European Sleeper to Milan
posted on 3rd Oct 2026 23:51
European Sleeper has launched another regular service: following the Brussels - Berlin - Praha and Berlin - Brussels - Paris routes, it is now also operating a service from Brussels to Milan. In accordance with the plan announced earlier in the year, which included the start of ticket sales, this service commenced on 9 September 2026.
The southbound service, ES 401, departs from Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Intermediate stops include Verviers Central, Aachen Hbf, Köln Hbf, Aarau, Arth-Goldau, Göschenen, Bellinzona, Lugano, and Como San Giovanni. The train thus crosses the Alps via the historic Gotthard line rather than the base tunnel. In the opposite direction, ES 400 departs from Milan Porta Garibaldi on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
Traction in Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland is provided by ES’s long-standing partner, Train Charter Services (TCS), while the Italian leg is operated by Arenaways (with which European Sleeper ran a short series of express trains to the Venice Carnival last year).
The first photo shows the inaugural nine-coach ES 400 service at its starting point, Milano Porta Garibaldi station, on Wednesday, 9 September 2026. The locomotive 483 003 (TRAXX F140 DC), which received Arenaways branding in early August, was positioned at the rear of the train, while 483 004, in the Alpha Trains livery, was at the front. Longitude Holding (Arenaways) leases two TRAXXes from Alpha Trains specifically for the ES service.
At the border station of Chiasso, Vectron 6193 042 took over the train; the second photo shows it passing through the Belgian station of Leuven on 10 September 2026, hauling the first southbound ES 401 service. This Vectron is leased by TCS from Beacon Rail Capital Europe (BRCE); its red bodyshell reflects the fact that it is one of the locomotives originally ordered by DB Cargo (the BRCE’s standard corporate livery features a blue bodyshell with a yellow logo and stripe on sides).
The ES 400/401 rake comprises 9 to 10 carriages, predominantly couchette cars, with a smaller number of sleeping cars and second-class seating coaches. These are again older carriages from various owners such as RDC Deutschland and RDC Asset, GfF Gesellschaft für Fahrzeugtechnik, and Euro Express Sonderzüge.
With the timetable change this December, the train is scheduled to run from Brussels via Antwerp and the Netherlands, with stops in Breda and Eindhoven. Starting in April 2028, European Sleeper plans to launch night train services from Brussels and Amsterdam to Copenhagen and Malmö in cooperation with the German operator RDC.
Related news
