Czech rail company plans night train service between Belgium and Bratislava

Czech railway company Leo Express has submitted an application to run a 19 hour train service from Belgium to Slovakia from December 2026, reports Belga. 

The night train would depart from Ostend and stop in Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Leuven and Liège before heading across the German border to central Europe and its final destination of Bratislava.

The company is proposing to run one train a day in each direction in its application to the Belgian Agency for the Regulation of Transport.  

In total, the train would more than 50 stops, including the German city of Dresden and Czech capital Prague. Part of the planned connection, from Dresden to Prague, corresponds to the route taken by European Sleeper night trains. This service runs from Brussels to Prague via Antwerp, the Netherlands and Berlin.

Leo Express has given 13 December 2026 as the start date for the service.

It is not the first time that the rail operator has proposed such a project. In 2023, it submitted an application for a daytime service due to begin in late 2024 or early 2025. The proposal has been revised and is currently being reviewed by the regulatory authorities. 

Photo: ©Leo Express