A new international overnight rail service linking Milan and Brussels will begin operations on 9 September 2026, following a partnership between European Sleeper and Arenaways, the Italian company partly owned by Renfe.
Under the agreement, Arenaways will provide locomotive services for the Italian section of the route, which will connect northern Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany through a single overnight train.
The service will depart from Milano Porta Garibaldi railway station every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, stopping in Como and several Swiss destinations before reaching Cologne, Aachen, Liège and finally Brussels the following morning. Return services from Brussels will operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The end-to-end journey time will be approximately 17 hours.
Following the December 2026 timetable change, the route will be extended beyond Brussels to include Eindhoven and Breda in the Netherlands, as well as Antwerp in Belgium, further strengthening north-south rail connectivity across Europe.
The launch marks another step in Renfe’s international expansion strategy. In November 2024, Renfe acquired a 33% stake in Arenaways’ parent company, Longitude Holding, as part of its entry into the Italian rail market. Since then, Arenaways has restarted regional passenger services in the Piedmont region and secured authorisation to operate additional open-access long-distance routes across Italy.
Both companies described the project as an example of the cross-border cooperation needed to expand international rail travel in Europe. The new service aims to provide a sustainable alternative to short-haul flights while improving overnight rail connections between Southern and Northern Europe.
