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We hope that, like us, you all have had a special year on the rails. As the year winds down, we’re gearing up for one of our favorite moments of the year: the 2025 Timetable Update! Twice annually, the European Railway Carriers release an updated timetable. This refresh introduces exciting new connections, faster travel times, and modernized routes. Already dreaming up your 2025 travel plans? Here are the most thrilling changes to come in the next year:  

 

1. A new carrier in Poland joins Eurail’s Pass Network 

The timetable change brings new routes for Eurail travelers to explore in Poland. The regional carrier Koleje Małopolskie of Lesser Poland Voivodeship (Małopolska), will be added to the Pass network. They run a vast network of regional trains connecting places such as Krakow, Tarnow, Oswiecim, and Zakopane. 

 

How to find schedules: Rail Planner 

Reservation: No reservations or supplements required for Passholders 

 

2. A new era for travel between Amsterdam and Brussels  

The current Intercity Direct trains between Amsterdam and Brussels are making way for Eurocity and Eurocity Direct services, revolutionizing travel on this route: 

  • Eurocity Direct: No longer stopping at Amsterdam Centraal and Breda, these trains will offer a speedier service starting in Lelystad, with stops including Almere, Amsterdam Zuid, Schiphol, Rotterdam Centraal, and Antwerp before reaching Brussel Zuid.  

  • Eurocity: Offering NMBS/SNCB long-distance carriages and running from Rotterdam to Brussels Zuid, these trains stop at all stations the Intercity Direct currently serves,such as Breda, Noorderkempen ,Antwerp,  Mechelen and Brussels Centraal. 

  

How to find schedules: Rail Planner 

Reservation: No reservations or supplements required for Passholders 

  

3. Baltic Express: Prague to Gdynia 

Anew Eurocity service includes up to four daily trains connecting Prague to Gdynia via vibrant cities like Wrocław, Poznań, Bydgoszcz, and Gdańsk. We are especially excited about the PKP Intercity restaurant and sleeping car on the Wrocław-Gdynia stretch. 

  

How to find schedules: Rail Planner 

Reservation: Reservations mandatory for international journeys  

  

4. A High-Speed Capitals Connection 

Joining the ÖBB Nightjet is a once-daily ICE service linking Berlin and Paris. Travel time is an impressive eight hours with stops in Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, and Strasbourg — perfect for those seeking a comfortable, high-speed alternative to flying. 

  

How to find schedules: Rail Planner 

Reservation: Reservations mandatory for international journeys  

  

5. A  Rail Renaissance in Serbia 

The newly reconstructed Novi Sad–Subotica line slashes travel time from four hours to just 40 minutes! This also restores the Belgrade–Subotica connection, now just 1 hour and 15 minutes. From Subotica, travelers can take a local train across the Hungarian border via Szeged to Budapest. Subotica's revamped train station is a showstopper, underscoring this upgrade to rail in Serbia. 

 

Note: It‘s uncertain whether service on this line will begin on 15 December. Check the Srbijavoz website for more details. 

How to find schedules: Rail Planner 

Reservation: Reservations mandatory for SOKO trains 

  

6. ICE Amsterdam – Munich: A Scenic Replacement 

While construction pauses the ICE Amsterdam–Basel route, a direct Amsterdam–Munich train takes its place. Running once daily, the 7-hour journey passes through Düsseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Augsburg. From these stops travellers can venture onward through Central Europe or explore the  Alps. 

 

How to find schedules: Rail Planner 

Reservation: Reservations mandatory during the summer season and reccommended outside the summer season 

  

7. Westbahn Vienna – Stuttgart: Connecting the East 

Private operator Westbahn already runs a great network of trains from Vienna to Salzburg, Innsbruck, Bregenz and Munich. Thay are extending their network to include Vienna–Stuttgart via Munich, Augsburg, and Ulm. Running twice daily, this service offers a comfortable six-hour journey, further connecting Europe. 

