Nights on Tracks

Night train connections are becoming increasingly popular. Literature even talks about a renaissance of night trains (Allianz pro Schiene e.V., n.d.; Dömény & Dolinayová, 2021; Donat et al., 2020; Wehrle, 2022). But what new night train connections are planned for the future? And which operators are offering them? In this article, you can find out what the future holds and which trips you will soon be able to get a train ticket for.

First of all: Overall transport demand is predicted to increase between 2025 and 2050 (Morfeldt et al., 2023). While cross-border rail journeys currently only have a small share of the mobility market (Curtale et al., 2023), they are expected to double by 2030. The European Commission is even aiming to triple cross-border rail transport by 2050 (Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung, 2023). Furthermore, the renaissance of night trains is also described as crucial to achieving the EU’s climate targets (Dömény & Dolinayová, 2021).

Amsterdam – Lille – Barcelona
European Sleeper, a Belgian-Dutch railway company founded in 2021, plans to connect Barcelona to its night train network soon (Interrail, n.d.). European Sleeper itself is planning to launch the connection in spring 2025, with stopovers on the route from Amsterdam in the cities of Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels and Lille in the evening and Avignon, Montpellier, Perpignan, Figueras and Girona in the morning (European Sleeper, 2023).

Basel / Zurich – Barcelona
Over night from Basel, a city in the north-west of Switzerland, to the Spanish metropolis characterised by the works of Gaudí? This should be possible starting in December 2024 (Constant, 2022). A connection from Zurich to Barcelona has also been planned for some time. Stopovers on this route are planned in Bern, Geneva, Montpellier and Narbonne. This connection should also be realised by 2024. The route is to be operated by SBB in cooperation with ÖBB (Schaulin, 2020). However, it remains to be seen when and whether these routes will become reality. According to Frasch (2022), this mainly depends on the financing, i.e. the lack of money and profitability of long journeys.

Brussels – Innsbruck – Venice
From Brussels to the Tyrolean mountains or on to the sea in Italy? This is set to become a reality in winter 2025, in February and March to be precise. This route will be offered twice a week by European Sleeper. The estimated journey time from the Belgian capital is around 15 hours to Innsbruck and 20 hours to Venice (Vetter & Edelhoff, 2024). In its newsletter, European Sleeper writes: ‘We are excited to announce that we will be launching our Winter Train soon.’ Tickets should be bookable from September this year (Vetter & Edelhoff, 2024).

As you can see, a lot is being planned for night trains in the near future. It is to be hoped that as many connections as possible will be realised in order to compete with air travel. In the upcoming article, you can find out to what extent night trains can already be an alternative to flights.

Can you think of any other planned night train connections? Or which route would you like to see? Please let me know in the comments!

Sources:

Allianz pro Schiene e.V. (n.d.). Die Rückkehr der Nachtzüge. Allianz pro Schiene. Retrieved on 04. May 2024, from https://www.allianz-pro-schiene.de/themen/personenverkehr/nachtzuege/

Constant, T. (2022). Mit dem Nachtzug durch Europa: 30 Reise-Erlebnisse mit praktischen Tipps. Dorling Kindersley Verlag GmbH.

Curtale, R., Larsson, J., Nässén, J. (2023). Understanding preferences for night trains and their potential to replace flights in Europe. The case of Sweden. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2398247/v1

Dömény, I. & Dolinayová, A. (2021). Possibilities for Introducing a New Night Train Connection in Middle Europe. Transport technic and technology, 17(1), 6–12. https://doi.org/10.2478/ttt-2021-0002

Donat, L, Treber, M., Janeczko, L., Majewski, J., Lespierre, T., Fosse, J., Vidal, M. & Gilliam, L. (2020). Hop on the train: A Rail Renaissance for Europe. How the 2021 European Year of Rail can support the European Green Deal and a sustainable recovery. Germanwatch e.V. https://www.germanwatch.org/sites/default/files/Hop%20o n%20the%20Train.%20A%20Rail%20Renaissance%20for%20Europe_0.pdf

European Sleeper (2023, 01. February). Night train Amsterdam – Barcelona selected as European union pilot service. Retrieved on 19. August 2024, from https://d1fdloi71mui9q.cloudfront.net/nj0KP5CPRmSa4qfTV0li_Press%20release%20EC%20pilot%20project%20-%20February%202023_R.pdf

Frasch, D. (2022, 14. December). SBB-Nachtzüge nach Rom und Barcelona verzögern sich – doch es gibt auch neue Verbindungen. Retrieved on 19. August 2024, from https://www.watson.ch/schweiz/sbb/717409025-bald-mit-dem-nachtzug-nach-barcelona-diese-verbindungen-stehen-bereits

Interrail (n.d.). Schlafwagen „European Sleeper“: Züge von European Sleeper sind in deinem Interrail-Pass inklusive. Retrieved on 19. August 2024, from https://www.interrail.eu/de/plan-your-trip/tips-and-tricks/trains-europe/night-trains/european-sleeper

Morfeldt, J., Curtale, R., Kamb, A., Larsson, J. & Nässén, J. (2023). Carbon footprint effects of shifting from flights to night trains for Swedish tourism. Journal Of Cleaner Production, 420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138321

Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung (2023, 10. March). Mit dem Zug durch Europa: Zehn neue Zugverbindungen für Europa. Die Bundesregierung. Retrieved on 10. May 2024, from https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/mit-dem-zug-durch-europa-2168530

Schaulin, N. (2020, 16. September). Nightjet Schweiz: SBB und ÖBB planen neue Nachtzüge bis 2024. Retrieved on 19. August 2024, from https://traintracks.eu/nightjet-schweiz/

Vetter, B & Edelhoff, F. (2024, 21. August). Neuer Nachtzug fährt in die Alpen und nach Venedig. Retrieved on 01. September 2024, from https://www.reisereporter.de/reisenews/destinationen/neuer-nachtzug-von-european-sleeper-ueber-deutschland-in-die-alpen-und-nach-venedig-AJGBIPC2EFBBTN2JREZS7UI2K4.html

Wehrle, S. (2022). Nachtköpfe. In V. Wengert & J. Dauscher (Hrsg.), Nachtzugreisen: Die schönsten Strecken Europas (S. 204-205). Conbook Verlag.