital Seoul, the historic city…

NMBS / SNCB to order 180 CAF Civity trains, including battery-powered sets

The Board of Directors of the National Railway Company of Belgium, the NMBS / SNCB, is set to award the contract for the new MR30 / AM30 trains to manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) from the Basque Country in Spain, Thibault Lapers‘ mobilithib blog has learned from a source.

COPENHAGEN | Gefion Fountain – Little Mermaid – Langelinie

I turned 44 in June. I have this tradition – when possible – of not being in Belgium for my birthday. From Sweden in 2013 to the Châteaux of the Loire Valley in 2014, Lake Orta in 2015, Rome in 2016, London in 2018, North Carolina and Virginia in 2019, England in 2022, and Rotterdam…