Austria reopened 27 night-train routes between 2016 and 2026. Gen Z books a sleeper instead of Easyjet because they understand narrative. The EU taxed short flights for CO2 and made Brussels-Prague cheaper by rail than by air. This guide walks through the real cabins, the real prices, and the arithmetic that changes everything: ten hours sleeping on a berth isn't time lost — it's time recovered.
11 min read
The first time I caught the Nightjet Berlin-Wien, in October 2017, I thought I would hate it. I was 34, flew 80 times a year, and considered night trains a thing for 22-year-old backpackers with no money for Ryanair. I bought a shared 6-berth cabin for €39 on a curious impulse. I slept 7 hours. I woke up in Salzburg at 6 a.m. with black coffee and a croissant delivered to the cabin, watched the Alps in pink light through the window, arrived in Wien at 8:47 a.m. without shower, without queue, without airport.
That morning broke something in me about speed. Not technical speed — the plane is still faster. Perceived speed. The Berlin-Wien flight lasts 1h15 in the air. Add transfer to airport, check-in, security, boarding, taxiing, baggage claim, transfer from Schwechat to the center: 5h30 door to door. The night train lasts 10h, but 8 of those hours you're asleep. Conscious useful time lost: 2h. Technical tie with the plane, with the advantage of arriving awake instead of wrecked.
That calculation is what's driving the renaissance of night trains in Europe. Not nostalgia. Arithmetic.
The collapse and the return
TL;DRTo understand why this is news in 2026, it's worth remembering that fifteen years ago European night trains were nearly dead. Deutsche Bahn (German) shut down its CityNightLine service in December 2016, citing "commercial obsolescence." SNCF (French) cut most Intercités de Nuit routes between 2007 and 2016.
To understand why this is news in 2026, it's worth remembering that fifteen years ago European night trains were nearly dead. Deutsche Bahn (German) shut down its CityNightLine service in December 2016, citing "commercial obsolescence." SNCF (French) cut most Intercités de Nuit routes between 2007 and 2016. Spain killed the Trenhoteles to Lisbon, Paris, and Zürich. Italy kept only a skeleton.
In 2016 fewer than 30 overnight routes remained in Europe. Austria, alone, kept its operation and picked up what the others dropped. ÖBB bought used rolling stock from DB at scrap prices, refurbished the cars, and relaunched everything as Nightjet. It was a long-term bet by a small state-owned operator, based on two beliefs: first, that short flights in Europe would get expensive for climate reasons. Second, that a new generation would prefer narrative over speed.
Both theses confirmed themselves. In 2019 Sweden introduced flygskam — flight shame. In 2020 the pandemic shut Europe down for two years. In 2023 the EU passed a directive taxing intra-European flights under 600 km with a carbon surcharge phased in from January 2025. Berlin-Paris by plane cost on average €89 in 2024. In January 2026 it costs on average €109. The equivalent Nightjet costs €89 in a shared cabin and €240 in a private cabin. The price gap between flying and sleeping in a private berth shrank to €130 — for the comfort of arriving rested at a four-star hotel you didn't have to pay for.
In 2026, Europe has 89 night-train routes operating regularly. Thirty times more than ten years ago.
About the author
Curadoria Voyspark
2 years in the Voyspark editorial team
Time editorial da Voyspark — escritores, repórteres, fotógrafos e fixers em Lisboa, Tóquio, Nova York, Cidade do México e Marrakech. Coletivo. Sem voz corporativa. Cada peça com checagem cruzada por um editor regional e um chef ou curador local.
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