Three times a week New night train to connect Berne with Brussels and Amsterdam
A new night train is set to travel across Europe from summer - from Milan via Bern to Amsterdam and Brussels. Bureaucracy is still slowing things down, but the provider is confident.
13.12.2025, 00:00
13.12.2025, 09:12
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- The European Sleeper company is planning a night train connection between Milan, Berne, Brussels and Amsterdam three times a week from June.
- Cooperation with a domestic railroad company is (still) required for the journey through Switzerland. Discussions are underway.
- The timetable is being coordinated and ticket sales are due to start in January or February.
A new night train is to connect Berne with Brussels, Amsterdam and Milan from June. A private night train operator wants to offer the route through Switzerland three times a week in each direction. According to the federal government, the foreign rail company must enter into a cooperation agreement with a domestic rail company for such a connection.
The planned intermediate stops from north-western Europe to northern Italy include Cologne, Bern, Brig and Stresa on Lake Maggiore, as the Dutch-Belgian night train company European Sleeper announced this week. In Switzerland, the train follows the historic Simplon route.
In order to be able to travel to both Brussels and Amsterdam, the train coming from the south will be split in Germany. In the other direction, the train sections coming from the Belgian and Dutch capitals will be joined in Germany.
FOT: Cooperation with Swiss railroad company necessary
In order for a foreign passenger train to travel through Switzerland, the company behind it must enter into cooperation with a domestic railroad company, according to a spokesperson for the Federal Office of Transport (FOT). It does not matter whether the train stops in Switzerland or simply travels through the country.
Chris Engelsman, co-founder of European Sleeper, confirmed that he is currently in contact with the Swiss authorities to obtain permission to use the rail network and to transport passengers within Switzerland.
In response to an inquiry, SBB stated that it had not entered into any cooperation with European Sleeper for the planned connection. They are taking note of the plans.
However, the FOT spokesperson added that a connection such as the one envisaged by European Sleeper with a stop in Switzerland would be possible in future without cooperation thanks to the updated overland transport agreement. The agreement is part of the negotiated contract package between Switzerland and the EU. It is currently in the ratification process.
Three connections per week
The final timetable for the north-south connection is currently being coordinated with the respective infrastructure managers in the individual countries, European Sleeper added. Ticket sales are scheduled to start in January or February.
According to its own information, European Sleeper started operations in 2023. The overnight train company offers routes from Belgium and the Netherlands to Berlin, Dresden and Prague, among others.
