New Night Train Links Brussels and Milan
A new direct overnight train now connects Brussels and Milan, as the Dutch-Belgian operator European Sleeper launched its third international night route on Wednesday. The first service departed Milan at around 16:45 on 9 September and was due to arrive at Brussels-Midi shortly before noon the following day, according to RTBF.
The service runs three times a week in each direction, linking Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and northern Italy along the Gotthard route. The first southbound departure from Brussels was scheduled for Thursday evening, arriving in Milan around 11:40 the next day. Tickets start at EUR 49.99 one-way in a shared Classic compartment, while private compartments begin at EUR 179.99, per European Sleeper.
A Partial Revival of a Lost Route
The launch revives a connection that once ran daily. According to the advocacy group Back on Track, a direct Brussels-Milan sleeper operated under train numbers 298/299 from 1989 to 2002 as a cooperation between several national railway companies. As BRUZZ reported, the group noted that the old service ran every day, whereas the new one runs just three times a week.
The route and travel time have also changed. “The train now follows a different route,” Back on Track said. “It used to run via Luxembourg and Alsace, but now it goes via Germany and the Gotthard tunnel. As a result the journey no longer takes twelve hours, but about seventeen and a half hours.”
The group also pointed out that the service uses Milano Porta Garibaldi rather than the more central Milano Centrale, requiring passengers to depart earlier in the afternoon. Back on Track called on politicians, and especially European policymakers, to develop a continental plan for a fully-fledged night-train network.
On Board and Onward
The route crosses Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, using the original scenic Gotthard line. Stops include Liege and Verviers in Belgium, Cologne and Aix-la-Chapelle in Germany, then Aarau, Bellinzona and Lugano in Switzerland, and Como San Giovanni before terminating at Milano Porta Garibaldi. Passengers can use Interrail and Eurail passes with a reservation supplement.
The operator frames the service as a hassle-free alternative to flying. “Travel overnight, and wake up refreshed, ready to explore,” European Sleeper says of the direct connection from Brussels and Cologne to Zurich, Lugano, Lake Como and Milan. From Milan, onward daytime Frecciarossa trains reach Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples, while London connects via Eurostar to Brussels for a same-station change, as detailed by The Man in Seat 61.
A Route Set to Change in December
The service will be altered again from 13 December 2026. The Brussels-Cologne leg will be re-routed via Antwerp and the Dutch cities of Breda and Eindhoven, and the train will no longer stop at Verviers or Aix-la-Chapelle, RTBF reported. The Brussels departure time will shift accordingly.
European Sleeper already operates night trains from Brussels via Amsterdam to Berlin, Dresden and Prague, and from Paris via Brussels toward Hamburg and Berlin. Austria’s OeBB separately runs Brussels-Vienna sleepers. From mid-December until the end of March, Travelski, a subsidiary of Compagnie des Alpes, will run a weekly night train from the Netherlands via Antwerp and Brussels to the French Alps and back.
Ambition and Constraints
European Sleeper is a private cooperative founded in 2021 that does not own its trains. It leases rolling stock and relies on licensed operators in each country, acting as a commercial integrator. The company says it has raised more than EUR 7 million from roughly 6,000 private investors, carried 250,000 passengers in two years, and is targeting EUR 32 million in revenue for 2026, with profitability hoped for in 2027-2028.
The operator has signalled further expansion. It hopes to launch a Brussels and Amsterdam to Copenhagen and Malmo night train by 2028, with Barcelona also on its radar. Yet such plans face practical limits. Figures obtained by De Standaard from Belgian infrastructure manager Infrabel indicate that requests for train slots by high-speed and night services have nearly doubled in three years, with some network sections now considered saturated.
The tension between ambition and capacity sits at the heart of Europe’s night-train revival, as travellers and policymakers seek lower-carbon alternatives to short-haul flights. For now, the Brussels-Milan link restores a direct connection lost more than two decades ago, albeit on a slower, less frequent basis than its predecessor. Whether it can grow into the daily, fast service that campaigners want may depend as much on political will and track capacity as on the operator’s own plans.