European Sleeper to Venezia

On 5 February 2025, European Sleeper launched its long announced night service linking Brussels with Venice, with stops in Eindhoven, Köln, Innsbruck, and Bolzano/Bozen, marking the start of a two-month service operating twice weekly for six return journeys in February and March. The provisional timetable has been designed to align with European school holidays, the ski season, and city break getaways to Italy’s most iconic destinations, including Verona and Venice.

To mark this milestone, ES hosted a special press event at the Pullman Hotel in Brussels, welcoming members of the press and distinguished guests. The event culminated in an exclusive visit to the inaugural train, departing that same evening. Chris Engelsman, co-founder of European Sleeper, emphasized the importance of this new route: “This launch is a significant milestone for European Sleeper. Our mission is to reconnect Europe’s cities by night, providing travellers with more options for sustainable and comfortable travel. With stops in iconic locations like Innsbruck and connections to ski resorts and cultural landmarks, this route truly captures the spirit of adventure and discovery.”

At present, these are the departure dates:
Brussels - Venezia soutbound 5th February, return 9th February,
Brussels - Venezia soutbound 14th February, return 18th February,
Brussels - Innsbruck soutbound 21st February, return 22nd February,
Brussels - Innsbruck, soutbound 28th February return 1st March,
Brussels - Venezia, soutbound 4th March, return 8th March,
Brussels - Venezia, soutbound 12th March, return 16th March.

It is scheduled that a Certus‘s Class 27 locomotive will take the train from Brussels to Roosendaal. Then a change of locomotive to TCS (Train Charter Services) Class 1700 locomotive until the Holland/German-border will follow, and then a TCS Class 101 as far as Brenner will take place. Thus the Lineas TRAXX on 5 February from Brussels was an emergency locomotive because the foreseen Certus locomotive broke down earlier on the day.

In any case, the first train ES 1277 did not reach Venice because, according to the ES, a week before, the Italian side suddenly announced, without giving any reasons, that the train could not continue beyond Bolzano, and on the evening of 4 February European Sleeper was informed by Arenaways, the company that was supposed to provide operational licence and traction in Italy, that the agreed operation in that country was not possible. Therefore, ES organised at its own expense an alternative solution for passengers travelling to Italy on the morning of 6 February in the form of a journey on an ÖBB railjet.

We asked European Sleeper:

- What was the reason that the train was not able to enter Italy - carriages, or locomotive, or licence? ES answered us: „None of those. The cause of this very unfortunate situation is an internal issue at the operator.“

- What has been told you about the reason to not allow ES train to run to Venice? And this was expressed by whom? RFI?: "RFI told us that the operation between Venice and Verona requires a second locomotive (one on each end)."

- In generall, what results does ES expect from only six trains running to Italy?: "The Brussels - Innsbruck/Venice route in 2025 is the start of a potentially very interesting new product for European Sleeper on the longer term. It helps us to develop the product for winter 2026."

- What are the results of your test phase with the Class ARkimmbz car(s)?: "We are positive about using a dining car on the night trains so far. The advantage of this specific carriages is that we can also sell seats to cover some of the rental costs."

Enclosed are also pictures of the first return ES 1278 service from Innsbruck in the night of 9/10 February 2025, shown at Bruxelles-Midi with a Class 27 locomotive of SNCB rented by Certus. The coaches in this train were as follows:
- ARKimmbz 61 80 85 91 513-9, TRI, Bistro,
- Bocmh 51 56 05 70 501-8, GfF (Gesellschaft für Fahrzeugtechnik) - Optima Express, couchette,
- Bocmh 51 56 05 70 515-8, GfF - Optima Express, couchette,
- WLABee 61 81 70 70 003-2, TRI, sleeper
- Bvcmz 61 80 50 71 203-2, Euro-Express, couchette,
- Bvcmz 56 80 50 71 118-9, Euro-Express, couchette,
- Bvcmz 61 80 50 71 232-1, Euro-Express, couchette,
- Bvcmz 56 80 50 71 123-9, Euro-Express, couchette,
- Bvcmz 61 80 50 71 202-4, Euro-Express, couchette,
- Bvcmz 61 80 50 71 233-9, Euro-Express, couchette,
- WLABee 61 81 70 70 001-6, TRI, sleeper,
- Bocmh 51 56 05 70 504-2, GfF,  couchette,
- Bocmh 51 56 05 70 519-0, GfF - Optima Express, couchette,
- Bocmh 51 56 05 70 513-3, GfF - Optima Express, couchette.

Eventually, the issue of the licence and traction in Italy was resolved in early March and the first train from Brussels to Venice, ES 1277, ran the entire route for the first time on 4/5 March - and arrived at Venezia Santa Lucia station with locomotive E 402 128 of FS (more than two hours late).

On 5 March, European Sleeper anouncd that it "is delighted to collaborate with FS Treni Turistici Italiani on this exciting project. As a certified railway company, FS Treni Turistici Italiani will provide traction services, enabling the Brussels - Venice route to operate smoothly across the Brenner Pass. The Class E 402B locomotives, adorned in FS TTI livery, will ensure the service’s reliability in Italy." However, it is not yet clear whether this ES night train will run on a long-term basis.