Europe’s night-train revival on ‘shaky ground’

Night trains combine nostalgia with climate-consciousness. But the so-called night train revival in Europe is uncertain, say experts. Michael Buholzer / Keystone

Taking a night train across Europe is romantic and climate-friendly, and demand is strong. Yet the much-touted revival of overnight lines is hampered by ageing rolling stock, patchy funding and overstretched infrastructure.

Night trains combine nostalgia with climate-consciousness. A passenger who chooses to cross the continent in a sleeper car produces 28 times fewerExternal link emissions than someone who opts to fly. Media attention on the lines has grown, startups have emerged, and governments have talked up their green-mobility ambitions.

But despite the excitement, night train services remain scarce – especially in central and western Europe. Tickets sell out months ahead, and reliability remains in question. High costs, fluctuating subsidies, ageing fleets (some carriages are nearly 50 years old) and operational hurdles have led to route cuts. Only a handful of countries — notably Austria — and a few startups are holding the network together.

The so-called “night train revival” is uncertain, says Timo Grossenbacher, who runs the comparison platform night-ride.ch.

“It’s on shaky ground,” he adds. “There was a lot of hype about a renaissance, but the current situation doesn’t show that.” Declining subsidies and shifting political support make private investment difficult, Grossenbacher argues.

New – and scaled back – night train services

So far, 2026 has seen a flurry of announcements about new train services, though the path from plan to reality isn’t always assured. Dutch-Belgian operator European SleeperExternal link announced it will operate a thrice-weekly Brussels–Cologne-Zurich–Milan service from SeptemberExternal link. But Swiss authorities say the crowdfunded company must first secure a domestic rail partner to operate in the Alpine country.

Austria’s national railway company ÖBB continues to dominate the night train sector in Europe, running 20 international routes and maintaining the continent’s largest sleeper fleet. It aims to doubleExternal link its number of overnight passengers from 1.5 million to three million by 2030 and is investing more than €500 million (CHF451 million) in its new Nightjet fleet. Even so, only 24 of the planned 33 trains will be running by mid-‑2026.

These lines rely heavily on subsidies. In December, ÖBB and its French partner SNCF cut Nightjet services from Paris to Vienna and BerlinExternal link after France ended an annual €10 million contribution. The routes, launched only in 2021 and 2023, are “not economically viable without state subsidies,” SNCF admitted. Grossenbacher says frequent, unannounced construction works in France and Germany also caused persistent delays.

‘Embarrassing’ for Switzerland

Switzerland, long proud of its rail network, has also found itself in the spotlight. A planned Basel–Copenhagen–Malmö night train due in April 2026 collapsed after parliament withdrew a promise of CHF10 million a year over five years — despite tickets already being on sale and enactment of a CO2 lawExternal link supporting international night trains. The December vote was tight, with opponents arguing the money could be better spent elsewhere.

“Night trains have something appealing and romantic about them,” centre-right Radical-Liberal lawmaker Damien Cottier told Swiss public radio RTS. “But I’m not sure we should be spending CHF50 million of public money to subsidise my weekend in Copenhagen or Malmö — and that of others too.” He argues Switzerland should instead focus on high-speed links to major European cities.

Environmental groups condemned the decision as “completely incomprehensible” during a climate crisis. The NGO actif-trafiC is preparing a popular initiative to revive the project through direct democracy.

Grossenbacher calls the episode “an embarrassing chapter” for Switzerland: “The Federal Railways claims to be committed to greener travel, but their hands are tied. They must do exactly what policymakers tell them,” he says.

>>After the Swiss parliament cut funding for a Basel to Malmö night train, Swissinfo journalist Kristian Brandt tried a similar route with his daughter.

‘Improving existing lines’ instead of expanding

Swiss Federal Railways currently operates a handful of international night routes through the EuroNight and Nightjet services with ÖBB, linking Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna and Prague.

But the Federal Railways says its international passenger focus is rather on new daily connections via high-speed routes.

“As far as the further development of night services is concerned, the focus is generally on improving the quality of existing lines,” Federal Railways spokesperson Sabrina Schellenberg told Swissinfo.

Around 600,000 passengers travel to and from Switzerland by night train each year, and demand “exceeds supply, especially during public holidays, so early booking is recommended,” Schellenberg said.

To address demand for better services, the company is investing in next-generation Nightjet trains such as the upgraded Zurich–Hamburg service launched in late 2025, and extending a domestic weekend sleeper trial service for 2026. It plans to introduce a night train service on the Bern-Zurich-Winterthur route this year.

“Night trains are popular, but they are not profitable due to the high costs of rolling stock, track access charges and staff,” admits Schellenberg.

Costly infrastructure

High costs remain the central barrier to establishing new night lines, experts say. Sleeper berths take up more space than seats, rolling stock is costly and scarce, and trains often sit idle during the day. Steep track access charges and staffing costs further squeeze margins.

Europe’s rolling stock shortage is particularly acute: after decades of underinvestment, few manufacturers remain and new sleeper cars are expensive. “Only ÖBB has purchased new equipment,” notes mobility expert Vincent Kaufmann of the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). “There are just a few manufacturers and equipment is expensive.”

Night trains remain “the best option for climate friendly long-distance travel,” Greenpeace says, arguing the sector faces structural disadvantages — from incompatible signalling to divergent track gauges — while aviation pays no tax on kerosene. Rail operators pay energy taxes, VAT and high track access fees.

Greenpeace foundExternal link that rail travel was pricier than flights in more than half of the routes it analysed last year.

Public enthusiasm high

Kaufmann believes Europe needs its own railway body to operate key long-distance routes — “a modern equivalent to the Trans-Europe Express network of the 1970s and 80s,” he says. Grossenbacher suggests the European Union could order 500 standardised trains and lease them at favourable rates to operators. A more immediate solution would be simply to reduce track access fees.

Public backing for a night train revival appears strong. A 2023 YouGov surveyExternal link in Germany, Poland, France, Spain and the Netherlands found 69% of travellers would consider night trains, and nearly three-quarters said rail should be cheaper than flying on comparable routes. In Switzerland, a 2019 study showed strong interest in cross-border night trains, with preferred destinations including Germany (60%), Italy (48%), Austria (41%), France (37%) and Spain (21%).

That enthusiasm is visible: 75,000 people signedExternal link a petition to save the Paris–Berlin and Paris–Vienna Nightjet routes, and activists recently stagedExternal link “pyjama party” demos across 11 European cities.

But enthusiasm doesn’t always translate into stable demand. “The hard part is getting people to take night trains every day—keeping a steady load across the whole week,” says Thibaut Constant, cofounder of the new sleeper operator Nox. For now, the regular customer base remains niche: eco-conscious travellers, families, and groups of friends. “You can’t fill a night train every day with that alone,” he says.

SWI swissinfo.ch

Edited by Gabe Bullard/Veronica De Vore