New European sleeper train to connect two popular cities – and Brits can easily join for hols
A BRAND new European sleeper train will start taking passengers to Venice from Brussels starting next year.
For two weeks in February and March 2025, tourists can visit the romantic canal city via train from the Belgian capital.
The provider, European Sleeper currently runs overnight trains from Brussels and Amsterdam to Prague and Berlin.
Journeys will last around 20 hours long but promise to ooze comfort.
The train will stop in the Netherlands and Germany before passing through the Austrian Alps and stopping at their final destinations in Verona and Venice.
A spokesperson said: “This schedule accommodates school holidays, and the peak winter sports season as well as Venice Carnival”, a major hub for tourism in the city.
Chris Engelsman, co-founder of European Sleeper added: “Passengers “will be able to board our train from Belgium and the Netherlands, and relax in the comfort of the restaurant car.
“The train will transport them through Germany and Austria, and across the Alps, ending in the historic cities of Verona and Venice the following day.”
Return journeys would then leave Venice every Sunday, making for an ideal long weekend on the slopes.
The route will line up perfectly for Brits, as the Eurostar currently connects London St Pancras to Brussels.
Journeys between London and Brussels take just under two hours, giving passengers the ability to connect onto a second train in Brussels.
Because of this connection, train company European Sleeper hopes the route will attract winter sports enthusiasts from the UK.
Each train will be able to hold around 750 passengers in sleeper compartments.
European Sleeper said they’re also keen on introducing a daily connection between Amsterdam and Barcelona.
It comes as an express overnight rail now links one of Europe’s most historic cities with a sun-soaked beach destination.
The Italian initiative comes as a bid to bring in more tourists on select dates over summer.
The service will run between Rome and the southern Puglia region, also known as the “heel” in Italy’s “boot”.
Dubbed Espresso Salento, the new tourist-targeting train adds to the FS Treni Turistici Italiani stable.
It connects the historic Italian capital with the city of Lecce.
The first trains departed in July.
Train company FS Italiene said it was “making the journey itself part of the holiday”.
It added that the destination region “combines the shades of blue of its crystalline sea with the iconic coastal towns characterised by a unique and unmistakable style.
“Places rich in history, culture and tradition that in the summer season experience their maximum in terms of flow … require ever greater mobility in a sustainable way.”