You’d be a fool if you thought Europe’s railway renaissance would be over any time soon. Yet another brand-new mega service connecting the North Sea with the Mediterranean was announced last year, and its launch is finally happening next month.
European Sleeper, the operator behind many of the continent’s new night train routes, is behind the sleeper service, which will run all the way from Brussels to Venice connecting Eindhoven, Cologne, Munich, Innsbruck and Verona on the way. Its inaugural journey is due to depart on February 5, 2025.
The service was created to provide a sustainable, convenient travel option between cities and winter sports destinations.
‘Passengers will be able to board our train from Belgium and the Netherlands, and relax in the comfort of the restaurant car, while the train transports them through Germany and Austria, and across the Alps, ending in the historic cities of Verona and Venice the following day,’ said Chris Engelsmen, co-founder of European Sleeper.
In the direction of Venice, the services will depart the Belgian capital at 6pm and arrive the next day at 3pm. In the opposite direction, departure from Venice will be at 4pm with an arrival in Brussels between 11am and 12pm, and both of these services should run once weekly through the end of March.
Prices start at €119 for seats and berths, and go up to €239 for more comfortable beds. If you’re heading to Venice Carnival (which this year will run from February 14 to March 4), this could be your ticket! Have a look at booking your place here.
Excitingly, the launch coincides with news that European Sleeper’s Brussels-Prague route will continue to run throughout summer and autumn this year. Due to scheduling issues in Germany, for a while it looked like this service wouldn’t continue after June, but on January 28 it was announced that those issues had been smoothed out.
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