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TRAIN TRAVEL

What to know about new night train connecting Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy

The new night train route from Brussels to Venice, which will launch early next year, will allow passengers to make an overnight journey to the North Sea, the Mediterranean or to the Alps. Here’s what you need to know.

Published: 21 August 2024 16:08 CEST
sleeper car passenger
A passenger takes in the view from a sleeper cabin on a European Sleeper train. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Zacharie Scheurer

Night train transport firm, European Sleeper, is introducing a new Brussels – Venice route to begin in February 2025.

The line will also connect Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Italy – with stops in Cologne, Munich, Innsbruck, Bolzano and others along the way.

European Sleeper is one of a few privately owned international train operators in Europe. Currently it operates night trains on just one international line that connects Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Dresden and Prague several times weekly.

READ ALSO: The destinations you can reach by direct night train from Berlin

According to the company, the new line comes in response to high-demand for winter sports travel, more city trip options and the current lack of suitable train connections in Europe.

The new route is intended to make it easier for passengers to choose greener travel options without compromising on comfort.

“This marks a new important milestone for European Sleeper, and the convenience of night travel across Europe more sustainably,” said Chris Engelsman, co-founder of European Sleeper in a statement released by the company.

Itinerary

Starting on February 5th, 2025, the Brussels – Venice line will initially run twice a week.

Southbound trains will depart the Belgian capital at 5 pm and arrive in Venice at 2 pm the following day. Passengers departing Cologne can catch the train at 11 pm and get a good night’s sleep before the train stops in Munich at 7 am the following morning.

Northbound trains will depart Venice at 3 pm, stopping in Innsbruck by 7 pm and Munich at 10 pm. They’ll arrive in Cologne at 6 am the next morning and reach the end of the line in Brussels by 11 am.

What you can expect

Mark Smith, author of The Man in Seat 61, a popular blog about train travel in Europe, told The Local that he’s had two experiences riding on European Sleeper trains – once in a sleeper bed and once in a new couchette car.

Sleeper cars are the equivalent of a hotel room on wheels, typically equipped with proper beds and washbasins, whereas cheaper couchettes are smaller padded bunks often fitting four or six in a cabin.

Asked how European Sleeper trains compare with those run by Europe’s bigger operators like Nightjet, Smith said, “Their newer 5-berth couchettes are as good as Nightjet, the sleeping-cars are older than Nightjet’s sleeping-cars (so no showers) but very comfortable.”

READ ALSO: Five ‘coolcation’ spots you can reach by train from Germany

He added that a perk about the new Brussels – Venice line is that the trains will have a dining car, “which promises lunch and a glass of red while you pass through the mountains of the scenic Brenner Pass.”

Ticket prices

Booking for trips on the new route will officially open on September 1st.

European Sleeper hasn’t yet published ticket prices. But to give a general idea tickets from Brussels to Prague start at €69 for seats, €99 for couchettes and €159.

As for scoring the cheapest tickets: “Like anything, book as far ahead as you can and the booking horizon allows, mid-week is cheaper than weekends, February is cheaper than June,” said Smith, the man who rides trains for a living.

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TRAVEL NEWS

How Germany’s increased border checks will affect travel from neighbouring countries

Germany will tighten controls on all land borders for a six-month period in a bid to limit so-called irregular migration and in response to recent terror attacks. We look at what it means for travellers heading to and from Germany.

Published: 10 September 2024 16:48 CEST
How Germany's increased border checks will affect travel from neighbouring countries

The German government announced this week that temporary controls will be extended to Germany’s internal borders with all nine of its EU neighbours.

That means police will be stepping up checks at all German borders from September 16th, including Denmark, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg where there were previously no checks. 

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, of the Social Democrats (SPD), said the controls would limit migration and “protect against the acute dangers posed by Islamist terrorism and serious crime”.

Being turned away at the borders by police is possible in accordance with European and national law, the Interior Ministry said.

The government added that disruption to commuters would be kept to a minimum. 

READ ALSO: Germany to extend border controls to limit irregular migration

What do I need to know about German border controls?

Border controls – or at least random checks – are already part of everyday life at several German borders.

Since 2015, the main focus of controls on the German side has been on entry from Austria to Germany. Those checks were brought in to counter a large influx of asylum seekers. In mid-October 2023, the Interior Ministry ordered stationary checks at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.

The newly ordered checks concern the land borders with France, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. They will come into force on Monday September 16th for at least six months. 

This year, temporary checks were also implemented for Euro 2024 and for the Olympic and Paralympic Games with France. 

Since controls were introduced along large parts of Germany’s eastern border last year, around 30,000 people had been refused entry, Faeser said.

The minister added that the newly introduced measures would raise the number of people sent back to the country they were entering from.

What should travellers expect?

Germany and all its neighbouring countries are members of the Schengen area which means there is free movement – but temporary checks are allowed to take place at borders.  

Travellers should be prepared for possible longer waiting times in some cases, as well as random checks. 

The checks can be carried out on car drivers or on trains and buses crossing the borders. 

Some roads are more likely to be hit with delays than others. For instance, there are increased controls on the A17 Prague – Dresden motorway, causing temporary traffic jams at the Breitenau-Schönwald border crossing.

The following crossings with Austria are also often affected by random checks:

  • Suben (motorway A3 Linz – Passau)
  • Walserberg (A8 Salzburg – Munich)
  • Kiefersfelden (A93 Kufstein – Rosenheim)

As a general rule, all travellers should carry valid ID and any travel documents they need to enter Germany. 

Anyone deemed to be entering Germany illegally could be refused entry. 

Why are the border checks happening now?

The German government is under increasing pressure to curb the number of migrants arriving in Germany and to crack down on extremists after several suspected Islamist attacks.

In August three people were killed in a knife rampage in the western city of Solingen, in which the Syrian suspect had been slated for deportation but evaded law enforcement.

The attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, came just a week before key regional votes in eastern Germany, which saw the far-right AfD score election victories, and inflamed the debate on immigration in the country.

READ ALSO: How an explosive row over immigration has divided Germany 

However, the issue of migration has been on the government agenda for some time and regularly tops the list of what German voters are most concerned about it.

In July, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said: “In general, it is our intention to continue to strictly control the German borders.” 

What has been the reaction from other countries?

Well neighbours Poland are not happy with the increased checks.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned the move as “unacceptable”. 

“These kinds of actions are unacceptable from Poland’s point of view,” Tusk said at a televised event in Warsaw.

“Rather than greater controls of our border, Poland needs greater participation of countries, including Germany, in guarding and securing the European Union’s external borders,” he added.

“In the coming hours, we will reach out to other countries affected by Berlin’s decisions for urgent consultations.”

The European Union was also less then pleased with Germany’s action. Brussels cautioned that border checks within the bloc could be introduced only as an “exceptional” measure.

The European Commission said that member states were allowed to take such a step to address “a serious threat”, but that the measures needed to be “necessary and proportionate”.

“These types of measures should remain strictly exceptional,” a spokeswoman said.

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