Inaugurated in 2024 and spanning four distinct nations, the ambitious plans for a new European train route are gathering steam. Leo Express, a Czech public transportation company, plans to link important locations. One route that they have proposed would run from Belgium to Slovakia, stopping in Germany and the Czech Republic.

The plans are presently being reviewed by Belgium’s Railway Transport regulator. In June, Leo Express filed recommendations to the Czech Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure. If authorized, the direct service will run in both directions, connecting Ostend, Belgium, with Bratislava, Slovakia.

The train is expected to leave the seaside Belgian city at 6:15 am and stop at least 50 times at significant European city breaks. These include the Belgian cities of Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and Liège; over 20 German cities, including Aachen, Cologne, Hanover, Leipzig, and Dresden, are next. Traveling through the night, the route will arrive in Prague, Czech Republic, at 8 p.m., making stops in the Slovakian cities of Kuty and Malacky, and arriving in Bratislava shortly after 1 a.m. the next day.

It is anticipated that the return trip will have comparable departure and arrival times. The epic route is expected to be launched somewhere between late 2024 and early 2025, pending approval, with access to Belgian infrastructure being one of the factors taken into account.

With more rail travel becoming available throughout Europe, Leo Express is sure to have a big impact. The operator assumed control of the services between Bratislava and Komárno in Slovakia at the end of the previous year, in addition to the projected route. The business intends to provide 100 daily connections along this line starting on December 10, further establishing its position in the changing European train travel market.