Monday, July 31, 2023
Night trains have made a comeback in Europe thanks to their low-carbon footprint, but after years of neglect, the renaissance has had a bumpy ride.
Operators admit that the trains are outdated with passengers facing the occasional delays, technical problems or malfunctioning toilets while companies compete in an overloaded network.
Despite the challenges, national rail operators are giving night trains another chance while startups are jumping on the bandwagon as climate concerns are making travellers ditch kerosene-burning planes for cleaner modes of transportation.
Sitting at the crossroads between western and eastern Europe, Austria has been at the heart of this revival with the backing of the government even as low-cost airlines threatened to relegate sleeper trains to the history books.
An Austrian rail operator OeBB, a pioneer in the sector, has Europe’s biggest fleet of night trains, serving 1.5 million passengers in carriages that include bed compartments.
The state-owned company considered abandoning its overnight services at one point, but it went the opposite direction and invested in them instead.
OeBB runs 20 routes connecting Vienna and other cities throughout Europe.
In 2018, OeBB ordered 33 new night trains from German conglomerate Siemens to expand its reach and replace part of its ageing fleet.
The first trains – with a modern design, more privacy and more shower facilities –are expected to go into service at the end of this year.
Chris Engelsman, co-founder of the Belgian-Dutch startup European Sleeper, also complained about a shortage of “proper night train coaches”.
Established in 2021, his company inaugurated a Berlin-Brussels link in May.
Tags: Europe, night trains
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