Europe could be set to gain a new transnational direct night train from Belgium to Slovakia by the end of 2026, if plans by Czech railway firm Leo Express go ahead. The company has submitted an application for a service from Ostend to Bratislava, via Germany and the Czech Republic, competing on part of the route with existing European Sleeper provision.
Founded by Leoš Novotný in 2010 after the Czech Republic became one of the first countries in Europe to allow private enterprises to compete with state-run rail, Leo Express has “a good reputation” and offers “excellent service in any class”, according to train expert, The Man in Seat 61. It was also the first private rail firm in Poland and is the only Czech operator permitted to run in Germany. It has established strategic partnerships with Uber, Trainline, and a now-defunct collaboration with FlixTrain, among others, and runs buses too.
Its credentials raise hopes that the new transEuropean sleeper route could become a reality but the firm has previously submitted a similar application in 2023 with a supposed start date in 2025, and that has come to nought. The Belgian Regulatory Body for Railway Transport and Brussels Airport Operations will now decide whether to grant formal authorisation for the newly proposed service.
Departing Ostend at 7:10 pm, the train would stop at Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Leuven and Liège. Station stops in Germany would include Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Hannover, Liepzig, and Dresden.
In the Czech Republic, it would call at several destinations including Prague, historic Pardubice on the Elbe River, and industrial centre Otrakovice, winding its way across the border into Slovakia to visit the important railway junction of Kúty, as well as Malacky, the former Iron Curtain escape town of Devínska Nová Ves, before terminating the next day at 14:18, in time for a late lunch in Bratislava.
Coming back, the train would depart the Slovakian capital at 2:44 pm and arrive in Ostend the following day in time for breakfast by the sea at 9:52 am. With first and second-class carriages proposed, and just one sleeper couchette car, the total duration of the 50-stop service trip would be an epic 19 hours.
Amid growing interest in Eastern Europe’s “coolcation” holidays, mountain scenery, and industrial heritage, the Leo Express could prove a modish way to access alternative, less well-trodden destinations and ease the pressure on, for instance, overpopular Prague. With a proposed start-date of 13 December 2026, it could also put Bratislava’s under-the-radar Christmas market firmly on the map.
