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Train travel across Europe is set to get a major boost in 2026. A survey of 11,000 people commissioned by rail manufacturer Hitachi Rail found that one-third of respondents expect to travel more by train in the next 12 months.
Over the next five years, that increases to 40 per cent across countries and 49 per cent across cities.
Train-loving travellers will be pleased to hear, then, that there are five new routes in the pipeline scheduled to begin running this year.
From a revived Paris–Berlin sleeper to a brand-new Prague–Copenhagen daytime service, here are five new train routes confirmed or planned for 2026.
European Sleeper to relaunch Paris to Berlin route
Last year, Austrian national rail operator ÖBB announced its night trains linking Paris with Vienna and Berlin would be discontinued from 14 December, following the French government’s withdrawal of funding.
However, European Sleeper has since announced that it will take over the route, with the first train scheduled to run on 26 March 2026.
The service will operate three times a week with departures likely to be from Paris Gare du Nord on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings and the return service from Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, according to the Guardian.
The sleeper will also stop in Hamburg starting from 13 July 2026, which will be a convenient addition for travellers to Scandinavia, as existing services already connect the German city to Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo.
Late 2026 will see a faster service linking Paris to Munich
Further boosting cross-border links between France and Germany will be a new service linking Paris and Munich, slated to launch at the end of 2026.
The high-speed route will be run by Germany’s Deutsche Bahn and France’s SNCF.
There is already one TGV train per day that runs in each direction, but the two rail operators say the new services will be faster and more frequent.
Details have not yet been released about timetables or pricing.
New Prague to Copenhagen train will have a children’s cinema
Deutsche Bahn (DB), Danish Railways (DSB) and Czech Railways (ČD) are teaming up to offer the new direct connection from Prague to Copenhagen via Berlin, which will launch on 1 May 2026.
The year-round daytime service will run in both directions and is expected to take just seven hours between Copenhagen and Berlin, and around eleven hours between Copenhagen and Prague.
The operators will also extend a summer season night train that currently links Hamburg and Copenhagen onward to Prague.
Additional stops are planned in key cities, including Dresden and Hamburg.
The route will be served by ČD’s new ComfortJet trains, offering a wide range of amenities, including an on-board restaurant, Wi-Fi, bicycle storage and space for 555 passengers.
The high-speed trains also feature wheelchair lifts, a children’s cinema and radio-transparent windows, which improve mobile connectivity and reception for passengers.
Direct Budapest to Belgrade link back on track
After being suspended in 2019 for extensive infrastructure renovations, direct trains between Hungary’s capital, Budapest, and Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, are set to return in 2026.
The line is expected to open from as early as February, with operators planning to run six round-trip services per day between the two cities.
Two of those trains are expected to be high-speed EuroCity services connecting with Vienna, a journey likely to be around six hours.
Hop on the train from London to an underrated Scottish city
For travellers interested in exploring some of the lesser-known sights in the UK, a new train from London to a small city in Scotland awaits next year.
The route run by low-cost rail company Lumo will connect London Euston station with Stirling, roughly an hour north of Edinburgh.
The Scottish city is home to a dramatic medieval castle which crowns a volcanic outcrop, and the National Wallace Monument dedicated to Sir William Wallace, Scotland’s national hero.
The service is expected to launch in mid-2026 and will stop en route at Lockerbie, Carlisle, Preston and Nuneaton.
This article previously included plans by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) for a new night train to run from Basel to Copenhagen and Malmö. The service has been scrapped after failing to receive government funding.
Read the full article here