  

How to find schedules: Rail Planner 

Reservation: Reservations recommended  

  

8. New Views on the way to Vienna and Innsbruck 

ÖBB Nightjet trains from Amsterdam to Vienna and Innsbruck are switching to a new path through Amersfoort, Deventer, Münster, and Hamm instead of the Utrecht, Arnhem, Düsseldorf, and Cologne corridor taken in the past. While the route has changed, the travel time remains unaffected, ensuring seamless overnight journeys. 

 

How to find schedules: Rail Planner 

Reservation: Reservations mandatory 

 

 9. Vilnius – Riga – Tallinn: A Unified Baltic Connection 

Starting January 6 , Passholders for the first time will enjoy a streamlined train connection across the Baltic states. Thanks to a partnership between Lithuania’s LTG Link, Latvia’s VIVI, and Estonia’s Elron,the timetables will be aligned, making it possible to travel from Vilnius to Tallinn in one day, with short connections in Riga and Valga. 

Plans for more direct connections are underway, promising even faster journeys in the future! 

 

How to find schedules: Trains in Lithuania (including Vilnius-Riga) and Estonia via our Rail Planner. Schedules between Riga and Valga on www.vivi.lv

Reservation: Reservations are mandatory between Vilnius and Riga only. 

  

Looking Ahead: Exciting Future Routes 

  • European Sleeper Brussels–Breda–Innsbruck–Venice: Starting in February, this seasonal night train will whisk passengers from Belgium and the Netherlands to Austria and Italy once a week until mid-March.  

  • RENFE AVE Barcelona–Toulouse: Launching in mid-2025, this daily high-speed train will connect France and Spain. 

  • Bratislava–Vienna Main Station Connection: Starting in June 2025, the direct connection between Bratislava Hlavna Stanica and Wien Hauptbahnhof will be restored, easing travel between Slovakia and Austria’s capitals.  

  

Between January and June 2025, trains to Vienna will continue to depart from Bratislava Petržalka, a station that is less centrally located than the main hub, Bratislava Hlavná Stanica. These trains will travel via the Kittsee border crossing. 

  

With faster trains, new high-speed routes, and revamped stations, 2025 will be an exciting time for anyone who loves train travel. 

  

Pack your bags, grab your Eurail/Interrail Pass, and get ready for a new year of unforgettable journeys!  

  

Which update are you most excited about? 

​@Sarah W ​@Eurail Community Moderator 

As to point 2:

Since the update to version 45.1.2, the Rail Planner App now claims passes are not valid in the EC from Brussels to Rotterdam:

It's in one direction only, but it's still incorrect of course.

What's worse: customer service seems to be completely clueless, when asked whether they are aware of this bug:

Source: this FB thread

On top of that, the faster ECD trains are still not shown in the planner results, although the trains are there if you look at the trains departing from e.g. Brussel-Zuid.

Please fix this ASAP.

You won’t sell many Benelux tickets if the Interail isn’t valid on these trains

but what about the Euro city direct trains ti Brussels from Lelystad is it valid on those?

I asked the SNCB (Belgian Railways) yesterday and I will inform you if I get an answer. My question was also about the validity for internal journeys, for example between Brussels and Antwerp. 

As stated in the announcement above and in Belgian Railways product sheets (ECD, EC), passes are valid on both Eurocity Direct and EuroCity trains.

However, Belgian railways don't want domestic passengers between Brussels and Antwerp on the Eurocity Direct trains (also see the product sheets), although I'm not sure how they would enforce that for pass users.

The EuroCity train is also part of the domestic network in Belgium and can be used for domestic journeys.

​@rvdborgt Thank you for bringing this to our attention! You’re absolutely right—this is indeed a bug, and we’ve flagged it to our Development and Customer Service teams. They’re working on resolving it promptly. The faster ECD trains will be included in the timetable following our next data refresh.

​The faster ECD trains will be included in the timetable following our next data refresh.

​@Sarah W Please note that the trains are already in the timetable. However, they won't show with the default setting "use live updates", not even if you use the option for trains without reservations. They will only show if you turn live updates off.

​@rvdborgt it’s a buggy bug indeed! I’ll pass your findings along to our dev team to assist with their troubleshooting efforts. The real-time timetable is a new tool, so we’re in a phase of discovering and addressing areas for improvement.

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