train-nuit-bruxelles-bratislava-slovaquie

A new night train will connect Brussels to this underrated capital in Eastern Europe

undefined undefined 25 juillet 2025 undefined 19h00

The Editor

Taking a train to the North Sea and waking up in the Slovak capital sounds tempting, doesn’t it? Leo Express is back at it, announcing the launch of a night train from Belgium to Slovakia by the end of 2026. Departure at 7:10 PM, arrival at 2:18 PM: that's 1,200 km of slow travel for you!

This isn’t a railway dream or a vintage trip in the style of the Orient Express, but a real project from Leo Express. The Czech company wants to connect Ostend to Bratislava by night train, with the first service scheduled for December 13, 2026. One train a day in each direction, over 50 stops, and a genuine call for the return of travel that takes its time.

On this journey, a delightful taste of Central Europe in just 19 hours: starting from the Belgian coast with stops in Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Leuven, Liège, and then a rollercoaster ride through Germany, crossing Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Leipzig, all the way to Dresden. In the Czech Republic, we’ll continue with Prague as the star attraction, before heading to Slovakia and wrapping up smoothly in Bratislava.

A long-awaited project about to come to life

This isn’t the first time Leo Express has talked about this route. In 2023, the promise of a launch in 2024 or 2025 seemed to fade away. But this time, everything looks set to go! The schedules are already in the works: departure from Ostend at 7:10 PM, arriving in Bratislava at 2:18 PM. The return leaves at 2:44 PM to land on the rails back in Belgium at 9:52 PM.

The whole experience is on board modernized trains zooming at 160 km/h with an initial capacity of 450 passengers, expandable to 550 by 2028. What a great reason to trade in a flight for an eco-friendly and scenic journey across Europe! So, are you ready to travel from Brussels to Bratislava in one go?