European Sleeper expands its network to the Alps and Venice

As a follow-up to the successful Brussels-Prague connection, European Sleeper is now working on a new connection. Winter sleeper train connection with the Alps and Venice.

According to Travel Weekly, the sleeper train will operate from February 2025, until Easter at the end of April. This means Belgium has a direct train connection to the Austrian ski areas, and the Dutch cities of Rotterdam and Utrecht can also look forward to an additional sleeper train. City travelers can take the train to their final destination, Venice, if they wish.

Using this connection, travellers travel from Brussels to Innsbruck in about 15 hours. The journey to Venice takes five hours longer. Since it departs from Brussels, the sleeper train is also very attractive for travellers from Great Britain, who can reach northern Italy with just one transfer.

More attractive than flying

Co-founder Elmer Van Buren says the intention is for the sleeper train to leave Brussels on Wednesday, with the return flight from Venice departing on Sunday. “The ticket prices are also more attractive than the prices of flights to the Alps in high season,” Van Buren adds.

The European Sleeper’s ambition to also train in the south of France and Barcelona remains unchanged. This connection is likely to be established in 2025 or 2026. Tickets for the current European Sleeper train, which runs from Brussels to Prague via Amsterdam and Berlin, are now available for purchase on The Trainline.

Four capitals

The European Sleeper has been running three times a week between Brussels and Berlin since May 2023. At the beginning of this year, the line was extended to the Czech capital Prague, meaning the sleeper train now connects the four capitals of Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic.