BRUSSELS, (Unib Rashid) – A new overnight rail connection between Brussels and Milan has begun operations, providing passengers with a direct night-train option between Belgium and northern Italy.

The service, operated by Dutch-Belgian railway company European Sleeper, officially launches with the first train departing Milan on Wednesday at around 4:45 p.m. and arriving in Brussels shortly before noon the following day.

The new service passes through several major destinations along the route, including Como and Milan in Italy, Lugano and Aarau in Switzerland, and Cologne in Germany. In Belgium, the train also serves Verviers.

In the opposite direction, the train is scheduled to leave Brussels at 7:10 p.m. and reach Milan at approximately 11:40 a.m. the following day. The service will operate three times a week in each direction.

Route changes planned from December

European Sleeper plans to modify the Brussels–Cologne section of the route from mid-December. Under the revised timetable, the night train will travel from Brussels via Antwerp, Breda and Eindhoven before continuing to Cologne. The revised route will no longer serve Verviers and Aachen.

The new Brussels–Milan connection expands European Sleeper’s growing network of overnight rail services linking Belgium with destinations across Europe.

The company already operates night trains from Brussels via Amsterdam to Berlin, Dresden and Prague, while another service runs from Paris via Brussels to Hamburg and Berlin.

Belgium is also connected to the European night-train network through the Austrian railway operator ÖBB, which runs overnight services between Brussels and Vienna.

More international night trains planned

Further expansion of overnight rail services is also in the pipeline. From mid-December until the end of March, Travelski, a subsidiary of Compagnie des Alpes, is scheduled to operate a weekly night train from the Netherlands via Antwerp and Brussels to the French Alps and back.

European Sleeper has also announced plans for a new night-train connection from Brussels and Amsterdam to Copenhagen and Malmö in 2028.

The company is additionally exploring a possible future connection to Barcelona, signalling continued efforts to expand overnight rail travel across Europe.