Trains travelling through the night at 100mph could connect Ostend in Belgium with the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, by next year.
Leo Express, the Czech-based subsidiary of the Spanish national operator, Renfe, has filed plans for a sleeper train that would call at Brussels, Cologne, Hanover, Dresden, Prague and many more stations along the 750-mile route.
Plans for the service, proposed to begin in December 2026, have been published by the Belgian Regulatory Body for Railway Transport. Leo Express says in its application: “The planned connection involves new traffic that does not exist today.”
The whole journey between the North Sea coast and the Danube is planned to take just over 19 hours, representing an average speed of 39mph. The overnight train would leave Ostend at 7.10pm, allowing UK travellers to connect at Brussels Midi (for an 8.19pm departure) after taking Eurostar from London St Pancras International.
Arrival is scheduled for 2.18pm next day in Bratislava. The timing means the train can carry day passengers through the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The rolling stock would comprise refurbished carriages offering seats, couchettes (six bunks to a compartment) and proper beds. It will initially have capacity for 450 passengers
Other appealing locations served by the train include Bruges and Ghent in Belgium, plus Aachen and Dresden in Germany. A total of 50 stops are planned.
Read more: Inside luxury sleeper train the Britannic Explorer
Overnight rail services went into steep decline as budget airlines expanded across Europe, but have had something of a resurgence. Austrian Railways (OBB) has reintroduced a wide range of routes, and in December 2023 the Berlin-Paris sleeper was restored.
But rail experts have cast doubt on whether the Ostend-Bratislava project is feasible. Leo Express will need to gain permission and train paths from rail authorities in Belgium, France, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and compete against some extremely low air fares.
In September, Ryanair flights are available from Brussels (South) to Bratislava for €18 (£16).
The announcement has been covered by Thomas Wintle of the Rotterdam-based publication Rail Tech. He wrote: “Night trains are popular in theory, but often expensive to run and logistically complex in practice. They face higher staffing and maintenance costs, tighter scheduling windows, and frequent cross-border disruptions.
“Recent construction works derailing sleepers travelling through Germany and France is a case in point. Despite strong public enthusiasm and EU policy backing, occupancy rates can also remain modest compared to daytime intercity services.”
Nicky Gardner, co-author of Europe by Rail, said: “Leo Express are talking about late 2026, but I just cannot see them getting paths through Germany at times they would like. Time will tell.”
The new service would offer some competition to European Sleeper, a cooperative that is running night trains from Amsterdam via Brussels and Berlin to Prague.
Leo Express later told Rail Tech: “From our perspective, they do not represent concrete plans.”
The company started up in 2010 as a Czech domestic train operator in competition with the state railway. Renfe, Spain’s state rail operator, took a majority stake in 2021.
Ostend was once the gateway to central and eastern Europe from the UK. Frequent ferries from English ports connected with international trains deep into the Continent. But all links ended when the “Seacat” high-speed passenger ferry from Dover ceased two decades ago.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
.png?trim=0,10,0,7&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "Ethel Cain: Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You review – a dark, Lynchian coming-of-age story – UK Times")