The Most Exciting New European Train Routes Launching Soon

Here's all you need to know to plan your next Europe trip via train.

All aboard, y’all! It’s Trains Week at Thrillist, which means we’re celebrating our obsession with trains—fast trains, slow trains, wine trains, even snow trains. Throughout the week, you’ll find off-the-rails stories and handy locomotive guides to help you plan your next great adventure. In the meantime, we’ll see you in the bar car!

The time has come: You've finally made up your mind and are ready to plan your ultimate backpacking-across-Europe trip. Exciting! Yet, the annoying thing about planning a trip is, in fact, that you have to plan the trip. That includes picking your stops and destinations, booking your flights, choosing reasonable accommodations, and finding a good way to get from one place to the next—all very stressful, if you ask me.

But we might be able to help, at least on one of those fronts. Getting around Europe by train is actually a pretty simple, reasonably affordable, and just a fun way to do it. Luckily for you, Europe is very well connected by train even across different countries, which is a great option for those looking to go on a backpacking trip.

To help you better plan your next European trip, we rounded up a list of what we think are the coolest European train routes that are launching soon, from those debuting in 2023 to those slated to start service in the next couple of years. Take a look below:

From London to Berlin on a night train

This year, getting from London to Berlin and vice versa is going to get much easier—and while you're at it, you can even get a solid night's sleep, since you'll only have to switch trains once.

European Sleeper's new route, which is overnight, transports travelers between Brussels Midi and Berlin Hauptbahnhof with nine stops along the way, including Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Hanover. Passengers in London will start the journey on an Eurostar train departing St. Pancras in the afternoon, which will roll into Brussels roughly three hours later, where they'll board the European Sleeper.

The entire journey will take less than 16 hours, and the morning after, upon arriving in Berlin, passengers will be served a complimentary breakfast onboard. Reportedly, the train will run three times a week starting on May 25, but there are plans for making it a nightly service in 2024.

For more details and to learn about ticketing, you can read more right here.

From Rome to Pompeii on high-speed rail

A new much-anticipated train route in Italy is currently in the works and slated to welcome tourists aboard starting in 2024.

The new high-speed train service will connect Rome with Pompeii, the famous ancient city and archeological site, allowing tourists to quickly move from one historical and touristic landmark to the other. Before the project was put in motion, there was no route connecting the two cities. You can read more details right here.

New high-speed route from Paris to Madrid

Contrary to what one might think, FS Italiane Group, the owner of Italy's national train operator Trenitalia, is behind this one.

The Group announced that it is planning to add high-speed Frecciarossa service between Paris and Madrid in late 2024. This way, the new train will connect Paris and Barcelona, since there already is a Frecciarossa service in place between Barcelona and Madrid.

If you plan it well, you could even start your journey from Italy and only switch from one Frecciarossa train to the other. In 2021, in fact, Trenitalia introduced Frecciarossa service between Milan and Paris with tickets as cheap as €29 (roughly $31).

You can stay up to date on the latest developments on Trenitalia's website.

Ride high speed rail between Porto and Vigo

Get ready to discover Portugal and head over to Spain via a new high-speed rail line, which will connect Lisbon, Porto, and Spain's Vigo.

According to Porto.pt, construction for the new line is starting in 2024 and, once completed, it will transport passengers from Porto to Lisbon in just one hour and 15 minutes (versus the current time stamp of roughly three hours).

Take a night train from Amsterdam to Barcelona

In two years, another amazing night train service is launching, and this time, passengers will be able to get from Amsterdam in the Netherlands all the way to Barcelona, Spain.

The new route is helmed by European Sleeper, who recently announced that it is launching the service in spring 2025. According to Lonely Planet, tickets will be pretty cheap too, with rates starting at €49 (roughly $53). For more information, you can check out our previous coverage about the announcement.

From Paris to Venice, via 'midnight train'

Travelers will have to thank a French startup, dubbed Midnight Trains, for this one.

In 2026, a new night train service is slated to begin connecting Paris to Italy's Venice by way of Milan. The project, as Euronews reports, is backed by the European Commission, and it will make it much easier for UK travelers to reach Italy via train, too.

The UK and Europe's best wine regions, linked at last

Imagine hopping on a train in the UK to go drink wine in France later that same day. In 2026, this will be possible.

As Thrillist previously reported, High Speed One (HS1), the UK's only high speed rail, is planning to build infrastructure connecting London and Bordeaux. The new route will allow passengers to get from one city to the other in less than five hours—so if you leave late in the morning, you'll be able to get to France just in time for happy hour. Can't argue with that!

Looking for more travel inspo?

If you're ready for an adventure but not sure where you'd like to go or what to do, we're on it. The best new hotels opening up around the world. The most Instagram-worthy Airbnbs. The latest details on our remarkable national parks. It's all here along with all the travel news you need to stay informed and inspired.

Want more Thrillist? Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Serena Tara is a Staff Writer on the News team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.