The Return of Europe's Night Trains

For most of the twentieth century, Europe's sleeper trains were considered glamorous symbols of long-distance travel. Routes such as the Orient Express, which once connected Paris to Istanbul, were celebrated in novels and films. Yet by the 1990s, this golden age was clearly ending. The expansion of low-cost airlines, the construction of high-speed daytime rail networks, and the steady withdrawal of state subsidies all combined to push sleeper services into decline. National railway companies argued that night trains were simply too expensive to maintain, and that passengers preferred to reach distant destinations within a few hours rather than overnight. Between 2000 and 2015, dozens of famous routes were quietly discontinued, often with little public attention.

The reversal of this trend has surprised many transport analysts. Beginning around 2016, the Austrian state railway, ÖBB, began purchasing sleeper carriages that German operator Deutsche Bahn had decided to retire. Rebranded as Nightjet, the new service gradually expanded from a handful of domestic routes into a network connecting Austria with Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. By 2021, additional routes linked Vienna with Paris and Brussels with Berlin. Other operators, including French and Swedish railways, soon announced their own night train projects, supported in some cases by direct government investment.

Several factors lie behind this revival. The most widely discussed is environmental. Aviation produces significantly more carbon dioxide per passenger kilometre than rail, and a movement that began in Sweden in 2018, often called flygskam or flight shame, encouraged many travellers to avoid short-haul flights. Younger passengers in particular appear willing to choose slower transport options if they believe the environmental benefit is meaningful. A second factor is convenience. Night trains allow passengers to depart in the evening, sleep during the journey, and arrive in a city centre by morning, avoiding airport queues and the need for expensive overnight accommodation.

However, the economics of night trains remain challenging. Sleeper carriages carry far fewer passengers than seated daytime trains of the same length, yet they require staff, bedding, and complex maintenance. Cross-border services face additional difficulties, as locomotives must adapt to different electrical voltages, signalling systems, and safety regulations in each country. Several routes have only become financially viable after receiving public funding, and ticket prices, while comparable to flights when booked in advance, can rise sharply close to the departure date. Industry analysts have warned that the new wave of night trains could fade if political enthusiasm weakens or if energy costs continue to rise.

Passenger demand, by contrast, appears strong. Surveys conducted by European rail associations suggest that occupancy on the busiest Nightjet routes regularly exceeds eighty percent, and tickets for popular journeys often sell out weeks in advance. Many travellers describe the experience as more comfortable than flying, particularly families with young children and older passengers who dislike the stress of modern airports. Some smaller operators have begun targeting tourists directly, marketing scenic overnight journeys through the Alps or along the Mediterranean coast as a relaxing alternative to budget air travel.

Critics, though, urge caution. They point out that night trains currently carry only a tiny fraction of European passengers, and that even a doubling of services would not significantly reduce overall emissions from the transport sector. Others argue that public money spent on subsidising sleeper services might be more effective if invested in improving regional daytime networks, which serve far larger numbers of commuters. There are also concerns that fares on premium sleeper services have become too expensive for ordinary travellers, turning a once-democratic form of transport into something closer to a luxury experience.

For now, the night train revival continues, but its long-term future remains uncertain. The European Union has signalled support, including proposals to develop a coordinated network of cross-border sleeper services by the end of the decade, and several member states have announced new bilateral agreements to share rolling stock. Whether this ambition can be matched by the necessary investment, and whether passenger interest can be sustained beyond the initial novelty, will determine whether night trains become a serious part of European transport or remain a charming but limited curiosity. What seems clear is that, after nearly thirty years of decline, the idea of waking up in a different country has returned to the European imagination, and few transport planners now dismiss the sleeper train as a relic of the past.