It’s Friday evening as the Nightjet from Zurich is due at platform 13 of Berlin’s main station. Anne, Juri and about a dozen others stand in colorful pyjamas — not to board, but to protest. Similar demonstrations are happening at stations in a dozen European capitals from Lisbon to Helsinki, calling for more night trains across the continent.
“I don’t want to fly anymore because I know the damage it does. But I still want to travel,” one Berlin protester wrapped in a blue-and-white robe said. “You sleep very well because you’re constantly rocked back and forth,” her daughter added. Juri values the simplicity: no airport drive, check-in, queuing or cramped seats. “I get on the night train in one city, sleep and get off in another,” he said.
Night trains were once hugely popular until highways and affordable air travel from the 1980s onward reduced demand. Today only a handful of long-distance sleeper connections remain.
A brief revival appeared in 2023 when Austria’s state railways (ÖBB) resumed services linking Paris with Berlin and Vienna, but cuts to state subsidies in France ended ÖBB’s operation after two years. The Paris–Berlin route has since been picked up by European Sleeper, a Belgian–Dutch operator, which will also call at Brussels. Sweden’s state railroad recently pulled out of the Berlin–Stockholm line launched in 2022; private companies including European Sleeper and the US group RDC will cover some services, but only on select days.
“The fact night trains still exist in Europe is down to idealists like European Sleeper,” transportation expert Felix Berschin said. European Sleeper relies heavily on crowdfunding. In 2024 Berschin reviewed European night-train traffic for the German Federal Ministry of Transport and found sleeper services are often unprofitable because operating costs are high.
Night surcharges raise staff costs, and sleeping cars carry far fewer passengers than day trains. A Deutsche Bahn ICE 4 can seat up to 918 people; an ÖBB Nightjet holds about 254; Finland’s night equivalent has room for around 500. That limited capacity is the problem some activists want to solve.
Anton Dubrau founded startup Luna Rail in 2024 to design individual cabins that aim to marry privacy and comfort with better space use. A prototype sits on the Technical University of Berlin campus. The cabin resembles a regular train seat with a table, storage, a shelf, coat hooks and luggage space. At the touch of a button the backrest folds down into a bed; by day it serves as a mini office, which could attract business travelers.
Traditionally, sleeping cars have been used only at night because they convert little seating capacity for daytime use. Dubrau hopes single cabins can change that while keeping costs down. He says 60 such cabins could fit into one compartment, stacked two levels, and existing retired stock could be refitted rather than building new trains. A maximum-length train of 14 carriages could then carry as many as 700 passengers, he estimates. “We try to get as many people as possible into a small space,” he told DW.
Price remains decisive for travelers. A 2023 Swedish study found cost is the top factor when choosing how to travel. Night trains today can be expensive: the roughly 1,000-kilometer Paris–Berlin trip costs about €180 for a five-berth compartment and about €440 for a private compartment. Dubrau aims for fares around €100 for a second-class private cabin and €150 for first class. “We want prices comparable to air travel but with enough comfort to persuade people to switch.” The German transport ministry’s survey suggests that if prices were similar, roughly a third of travelers would shift from flying to trains.
Beyond economics, trains are better for the climate. The International Energy Agency says rail emits almost six times fewer greenhouse gases per passenger than planes. Trains can also use energy more efficiently and recuperate electricity when braking.
Dubrau hopes his cabins could be in operation by 2030. The European Commission aims to double rail’s share of passenger transport in Europe and triple it by 2050. But infrastructure and timetabling remain obstacles. “You can’t calculate with fixed times,” Berschin said, noting constrained train paths, limited platform slots and inconsistent regulations complicate scheduling on routes such as Prague–Brussels, where he helps plan timetables for European Sleeper.
For many passengers, the journey is part of the attraction. On platform 13 Anne said she appreciates all-female compartments. “At first actually because I thought women snore less than men,” she joked. “But I always meet great women from all generations who have fantastic stories to tell.”
This article was originally published in German.