Belgium's second night train, with Prague as its final destination, is expected to start running by next summer, the Dutch-Belgian company European Sleeper stated on its website.
The service, which the company announced in April 2021, allowing passengers to travel overnight from Brussels to Prague, with the train also stopping in Amsterdam and Berlin, will come into force by the summer, slightly later than originally planned.
"Because we are still working on optimising the train composition, we will start later than originally planned. We will know the exact starting date in early 2022. More information about the carriages, comfort levels and ticket prices will also follow then," the company stated.
Initially, the service in both directions will run three times a week - on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Brussels and on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday departing from Prague, arriving in Belgium the following day - however, the company stated this will soon be expanded so the service can run on a daily basis.
According to the temporary timetable published on the company's website, passengers will be able to embark on the train before 7:30 PM and will arrive in the Czech capital the following morning, by around 10:30 AM. The train will also make a second stop in Belgium, at Antwerpen Centraal.
The company is working on the train connection with Czech rail company RegioJet.
Ambitious goals for night trains
In 2023, the company also wants to connect Brussels and Amsterdam with the Polish capital Warsaw. After that, European Sleeper "has the ambition to introduce a new night train from the Netherlands and Belgium every year," it stated
The only night train that stops in Belgium, the NightJet of the Austrian railway company ÖBB, runs three times a week between Brussels (via Liège and Germany) with the Austrian capital Vienna as its final destination.
Meanwhile, another initiative for the start of night trains to the Austrian ski resorts, by the company OVOE (Ostende-Vienne-Orient-Experience), has again been delayed. It is now aiming for the end of 2022.
